Open Heaven Church

Who is my neighbour? What obstacles might they face in joining ‘the table’? What tables need to be overthrown to make space for those excluded? Luke 5 tells the story of a meal with a seemingly disreputable guest list. God is sitting down and eating with his enemies. ‘When persons were estranged’, says scholar Scott Bartchy, ‘a meal invitation opened the way to reconciliation.’ In the Gospel of Luke, meals become a form of enacted grace. We can create patterns of exclusion or inclusion through the invitations we make to our tables or into our homes. Are we conscious of the impact of our choices?