ARE YOU WELCOME AT THE TABLE?
Jesus said you are, no matter who you are. Walmart agrees, shouldn’t every Christian?
Yes, Walmart agrees, watch their 2017 video many chairs and one table. By the way, so do Matthew and Jesus.
“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples ( Matthew 9:10)”.
Some people in the church universal believe they are given the mandate to cull the herd of folk coming to the table. This short paper is written in hopes to give all people another worldview. Here is an example of having differing worldviews, even using the same word but meaning totally different things.
I was talking to a friend and used the word “silo.” His mind pictured an underground missile silo. I had an above-ground silo filled with grains. In another conversation, I said the word “cognitive” he filled in the next word, “dissonance.” I actually was going to say “flexibility.” Yes, I have thought of silos as underground sources or hellfire as I lived in Montana. But I have also lived next to aboveground co-op silos filled with grains to feed people. Yes, I have read countless articles about cognitive dissonance. Recently I read an article on the value of cognitive flexibility.
Hmm, silo, pictures of the same word. Yet, worlds apart. Do our words send hellfire of pain or do they bring food for our souls?
What is the value of understanding and applying cognitive flexibility? What is the downfall of cognitive dissonance? Flexibility begins with a true inventory of our own mindsets, viewpoint, and blindspots. Flexibility is required as we realize our own bias, be it confirmation bias, or others are blinding us to the path of truth. Cognitive flexibility is like an immunization that protects us from smallpox or cholera.
“It can also help protect against a number of biases, such as confirmation bias. That’s because people who are cognitively flexible are better at recognizing potential faults in themselves and using strategies to overcome these faults. Cognitive flexibility is also associated with higher resilience to negative life events, as well as better quality of life in older individuals. It can even be beneficial in emotional and social cognition: studies have shown that cognitive flexibility has a strong link to the ability to understand the emotions, thoughts, and intentions of others.”
Jesus’ ministry calls for his followers to be cognitively flexible, relying upon the new word and work of His life and mission.
Back to the table and chairs in Matthew’s house. All were welcome. When the religious leaders brought an angry message to Jesus’ followers about the folk at the table, Jesus challenged them with the word “GO.” But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Matthew 9:13. Most Christians will recall another Jesus command including the word GO. “Therefore go and make disciples” Matthew 28:19. Tieing these two commands today, a person interested in bringing all people to the table will do two things. First, to learn what mercy, compassion, empathy really means (see Hosea 6:6). Second, ask, “who are disciples?” According to Matthew, a disciple builds their house on the rock of Jesus Matthew 7: 24–27 and who do the works of mercy and kindness Matthew 25:34–41. Jesus sees Himself as the people in need of mercy and kindness, so we who are His disciples should do the same. When we say, come to the table, we accept all who come.
Now, to clarify, the worldview being proposed here is that all people are not only welcome but are urged to come and eat at the table without any restrictions. I am not the first to propose this view, as John Pavolitz wrote:
“We’re going to be defined by the compassion we show, the help we give, the table we expand, the walls we destroy, the outsiders we welcome, the beauty we exchange, the peace we make, the huddled masses we embrace.”
I must say, all people at the table mean LGBTQIA, means all races, all colors, all people. Just as much as a person of color cannot change their race I believe asking a person in the LGBTQIA community to stop being what they are is impossible.
I wonder what the conversation was at the table in Matthew’s home? Would I be comfortable there? Would you?
Finally, I ask are you sitting at the table with all, learning how to speak and look at the world in an entirely new way? Or are you standing on the outside with a group of folk criticizing those who are at the table?
Many chairs and one table by Walmart, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha15CfHe3FI
cognitive dissonance: John Pavlovitz, A Jesus Christian’s Apology for MAGA Christians, https://johnpavlovitz.com/2020/09/23/a-jesus-christians-apology-for-maga-christians Accessed (most recently) February 5, 2021
cognitive flexibility: Beth Daley, IQ tests can’t measure it, but cognitive flexibility is key to learning and creativity, https://theconversation.com/iq-tests-cant-measure-it-but-cognitive-flexibility-is-key-to-learning-and-creativity-163284 The conversation newsletter, accessed June 15, 2021.
different worldview: John Pavolitz, To Hell With Your Hatred, Donald Trump, Stuff That Needs to Be Said, January 22, 2018, accessed 24/1/2018
