The Child Who Leads

There was almost a skip in his step as he walked up to the front.  If it was not actually a skip, it was a walk that showed eagerness to get where he was going.  He led his Mom and Dad as they made their way to the altar rail for the service of Holy Communion.  When he arrived he did not follow protocol and fall on his knees, but instead, stepped on the altar rail as its only standing recipient.  Like old Zacchaeus, he apparently wanted to be in a position to see and he was not about to let his seven year old frame be a hindrance.  When he left and walked by me on his way to the pew, he still had that skip in his step along with a smile on his face.   

I was glad in that moment that our Methodist tradition provides for an open table.  To speak of an open table is to say that everyone is welcome.  There are no rules or restrictions and if someone cannot make it to the altar, the Sacrament is brought to them in the pew.  There are places in our religious traditions where Holy Communion is a members only event.  There are others which put up requirements based on age, or confirmation, or baptism, or even church membership.   

None of those who sat at the original table with Jesus were there because they had been to a qualifying class and who knows if they all made it down to the Jordan River for baptism?  They were all welcome.  It was good to see so many different looking people at the Table today and to know that everyone knelt as an equal.  There is room for everyone to kneel at the cross and so should it be at the Table.