No Fighting at the Table

At the end of April, I had the chance to attend the only Chinese Catholic church in Quebec. It was a really interesting experience. Half of the service was translated into English and I didn't understand the rest of it. Having said that, while it was interesting, I wouldn't have attended a Catholic service voluntarily had they not taken care of us for the weekend. I don't agree with many of the policies that are held by the Vatican and I will be vocal about that. The one that was discussed before the service between the Anglicans that were visiting that weekend was the exclusion of us from taking communion.

Every other church I have ever attended and enjoyed being at has had an open table policy. Those who believe and want to be a part of receiving communion are welcome to. That seems to be the running policy with all of the Protestant churches I have had the pleasure to attend. The Catholic Church is the only one that seeks to close the table and exclude those who think differently than they do. Those who think differently than the Catholic Church include those who believe women should have the right to a voice in the church, those who believe in same-sex blessings, those who support the right to choose and those who believe that we don't need someone to talk to God for us.

There are many disagreements over the decisions that are made in the church and what is supported in different ways. That may be the reason why there are so many different denominations and why there are still fights in synods and committees all over the world. IT is human nature to disagree over things. There are different opinions over many things and people have found different places in their faith to agree with things that others disagree. Regardless of how much we disagree, and we will, there is one place where there should never be fighting. That is the sacred meal that we have.

There is one rule that tends to prevail in my house. That is no fighting at the table. When we sit down to dinner together, it doesn't matter how much we have yelled at each other, or how much we may have hurt each other. It doesn't matter how bad our days were, but we don't take it out on each other there. The table is a place for family to come together and share life together.

I wish I had the ability to smash some heads together and get the leaders the churches to see it the same way. When we come to the table, we come empty and seeking something. We come to share our life and our faith with others. We do not come to be turned away or to be told that we are not good enough. We were invited by someone who loved equally, with no regard for race, gender or sexual orientation. We are called to continue this tradition in any way we can. The best way to do this is to have on open table and put out the open invitation. Not just to those who agree with what the current pope has to say, or who fit in with the accepted idea of what is normal or good. Everyone who answers the call to come to the table. All those who are not too busy or caught up in their own lives to care. All those who wish to express their faith should be welcome. That's what will happen when we decide to stop fighting at the table. We should really make that a rule.