The Table: How We Behave Is What We Believe
Update: 2025-10-19
Description
In a world shaped by symbols, Jesus gave us a table - not a throne, not a sword, not even a cross - to remember him. And in this message from Robyn Elliott, we explore how the communion table is a radical, countercultural symbol of inclusion, equity, and service, and why Paul was so fired up about it in 1 Corinthians. What does it mean to eat and drink "unworthily?" You might be surprised.
Discussion Questions:
1. What are the most meaningful symbols in your life, and what symbols have shaped your faith journey - a cross, a family tradition, a church building, a song? What do those symbols say about what you truly believe about God and yourself?
2. The cross wasn’t the original symbol of Christianity. How does this historical shift in Christian symbolism shape the way we view faith today?
3. Paul's anger in 1 Corinthians 11 targets not personal piety but communal inequality. What does this say about God's priorities for the church?
4. When have you felt excluded or welcomed at a ‘table’ - whether literal or metaphorical? How does that shape how you invite others in?
5. Are there people you struggle to make space for at your table - emotionally, socially, spiritually? Why do you think that is? What might be under that resistance?
6. How does the communion table subvert empire values like hierarchy, power, and privilege? How might that challenge the modern Western church?
7. Paul says to examine ourselves before communion - not to nitpick our morality, but to ask: Are we honouring the body (the church)? What does that look like in practice?
8. If someone observed your church’s communion practice, what might they learn about your theology of inclusion and service?
9. How do we unknowingly mirror the world’s values of status and success in our Christian communities today?
10. The early church’s meals were participatory and embodied. What have we lost (or gained) by ritualizing or formalizing communion?
11. In what ways might your life reflect the empire's way more than Jesus’ way - and how could the symbol of the table realign you?
Discussion Questions:
1. What are the most meaningful symbols in your life, and what symbols have shaped your faith journey - a cross, a family tradition, a church building, a song? What do those symbols say about what you truly believe about God and yourself?
2. The cross wasn’t the original symbol of Christianity. How does this historical shift in Christian symbolism shape the way we view faith today?
3. Paul's anger in 1 Corinthians 11 targets not personal piety but communal inequality. What does this say about God's priorities for the church?
4. When have you felt excluded or welcomed at a ‘table’ - whether literal or metaphorical? How does that shape how you invite others in?
5. Are there people you struggle to make space for at your table - emotionally, socially, spiritually? Why do you think that is? What might be under that resistance?
6. How does the communion table subvert empire values like hierarchy, power, and privilege? How might that challenge the modern Western church?
7. Paul says to examine ourselves before communion - not to nitpick our morality, but to ask: Are we honouring the body (the church)? What does that look like in practice?
8. If someone observed your church’s communion practice, what might they learn about your theology of inclusion and service?
9. How do we unknowingly mirror the world’s values of status and success in our Christian communities today?
10. The early church’s meals were participatory and embodied. What have we lost (or gained) by ritualizing or formalizing communion?
11. In what ways might your life reflect the empire's way more than Jesus’ way - and how could the symbol of the table realign you?
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