Sharing the Table

Here are some reasons we should be inviting people over for dinner:

1. It gets you out of your menu rut.  Tasting the menu from another kitchen makes me realize that there are other things to eat besides the same old same old.  I get used to eating a box of green beans and almonds 4 days a week.  {yawn}  After feasting with several different families this week, I’ve had shrimp, vegetable quiche, strawberry and pecan salad, brussel sprouts (cut in half, drizzled with oil, pepper, then havarti cheese…who knew?  delish), and so on.  Even if what you are serving seems mundane to you–it’s probably not to the people you are serving. 
2. Hospitality encourages community in a way that our culture neglects.  We don’t like to admit that we need each other.  We don’t want other people in our business.  We don’t want to be accountable for those around us.  This makes me think of a line from our Anne of Green Gables production this spring.  When Marilla is vying to send Anne back to the orphanage, she asks Matthew what good that orphan would be to them.  To which he humbly responds, “We might be some good to her.”  Hospitality encourages us to open our homes to the people around us.
3. Hospitality encourages generosity.  I think Miss Manners has said, ”Generosity and gratitude go hand in hand.”  When we think of how many blessings we have, the godly–and perhaps most human–response is to share them.   
4. Hospitality encourages beauty in everyday living.  Let’s face it.  Your living room is not ready for a Martha Stewart photo shoot every day of the week.  And you probably don’t eat on the fine china each night of the week.  But when you have guests over, it’s fun to add some aesthetic quality to the meal you serve. 
5. Hospitality, specifically inviting others to eat with you, echoes Christ’s hospitality at the eucharist.  So much more happens at the dinner table than merely consuming 600 or so calories for our bodies to convert food to energy.  We get energy to work–but so much more.  As a hostess, we share our lives with our guests.  We contribute to the community that shares Christ with the world around us. 

So, one of my goals this summer is to make a conscious effort to share with others the blessings God has given me and build community in our fractured world.