Come to the Table-all are welcome

This morning I heard a song by Sidewalk Prophets for the 2nd time, "Come to the Table".  I was just pulling in to the parking lot of one of the two churches I serve where I have offices.  I sat there listening to the song, touched by the words.

I posted the song with these words on social media:

"Come to the table. All are welcome. There is NO ONE not accepted. May it be so. I heard this song for the 2nd time as I pulled into the parking lot today. May we come to the table and be set free."

When I got home this evening, I saw Our Daily Bread opened up to today's message entitled "Available to All".

The focus verse, Mark 10:45, reminds us that Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.  The devotion reminds us that Jesus was available to all.

Here are the lyrics to "Come to the Table" by Sidewalk Prophets:

We all start on the outside
The outside looking in
This is where grace begins
We were hungry, we were thirsty
With nothing left to give
Oh the shape that we were in
Just when all hope seemed lost
Love opened the door for us

He said come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table

Come meet this motley crew of misfits
These liars and these thieves
There's no one unwelcome here
So that sin and shame that you brought with you
You can leave it at the door
Let mercy draw you near

Come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Come to the table

To the thief and to the doubter
To the hero and the coward
To the prisoner and the soldier
To the young and to the older
All who hunger, all who thirst
All the last and all the first
All the paupers and the princes
All who fail you've been forgiven
All who dream and all who suffer
All who loved and lost another
All the chained and all the free
All who follow, all who lead
Anyone who's been let down
All the lost you have been found
All who have been labeled right or wrong
To everyone who hears this song

Ooh
Come to the table
Come join the sinners you have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Oooh
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Come to the table
Just sit down and rest a while
Just sit down and rest a while
Come to the table
-------------

The banquet table is prepared and set for all.  As a dear friend posted on my post today:  "We should never assume that we are in charge of the guest list at the table of Jesus."

I probably should have asked more about that great quote, but I didn't.  It has been a busy day.

But, tonight I searched that quote and found something close to it by Magrey R. DeVega:

"The good news is meant for the hungry, for those who would drop everything for an invitation to the banquet.  When we lose sight of the radical grace of invitation, we have forgotten who we are. [...] we should never impose our quality-control standards on anyone else the king wants to invite to the banquet." (A Preacher's Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 70)

Whether you need to know that you are welcome at the table or you need to make room at the table for others, know that there is room.  It's all about God's grace.  God's grace opens up space for you, for me, for all at the table.  Hear these words for you and share them with others who need to hear: "Come to the table". 

Blessings on your journey, 

Debra