The Discipline of the Table… By Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran

 The Discipline of the Table…

By Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran

Executive Minister

4 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”   Luke 22:14-16 (NIV)

I ate too much on the recent exploratory mission trip to Holguin, Cuba. I had not expected to eat so much and even hoped to lose a couple of pounds while there. But Pastor Ernesto’s theology of the table did me in!

You see, Pastor Ernesto understands that meals are not about food, but about relationship.  Pastor had arranged for us to meet with key members of his church at every meal but breakfast. Sure, on our first day there, we heard about the ministries of the church from these same leaders. Still, by sitting down at the table with them, we got to know who they were, not just what they could share in an introduction, but their personalities, a bit of their stories, and even had the opportunity to connect with a few and move from acquaintance to friend. As one business expert said about the business lunch… “It’s not about the food!”

And, yes, I could have skipped breakfast… but that was the time our team had to share… not just about what we were learning about Cuba and the Kerygma Church there in Holguin, but also about what we were learning about ourselves and what we were discovering about how Christ is still at work in our world… not just in Cuba, but also in our lives.

 We were fed like Kings, which didn’t need to be done on the team’s account, but our hosts needed to do this to show their gratitude for our visit {consider the extravagance of Zacheus). Still, I didn’t need to eat all that was set before me… but have you met me??? If it’s there and I like it, I will probably eat it and have seconds if I can. My metabolism used to be able to handle this… not so much anymore!

In his book, Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape the Church for Mission, David Fitch identifies “the discipline of the Lord’s Table” as critical to the church's mission. By this discipline, he is not talking just about the observance of “holy communion” but about the whole phenomenon of our being present to one another as one only can be present around a shared meal. For him (and me, by the way), a shared family meal where we actually put phones down and talk to one another, allowing Christ to be in the midst of it not in a formal way necessarily but in Spirit, is celebrating the Lord’s Table.  Likewise, a church dinner, a night out with good friends, a small group meal, or even a chance meal with someone at a McDonald’s can be an opportunity to celebrate the discipline of the Lord’s Table.

When you think about it, a lot of Jesus’ earthly ministry involved meals … the wedding at Cana, the feeding of 5000, the aforementioned Zacheus, the Breakfast by the shore…  I’m sure there are others. And, of course, there is the parable of the Great Banquet.  In all these, the meal was more than just sustenance… it was about relationships.

So how do you make an ordinary meal into the Lord’s Table? How do we adopt a theology of the table like that of Pastor Ernesto or Dr. Fitch?

The truth is all you must do is invite Christ into your presence at these meals… but some thoughts:

·        Start with a prayer of Gratitude… I don’t care if it’s a rehearsed prayer… but have an attitude of gratitude

·        Focus on one another --- put down the phone, paper (yeah, that’s a boomer thing) and other distractions and truly focus on one another.

·        Share the story of your day. Ministry always begins when our story intersects with Christ’s story…. I had a good friend who was a Christian Counselor who described his role as listening to his client’s story until he heard the Christ-shaped hole and plugged Him in there!

On this day, as we celebrate the beginning of the Lenten Season, why not make the decision not just to eliminate something from your meals but instead to include Christ at every meal and see what the Spirit might do?

Rev. Dr. David Fitch will be the Keynote Speaker at the 2026 Annual Gathering. ABCRM will be featuring devotionals about the Seven Disciplines he identified in his book Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape the Church for Mission as we lead up to the September meeting.

Prayer

As you earnestly sought to share a meal with the disciples, Oh God, I wish to share my meals and my life with you. Please be present with me daily even as you provide for our every need.  Amen.

By Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran

Executive Minister

American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains

www.abcrm.org