The Open Table Devotional Guide
Monday: Read Luke 14: 16-18. What has been your experience in hosting and putting together parties and celebrations? Is/Was it a high value in your and your family’s culture? Is/ Was it something you enjoy(ed) doing? Some folks love the actual practice of making their home a place of celebration, while others may not enjoy the work it takes, but love seeing people gather and have fun. Has such a time even been a holy experience for you…?
Tuesday: Read Luke 14:18-20. Have you experienced putting together a party, and people telling you they can’t make it? What feelings did you experience? Did it depend on the reason you received? Did some reasons sound better than others? Have there been invitations you’ve received to someone’s event, and you just weren’t interested in attending?
Wednesday: Read Luke 14: 21. Has this ever been our response when we’ve heard a bunch of people aren’t coming our party, our Bible Study, our church…? There’s a lot of discussion and stats on church decline, and a lot of churches saying they don’t know what they’re doing wrong, nor do they know how to get people interested in coming. How often do they—how often do WE—simply look for those who are actually hungry? UMC Bishop Robert Schnase says Radical Hospitality is one of the Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation: It involves seeing ourselves as sent out by Christ and going out of our way, even at the risk of a sense of awkwardness and inconvenience, to invite people into some aspect of the church’s ministry. Imagine people offering the absolute utmost of themselves, their creativity, their abilities, and their energy to offer the gracious invitation and reception of Christ to others. (Ministry Matters—Nov.1, 2008)
Thursday: Read Luke 14:22. Bishop Schnase writes in the same article that it does feel awkward, initially, as there is a degree of vulnerability. As church membership became more mainstream after WWII, we as a society have arguably forgotten what it can be like to actually invite people to church—not like we invite people into other membership-driven organizations, or even to parties…but what it’s like to invite people to Jesus, and the Story he shares. When was a time you needed to be invited to Jesus, and what was it like to receive that invitation?
Friday: Read Luke 14:23. Hopefully we know that feeling when we finally try something we’ve been completely unsure, nervous, terrified about…and it worked! Not only did it work, but it was thrilling and wonderful! So much so, we wanted to do it, again! Jesus tells us through this parable—don’t stop inviting! Keep going out and pulling people in! Invite them! Not to “church”….invite them to the love of Jesus! Invite them to know they are loved by God! Invite them to the celebration that they are worthy! Invite them home!