Greetings, my Beloved,

Tonight I want to invite you to a special dinner. I am preparing for you a feast, so I hope you will come hungry.

Please, don’t worry about what you can bring or how you can prepare, just come as you are. All that matters is that we get to see you.

On the other hand, if you’re wondering who you can bring to this delightful celebration, the answer is: anyone. Everyone. Whoever is on your heart that you would like to invite, you need not ask. The answer will always be a resounding “YES”. Everyone is welcome to the table.

Do you know someone who is burned out, tired, hurting? Someone who feels alone, afraid, rejected, misunderstood, out of place, behind, beneath? Well my love, this night is especially for them. Make sure you to tell them.

“What exactly is the occasion, Papa?” you might ask. Well my darling, the occasion is just that I love you and I love when we are all together.

When we gather at a table, everyone’s face can be seen. Everyone’s able to hold hands, and for a moment, we are all connected to each other; an unbreakable circle and union.

Around a table we get to share, serve, and exchange experiences. The table is a place of belonging, a symbol of family. At the table my children remember who they are, they remember their family name, who they represent, and because of this, confidence always rises up.

No matter what the world throws at my children, at the table we all sit unified in my power and authority. It is here that my kids remember they are untouchable by the evil one. We can enjoy communion anywhere, even in the midst of a great battle. That’s one of my favourite places to host a banquet—right in the midst of a raging war. It really throws the enemy off as the powers of darkness grow frustrated with me because I am feasting and laughing while they have to meticulously plan their next move. I will admit, this truly is very enjoyable. I get to immerse myself in the wonderful stories and adventures that my children eagerly tell me during dinner, while the enemy nervously sits and waits. This is the beautiful truth: at the table, my children mimc their Father who is calm, collected, jolly, and present.

At the table, my children finally pause from the busyness of the day to enjoy, to savor, to rest. The table is a reminder of what it means to be human; to come alive and flourish inside community. The table is a taste of sabbath, of reaping the fruit of one’s labour and reveling in what has so diligently been worked for.

The rich communion that happens around a table, sharing, eating, celebrating, and processing, was always the way I wanted to engage with my kids: heart to heart, face to face. However, throughout history, humanity has thought it was impossible to know me this intimately or to be close to my heart. For thousands of years it was thought that I required sacrifices and burnt offerings in order to connect with people, after all, this is how other deities interacted with their worshipers. It was thought that relationship with Yaweh and man was so deeply complicated, and my heart ached for the day I would find worshipers who simply offered love, rather than lifeless religion. This is why I sent my Son, to model to all people who I really am, what I’m really like, and to start turning alters into tables. Jesus’ whole mission was to model intimacy with me, to model what family really looks like and how it is supposed to function. This is the dream of heaven: for the earth to one day operate as one big family; to be unified around divine communion where everyone has a seat, a place, a chair. Everyone loves, and is loved.

My Jesus could have done anything as a practice or ritual for His closest friends to remember Him by, and yet His instruction was to have a meal, to break bread.

So tonight, let us truly celebrate! Let’s celebrate that there is no gap between God and man. Let’s celebrate this love relationship. Let’s remember Jesus, my living Word to all humanity.

Come, let me pour you a glass, let me break off a piece of a fresh loaf and satiate your hunger. Let me sing over you my love songs. Let me tell you all the marvelous things I noticed today. And likewise, I want to hear how your day went. I want to hear your laughter. If you come tonight with a heavy heart, that is okay too. I want to hear your sorrows so that I can exchange them for something that is truer:

You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.

We are close. We are close. We are close.

At the table you are never alone. We are all in this together.

Love, Papa.

P.S, I am preparing the banquet table in the garden. As you know, it’s beautiful this time of year. When the smell of freshly baked bread becomes so strong you can hardly stand it, you’ll know it’s dinner time.

Hosea 6:6 | Matthew 26: 26 – 28 | Psalm 23:5 | Isaiah 55: 1 | John 14:16 – 17 | John 1: 1| Hebrews 1:13