Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest based on Acts 11:1-18

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

     In many Lutheran congregations the members pray a certain prayer together before they eat a meal together. This prayer is called the common table prayer. The common table prayer starts out: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. ...” I have prayed the common table prayer in many Lutheran congregations before a meal. My wife, Mary, and I pray the common table prayer before almost every meal we eat, even at restaurants. The common table prayer can be something that Christians from other denominations are not familiar with. Even in different Lutheran churches and families the common table prayer can be worded a little bit different. The common table prayer I use most of the time is: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed.” Other versions of the common table prayer are: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, let these foods to us be blessed” or “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, let these Thy gifts to us be blessed” or “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, let Your gifts to us be blessed.” In Northwest Iowa we add the ending, “O give thanks to Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever.”  Even the common table prayer is spoken with a few different words here or there.

     The common table prayer is usually easy for many Lutherans to pray together, but those from other churches might feel left out, since they do not know the words to the common table prayer. In a similar way, the Jewish Christians during the time of the writing of the Book of Acts, the time of the early Christian Church, separated themselves from the Gentiles or non-Jewish people who were uncircumcised or ate “unclean” foods, such as pork. Even in today’s Christian churches we separate ourselves from churches that seem to be too liberal in their beliefs. Some Christians like to use a hymnal for worship. Other Christians like songs that can be sung without a hymnal. Some Christians like a fixed order of worship or liturgy. Other Christians like to worship without things being so orderly.

     In Acts 11 we are shown how different kinds of people with different ways of doing things are brought together by the Holy Spirit of God to believe in Jesus Christ. Peter, one of the leaders of the Christian Church in Jerusalem made up of circumcised former Jews, was criticized for something he did. Acts 11 tells us: “Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them’” (Acts 11:1–3). For someone brought up to believe circumcision was good and uncircumcision was bad, this criticism of Peter was a big deal. Those who were brought up as good Jews were taught not to go inside the house of a Gentile or non-Jew and especially not to eat with uncircumcised Gentiles. 

     Jesus ate with people the religious leaders of the Jews considered terrible sinners. Jesus was not afraid to associate with the social outcasts during the days of His earthly ministry. Jesus even did a miracle by healing a servant at the request of a Roman centurion—the centurion was a Gentile. Jesus spent time with people who the Jewish religious leaders did not think a good Jew should spend any time with at all. Jesus even called a hated tax collector, Matthew, to be one of His closest twelve disciples.

     We may be unsure about reaching out to others and getting out of our comfort zones. Trying to talk to someone who speaks a different language like Spanish can be difficult, if we do not know that language. Welcoming someone who does not believe in Jesus as the Savior can be tough for us. Reaching out to those who look and act different than we do and inviting them to worship with us can be a hard thing to do.

     God leaves no question that He wants to invite everyone to be a part of His Christian Church. God made this truth very clear to Peter. God showed Peter in a vision all kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles and He told Peter to kill them and eat them, but Peter was hesitant. Three times God showed Peter this vision and a voice from heaven said, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”  

     Next, Peter had some men visit him and urge him to return with them to Caesarea. God’s Holy Spirit told Peter to go with the men and to make no distinction. When Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius, the Gentile centurion who had invited Peter to his home, then an amazing thing took place. Peter recalled that amazing time by stating, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 11:15–16).

     Peter summed things up by telling the people who criticized him for going to the home of a Gentile by telling his critics: “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17). Peter believed that the reason God had shown him the vision was to get Peter and the other Christians with a Jewish background in Jerusalem to understand that God wants all people to repent and believe the Good News about Jesus. God’s Holy Spirit was teaching them to go outside of their comfort zones and to welcome Gentiles or non-Jews into the Christian Church of their day. All people are sinners in need of forgiveness. That was why Jesus shed His innocent blood on the cross to pay for the sins of all people to be forgiven. By Jesus’ dying and rising from the dead the sins of all who believe in Jesus are forgiven and the gift of eternal life is given.

     Those who at first were critical of Peter responded to his words in the following way: “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18).

     I remember when I was starting out as a pastor over 30 years ago someone with a unique approach to a meal together.  The pastor of a church from another denomination had an extra chair around the table as we were getting ready to eat.  He pointed out that the extra chair was for Jesus.  We invited Jesus to be our guest and we had an extra chair for Him.  That is a good thing to do.  As we eat our meals and say the common table prayer, Jesus is with us whether we have an extra chair for Him or not.  And as Lutherans in Northwest Iowa like to add: “O give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever.”  Amen.

     The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.