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Something Big Happens Around Eucharistic Table.

One summer when I was in the seminary, I was sent to the Institut Catholique in Paris to learn French. On the first morning, students gathered in a large auditorium, and there, we were divided into smaller class units. Let me introduce to you the nationalities of my classmates. Remember, this was during the Cold War. There were two Americans, one Russian, one Palestinian, two Jewish men, three Egyptian Imam clerics, and an Iranian. If World War III had ever happened, it would have started in my classroom because all the enemies of the nations were represented there. Needless to say, we were all pretty nervous. Then something happened. A petite French woman came into the room and said, “You are going to learn French if it is the last thing I do on this planet.” At that moment, we all had a reason to come together, a reason to cling to each other. We all had a common enemy. She embarrassed, and humiliated us, but we learned quickly to laugh at ourselves. At the end of the course, we were all best friends.

Now, let’s go back to the first century when Christians gathered around the Eucharistic table. Allow me to tell you who was there. Samaritans and Jews that hated them. There were tax collectors and those who hated to pay taxes. There were Roman soldiers, those who worked for Rome; centurions mixed together with Zealots who despised them. There were poor people and rich people who avoided them because they always sought handouts. If World War I had happened earlier in time, it probably would have begun at the table of the Lord’s Supper because all the enemies of the world were represented there. If you or I had been there at the table, we would have had thoughts. We would have started to think, “I don’t think I belong here. I do not feel like this is my group.” We would have begun to have doubts.

Welcome to the Gospel of Luke. In the first four verses of the Gospel, Luke tells us why he wrote his Gospel. It was to assure us that we all belong to the table.

Yes, everyone at the table is flawed, and you may have a reason not to like many of the people there, but something remarkable happens. Jesus is at the table with us, and we are changed. We are empowered to do great things. Not despite the flaws, but precisely because of them.

Luke introduces us to the Mustard tree. It is a weed because it is full of thick branches and ugly. But with God, even a weed has the potential for greatness. An eagle chases the sparrow, but just before it becomes lunch, the sparrow darts into the mustard tree with its thick branches. The eagle says, “I am not going into that mess,” and the little bird is saved. The fox chases the rabbit. A rabbit has no claws to climb a tree. It has no wings to fly away. But it has a mustard tree. The mustard tree is a haven, a gated committee for all the small animals.

We may wonder why we go to church each week. The reason is because we are all flawed. A remarkable thing happens when we are at the Eucharistic table.

Around the Eucharistic table, everyone has the potential for greatness.

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