Sunday, September 11 – “Joy at the Table”

View this recorded version of Sunday Worship from September 11, 2022.

Bible Verses

Luke 15: 1-10

Reflection: Joy at the Table

Excerpts from the reflection by Rev. Paula Sohl:

“Gathering around the table and extending the welcome wider and wider is the work that Jesus was about. Jesus made a point of welcoming children and the tax collectors, and the Samaritans and the lepers, and anyone marginalized or excluded.

This kind of welcome is nice to talk about and hard to live out.

We prefer our own family and friends of our choosing at our dinner parties over the kind of broad invitation that Jesus modeled and talked about in his stories.

If there is one who is particularly difficult or unpleasant it’s easy not to include that one in our table fellowship at home or here in our church community.

…In today’s story from the Gospel of Luke it is sheep and coins that Jesus uses to tell the story about the value of each individual.

Perhaps you feel like the one who is forgotten or ignored or marginalized in some way. Perhaps for you to know that God is present to you–someone with skin on needs to come looking for you and remind you that you are beloved.

…Perhaps there is someone in your life who is waiting to be invited to your table, or this table, or simply to be noticed and cared for.”