Come to the Feast
Go to the highways and hedges
Go to the farthest of fields
Go and compel the sick and the well
For our Father’s house will be filled
Go to the streets of the city
Bring in the crippled and blind
All who would taste this banquet of grace
Must come and waste to more time
Come to the feast, Come to the table
The great and the least, the rich and the poor
Come to the feast, Come to the table
Come and hunger no more
by Jeff Lawson
There is always a section in my guidebooks on how to celebrate the season in your home. It involves our relationship with God and our relationship with ourselves but it also involves our relationship with others. As we walk through this season of Easter, how do we involve others? If we are a resurrection people, how do we practice resurrection with the world around us?
Our priest invites us every Sunday with these words, “Alleluia! Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us!” To which the people respond, “Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!” Maybe one way to practice resurrection with those around us is to extend the feast to them.
It’s incredible how one act can set something in motion that expands and expands until you find yourself looking around you in wonder, marveling at what the Lord has done.
One Sunday I showed up at the church and was introduced to four young Ukrainians who had been sponsored by a precious couple at our church. The couple provided housing, one of their cars, and employment. One small act, one very mighty act of generosity, and extending the feast to others opened a floodgate of generosity and extending the feast from our entire church.
We are a small church but we have now sponsored a total of ten beautiful souls and God has met us every step of the way. Our congregation rose up around these young men and women. They welcomed them with open arms, they gave them small jobs around their homes, they took them to do fun things, they threw a reception, they donated a car, they donated an entire kitchen’s worth of goods, they bought sectionals and sheets, pillows, and beds and they gave and they gave and they gave.
I know that we have blessed them by extending the feast to them BUT with how the kingdom of God always works, we have been given so much more in return! They have always poured into our lives with their smiles, hugs, talents, and humor. They have enriched us and made us better people and a better church.
After church one day as I was talking to the group, I told them how much I love Pysanky eggs and how I have always wanted to learn how to make them. One of the young men, Volodymyr, said matter-of-factly that he had been part of a Pysanky club at his school when he was a little boy. He told me that he would be happy to show me how to make them. You cannot imagine my surprise and excitement!
We ended up having a large group over to our house, kids, my extended family, and the whole Ukrainian group. Volodymyr was the best teacher. He was so patient and gave the best instructions. He was also very skilled at drawing, the wax resist, and dyeing. We all gathered around as he taught us. We focused hard on our drawings and applications of wax and we laughed a lot. Probably too much since Pysanky is supposed to be a form of quiet meditation!
Something incredible happens when you extend the feast to others, you receive unexpected blessings and connections. As a resurrection people, it is not enough to simply celebrate the season in our own homes but to share the joy and abundance with those around us. This act of extending the feast can start with one small act of generosity and expand into a floodgate of goodness, as seen in the story of the Ukrainian group sponsored by our church. By opening our hearts and homes to others, we not only bless them but are blessed in return with new relationships, experiences, and lessons.
Come to the feast, Come to the table
The great and the least, the rich and the poor
Come to the feast, Come to the table
Come and hunger no more