One of the most interesting places in a family home is the kitchen table. Around that piece of furniture many things happen; from family meals on the most special and important of occasions, to a simple snack before bed, lots of things occur around the kitchen table. For some, it is still the place where families gather, and for those fortunate few, it is also a place where there are no cell phones allowed, and people must talk to each other around the table. I think for those who have such a rule, you are to be commended. In my own growing up, the kitchen table was the centrepiece of family life for about 75% of the day; it was only in the evenings that we would sit in the living room. It was from the kitchen table that I did my homework, and it was from the kitchen table that, on more than one occasion, my mother would sit and either knit, crochet, or cross-stitch needlepoint. It was at the kitchen table she would do any sewing, because it had the best light of day. It was around the kitchen table at the homes of various aunts and uncles that I learned my family history. It was around the kitchen table that I learned my manners. It was around the kitchen table I learned many things. My guess is that a lot of you who are reading this can say that you learned a lot of things around the kitchen table.
In Matthew 15:21–28, the account of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman, the table is at the centre. Yet, not only is the table at the centre of the words that we hear within scripture, the table is also at the centre of our weekly worship. If we stop and think for a moment, the very actions that we do at our kitchen and dining room tables are the very same actions we do in the midst of worship: we gather, we tell stories, we eat, and we leave. Worship is the very same thing: we gather, we tell stories, we eat, and we live. I really think that someone should look into the theological significance of Newfoundland Sunday dinner and the similarities it has with Sunday Worship. There are two things that the table of the Eucharist and the table of a family home have in common: wash before you eat, and no one ever goes hungry.
When this gospel was part of the lectionary, in the Parish of Deer Lake there was a celebration of Holy Baptism of an infant and a 12-year-old girl. Thus, when we celebrate Holy Baptism, the Holy Eucharist is celebrated; thus, we wash before we eat. Before sitting at table in our homes, we wash our hands before we eat. In both the washing of baptism and the washing before we eat, we wash away the dirt from our lives and from our hands. We do this so that we can taste the food that is set before us and enhance the senses of taste and smell. In the waters of baptism, we wash so that we can come to the table to be fed. In the waters of the bathroom or kitchen sinks, we wash so that we can come to the table to be fed. We come knowing that we are not turned away, and we come knowing that we are going to be fed. We come knowing that body and soul are fed, and once fed, we are to go share the love of God with those we encounter. As Jesus said, it is not what goes in the mouth that defiles the soul, it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles the soul.
When I hear of the woman who came begging of Jesus and her response that even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table, I cannot help but think of the prayer of humble access that is prayed in The Book of Common Prayer before the reception of Holy Communion:
We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, Trusting in our own righteousness, But in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy So much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, Whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, So to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, And to drink his Blood, That our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, And our souls washed through his most precious Blood, And that we may evermore dwell in him, And he in us. Amen. (pp. 83–84)
That is the very thing we celebrate in the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist. There are times we think that we are not worthy to come to the rail to receive the sacrament, but because we are washed before we eat, that is what makes us worthy. After all: “But thou art the same Lord, Whose property is always to have mercy.” No matter who we are, what we do, where we have been, or where we come from, in Jesus is found mercy, grace, and forgiveness. All we need to do is come to him, and accept him, for he already and always will accept us. All we need to do is come to him with open hands, open minds, and open hearts, to accept the faith, hope, and love that he has for us—the faith in God, the hope of heaven, and the love of one another.
Let us remember that no matter how long we live on this earth, we never have enough time to gladden the hearts of those who walk the way with us; so, let us make haste to love and be swift to be kind in the midst of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
As we do this, may we come to the table knowing and trusting in the love and mercy of Jesus, we are all fed.