Every table tells a story

Luke 19: 1-10 

New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE November 2, 2025 

Ofrenda displayed as part of the exhibit "Seven Days" by Chuck Ramirez, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Ft. Worth, Texas.  Description is in the text of the sermon.

This past August I traveled with David on a business trip to Ft. Worth, TX. One of my favorite things to do in a new city is to visit an art museum. At the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, I had the good fortune to view their featured exhibition of seven still life photographs by San Antonio photographer, Chuck Ramirez, affectionately known as Tia Chuck or Auntie Chuck. Each photo measured about 3’ x 5’, depicting different tables and scenes of food. A birthday party. Breakfast tacos. A Superbowl party at a friend’s house. A typical Tex-Mex meal. A rancher plate meal from Bill Miller’s Bar-B-Q. A meal served as part of Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, with flowers and votive candles on the table, as well as a bundle of sage for smudging.

 

PowerPoint slideshow of the photos described above.

We are even allowed into a personal scene from Chuck’s life: a takeout KFC meal enjoyed at home in his bedroom as part of recovering from throwing one of his lavish parties, as he watched a sci-fi movie and read his favorite magazines. Chuck was fascinated by the things we consume and the things we throw away. Each of these tables are messy, unfinished, full of self-revealing details that sometimes we try to hide. These scenes are also full of life in all its vulnerable honesty about what it means to be human. 

In the midst of the exhibit was an ofrenda, an altar for the Day of the Dead, but this altar was made with a 1940s white stove with chrome trim. And Jesus was in the oven, with his sacred heart of love keeping warm, along with tall votive candles, flowers, and a bowl of fruit. All through this exhibit I heard the words “Every table is a story”. 

In this morning’s gospel lesson, there is another table which tells a story, the one that belongs to Zaccheus to which Jesus invites himself. Zaccheus is the chief tax collector and rich, thus it is assumed that he is also a greedy imperial collaborator which makes him the worst of sinners. What is not known is that Zaccheus has a heart of integrity for the poor. In just as many translations as not, Zaccheus uses the present tense: “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I defraud anyone of anything, I pay back four times as much.” 

To me, that is a much more interesting story. Instead of a conversion from stingy to generous, we have a story of one who is both wealthy and righteous, whose goodness would not have been known if Jesus hadn’t invited himself over to his table. Jesus becomes the host at the table because he offers himself as hospitality, declaring that Zaccheus belongs to God’s family as much as anyone else. This table becomes one of salvation because one who was excluded and shunned is now included and affirmed. 

Today at this Table we remember the saints, our ancestors in faith, our friends, our family members, and we include them in our remembrance of Jesus. We call them saints, not because they were perfect, in fact, far from it, but because they showed us something of what it means to be human: messy, unfinished, flawed, yet also full of life and imperfect attempts at love. This Table tells the story of inclusive and expansive love that welcomed those who would betray and desert Jesus when he would need his friends most. There is nothing we have to hide here. 

Right now in our nation there are those who are being excluded and shunned from the table, who are being denied help, who are being betrayed and deserted when they need friends the most in what could become a deadly game of political brinkmanship. Every day in this great country approximately 800 people die just because they are poor. Which means not only is the table broken, it was designed that way. Food deserts reveal that people are not paid enough for their work, that we have a class system that still relies on enslaved labor, and that we worship the rich. But what faith tells us is that the story is not over. 

Across the state of Delaware and I am sure in many other states, cities, towns, and municipalities are collecting food donations. I saw one local restaurant that is offering a free burger to children whose parent or guardian has a SNAP card, no questions asked. Community organizations say they are treating this like a hurricane but most of us still eat when there is a storm. What we need is systemic change. What we need is a new table, a new story, one in which we feed each other and none are excluded. A table that draws us together and creates community. A table where we are honest and human together. 

The Church still has not yet decided if racism or LGBTQ+ issues are the hill to die on when Jesus was pretty clear it is the poor. Poverty is the intersectional thread that connects gender, skin color, ability, age, sexuality, and ethnicity. The saints who went before us did what they could and they are still with us, especially today as we feed others at this Table. 

As our good friend Kim Eppeheimer said last week, there is no right way to be poor, to suffer. That was the old table. The broken table, now broken open. We tell the story of this new table by showing up for each person the way they need us to. They are the ones who will write their story of being fed and welcomed and supported. But it’s up to us to tell that story with this Table. The Table that says everyone is worthy, everyone belongs, no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey. Amen.

Benediction – UCC Worship Ways 

May the Spirit of Strength sustain us on our journeys. 

May the Christ of Grace fill our hearts with understanding. 

May the God of Presence lead us from the depths of shadows into the light. 

May we know we are never alone in treetops, in corners, or on roads. 

The steadfast love of God travels with us wherever we go!