A Wide Table

"He hath showed you thee, o man, what is good: And do what The Lord requires of thee, but do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God" Micah 6.8 KJV 

Open or Closed are two big words in today's society. Open or Closed minds, Open or Closed books, Open Gates and Closed Fences are all phrases we continue to drop into our dialogue we engage in. Our collective "soul" as a whole is bigger than Conservative, Moderate and Liberal.

 This verse says a lot about how WE engage in our communities. Not just our faith communities, but school and work. Whether it is on the Unionizing of workers for equal pay and fair treatment or Marriage Equality. All conversations have the same basic elements. The space and two (or more) participants. Conversations are built on certain perimeters that either enable conversation or cause discussion to falter. Stuff that enables conversation are things like finding common ground, building bridges, etc. Stuff that disables communication are not doing those things which enable communication. Things like talking in different language and terms, etc. 

Love, mercy, and justice are often either found in discussions, or seeds of doubt (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), fear, anger, or hurt. The latter being the negative counterparts. 

There also ways to engage in community to either either grow the seeds of mistrust or grow the flowers of love. Some simple ways is actually hearing and listening at the same time. 

There are both conservative and liberal gardeners, conservative and liberal fence builders, conservative and liberal cooks/chefs. 

When we come to the Lord's Supper Table, we are not only opening ourselves to the great work of God. We open our hearts to all those we engage with in general. Our friends, our families, or significant others, all of which are connected to us in everyday life, but through our common "soul". We are not only our strongest parts, but also the weaker (voiceless) . The Voiceless among us would those who have lost there voice. The people who have sometimes been made mute by our statements, or the statements of society , or factions of society. 

May our actions and dialogue give everybody the room and ground to speak. Liberals and conservatives, orthodox and progressive, male and female, LGBT etc.