Welcome to our table
Welcome to Community Dinner, where we build spiritual community with friends and family around a shared meal and care for our neighbors by living a life of welcome.
The “Welcome Prayer” by Father Thomas Keating can be read by one person or everyone together. For the ending “As we go” prayer, one person can read the regular type and the group can read the blue bold together. When you see a video, tap play and the file will open. To return to the guide, just tap the “x” in the top right corner.
As we gather…
Amen.
Now take a few minutes during the greeting song “Under the Milky Way” to tell someone what you love or dislike most about fall!
Dinner and Conversation
Tonight we taste the goodness of a meal together and connect our lives with God and one another.
- share your favorite fall food or treat
- If you could make a hobby your job, what would you do?
Centering song
Listen to the song “Desperado” to center your thoughts and emotions for tonight’s story.
Storytelling
Todays story is from Luke 16:19-31. Denise is telling a story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus.
There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, “Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.”
But Abraham said, “Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.”
Reflection
Think about these questions while listening to “Fragile” by Sting.
- Where do I see myself or my experience in this story?
- What do you think Jesus was calling out in this story?
- Was there any imagery that was actually hard to hear? Why?
- Chances are, we are not stepping over a sick, helpless person laying at our doorsteps every morning, so what is the equivalent to stepping over the threshold of need in our world, in my daily life?
- What do I understand better or more fully about God from this story?
- How does this story affect how I live this week? Who can I share it with?
After the song, take a few minutes to share with each other some of your responses.
Pray together
Take turns sharing how the group can pray for each other in the coming week and after each person shares, say together:
“Lord, hear our prayer.”
As we go…
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in all of us.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to my neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in my love,
And don’t take myself too seriously— take God seriously. ~Micah 6:8
Credits:
Created with images by Riedelmeier - "river rocks stack" • Diggeo - "water reflections waterscape" • 12659751 - "waterfall longexposure volcanic" • b13923790 - "fried chicken food lunch" • gessinger - "road city at night" • Pok_Rie - "sunrise jetty lake" • Sponchia - "giraffes entertainment discussion" • 강춘성 - "road pavement woman"