Come to the table......

That's what my Mom would call when dinner was ready.  "Come to the table."  It was both invitation and command for children who  are apt to want to linger with whatever seems more important than the hot meal that waits.

Adam and Eve, on the other hand, should have lingered a little longer.  Their appetite had all kinds of consequences, the majority of which they could have never imagined.  When they saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eyes and good to eat, they said, "Why not?" and the results of that have played out through the ages.

Our appetites are still getting us into trouble because appetites are immediate and life is long. God had warned the first humans that eating of that fruit would have disastrous consequences but they chose to trust the serpent, the craftiest of all the animals God had made.  Interestingly enough, many Bible commentators when analyzing this story point out that the serpent was right, Adam and Eve did not die............not right away at least.  Instead they died a thousand deaths as they wrestled with the dark side of this creation and their lost connection with the Creator God.  'Why can't it be like it was?'  Don't we ask similar questions, seeking a gentler, kinder time to which to return?  You know, the good old days.

We fool ourselves if we think that there was no suffering in the 'good old days'.  We delude ourselves if we truly believe that life was easier, people were nicer, and neighbor helped neighbor.  Some did, some didn't.  Folks then knew their own kind of hard work, short lives, fragile health, unpredictable growing seasons and economies.  Folks knew what a destitute old age meant and most had buried at least one child from diseases that are now preventable.Their suffering might have been different, but it was suffering just the same.  Even their children lingered when Mom cried out, "Come to the table."

Jesus calls out the same invitation to us and it is primarily invitation but a little bit of command as well.  Come, it will nourish you.  Come, lay down whatever task is at hand.  Come, eat.  Eat with your brothers and sisters.  Eat with your neighbors and strangers.  Come and discover the human family again.

I will feed you.  I will place in your hands a bit of bread, the staff of life, the stuff of life and it will sustain you for a while.  I will place in your hands a bit of wine, to ease your thirst and clear your throat and prepare you for the tasks ahead.  Come to the table....that's where you will find everything to satisfy your appetites and focus your life.

At this table you will come back into yourself, find your humanity, find peace for your spirit....find the Creator God you continue to seek.  Come to the table and be made whole.