Volume 1
“You prepare a table before me, even as my enemies watch …”
Issue 9
June 24, 2020
(Psalm 23:5 CJSB)
If Jesus is the Preparer of the table, then every watching enemy should be invited to Christ’s table to sit and dine. To all those who have walked through the shadows of death’s valley, Jesus the Preparer forgivingly initiates the offering of invitations, that read, “Bless those who curse you. Love those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you.” To R.S.V.P., watching enemies must be welcomed as neighbors and also receive an invitation. Who are the enemies-become-neighbors Jesus calls us to invite? Beaten and bloodied brothers lying in ditches, the priests and Levites who pass them by, and the Good Samaritans who clean every brothers’ wounds with their own filthy rags of righteousness; those wearing and not wearing masks; the sick, the symptomatic, the non-symptomatic, and the healthy; nurses, doctors, health care laborers, chemists, biologists, and janitors; police officers and protestors; racists and rioters; every Philemon, every Onesimus, and every Paul that demands equality; the criminal on His right, the criminal on His left, and Jesus Messiah, all are invited and sit together at this prepared Paradise, learning to be civil, learning to be one. Taken by Christ, everyone offers the communal blessing, saying, “Father, forgive us. We know not what we are doing. Break us and distribute us to one another.” Opening our eyes to flavor and vibrancy, we see our fellow diners. The color and gender of the people of the nations and tribes is celebrated, not eliminated. Each individual hue is shared with all the hues, from the welcoming, deferring heart of Christ-honoring community. Jesus is our King, and the prepared table is the Kingdom of God. With no enemies and no more systems, nor institutions, nor people groups promoting hatred, division, and disparity, together with Jesus, we toast with new wine in the Kingdom of God. ~ Kevin Cain
Connect NOW has been a project of the Connection Magazine staff. We’ve been publishing weekly articles in May & June of 2020 to inform and encourage as we’ve navigated this Covid-19 pandemic. This is the final issue. The Evangelical Methodist Church is a global family of Christ followers committed to sharing the good news of God’s love with people.
