First Baptist Church Of Memphis

At our last communion service, I preached a sermon on what makes a meal “memorable.”  Those are words that we most often associate with communion.  “This do in remembrance of me.”  And communion is important because of what it represents, the life and death of Christ on our behalf.   But this event is not important simply because it happened, but because of what it accomplished.   It brought us into communion with God and into communion with one another.  In other words, this meal, like most meals, is “memorable” not because of what is eaten, but because of who is at the table.  It is memorable because we have all been invited and thus all of us are included in the indescribable grace of God.
This month contains a pretty “memorable” meal, too.  And lest we forget in our recall of that first menu, what was important about that first Thanksgiving was not the menu.  The emphasis of that meal was on who was present.  Euro-American and Native-American coming together around a common table to offer thanks to God and one another.  Even now, despite all the traditional recipes and parades and football, its still about the folks around the table.
But before Thanksgiving, there’s another important observance on our religious calendar, and that’s All Saints’ Sunday, which we observe on the first Sunday in November.  (All Saints Day, or All Hallows Day, is actually November 1.  Hence, All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween, on October 31.  Who says you never learn anything from reading these articles?)
It occurred to me the other day that I have met most of my saints in the faith around the table.  They invited me to the table.  They served me at the table.  They taught me at the table.  They heard me at the table.  They allowed me to serve them at the table.   I found many of my saints around the Thanksgiving table.   But I’ve found just as many, if not more, around tables in fellowship halls and family life centers and seminary cafeterias and retreat center mess halls and saw horse tables set up on mission trips. 
And that’s the image I carry with me as I enter the fellowship hall on Wednesday night or for one of our Sunday brunches or when I join the children at children’s camp or the youth at a Lock-In.  Here dine the saints of the faith.  Here dine my saints.  No, they are not perfect.  Saints never are, you know.   Nevertheless they are those that God uses to bless and shape my life.  Here are my teachers and students and mentors and counselors and friends and critics.   Here are my balcony people who encourage me and pray for me and call me out and cheer me on.   That’s who they (you) are.  And when I have eyes to see, I see you, as Thomas Merton said, “shining like the sun.”
I encourage you to have such eyes to see, too.  Nurture and cherish the community of the saints around the table.  Enlarge it.  Extend a hand; sit at a new table.  Better yet, invite someone new altogether.  And in so doing give thanks, not just for the food on the table, but for those saints that surround the table and surround you with God’s grace.                        

David