Common knowledge tells us that food is central to hospitality and community. What I hadn't given much thought to before now was the importance of how and where we eat together.
Our house has been without a table for about 4 months. Even before that, our former table (and its chairs) became uncomfortable after not very long. (Which is why it was banished, in spite of lacking a replacement.) Eating largely took place on couches and counters, sitting in chairs and balancing plates on knees. Taking a meal out to the patio was about the best we could offer our guests. Hospitality waned. We didn't invite people as much. When we did, it felt makeshift and apologetic.
I also have a theory that even individuals eat differently at a table. There is something reassuring and stable about not having to hold onto your plate of spaghetti or bowl of cereal. Sure, it's fine for a camping trip or a meal on the go, but every meal, every day? Not great.
Last weekend, I gave in. Throwing my reticence about buying and owning stuff that won't fit in a Corolla to the wind, I plopped down $40 for a well-worn table at a junk shop. Wood, with an insertable, folding leaf. We got it to seat 10, so far.
As we washed dishes later that night, my roommate and I observed how different that gathering was from any other we'd had. At one table, we could have one conversation for the entire group. Discussion could ebb and flow and fracture and come together again. There was no awkward switch to the living room afterward, so eating was leisurely and long. It allowed for courses and seconds and a changeover for late-arriving guests as they joined.
It reminded me of Jesus' fondness for banquets and admonition about how to do hospitality in Luke 14. Now that there's a table, there are lots of people to invite!
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
