In my opinion, from personal experience, the greatest news of that which we know to be the "Good News" of Jesus is that we all, every one of us, gets what we in common language know as "do overs". The good news of Jesus is that we get a new opportunity for a reconnected relationship with God, beyond our own meager efforts. We have, despite our failed attempts and brokenness, the ability to get back up and walk again with the savior who stoops down to lift us from our falls. The beauty of the church is that we find our falls not to be such lonely and isolated incidents as our adversary would have us believe. We find common ground from which to stand and we find others to cheer us on as we dust ourselves off and continue on our journey. If you missed our
Common Table gathering this past Sunday, you didn't miss "church". You missed dinner together where we sat together, laughed together, reflected together and identified with stories different, yet not so different from our own. You missed learning together, smaller groups within a larger whole, who didn't simply "listen" to a passage from the bible but entered in to the passage sharing stories, journey's, and reflections on the timelessness of God's word for those who seek to follow. You missed our discovery of the difference between a prescribed "this is how you do church" method and what the bible identified as a descriptive "this is how faith is reflected" expression of people who have joined in God's mission. You missed the realization and reaffirmation that "church" was not a Sunday, one day, expression of a love for Jesus and people. It is an organic, ever present and fluid movement of God's people, any day and every way. You missed the resulting call and response to action.
You may have missed this past week, but the good news is that you, like the rest of us, have a "do ever" - another chance to join us around the "
Common Table" of Jesus and our desire to love him and love like him in the context of the city.
See you Sunday? or Friday or any other day for that matter.
