Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Christ, You Often Sat at Dinner
BEACH SPRING 8.7.8.7 D (God Whose Giving Knows No Ending)

Christ, you often sat at dinner with the outcasts and the poor;
You reached out to every sinner, sharing bread and wine and more —
You proclaimed that God's great table is a joyful, welcome place;
No one wears an outcast label or is turned away from grace.

Some who heard your gracious teaching murmured at the things they saw,
For your love was more out-reaching than the limits of their law.
When they judged the ones you welcomed, when they noted others' sin,
You responded, "In God's kingdom, all are gladly welcomed in!"

Lord, you blessed a meal and shared it, giving meanings that were new:
"It's my body; take and eat it! It's my blood poured out for you!"
Risen Christ, they knew your presence in the breaking of the bread;
In that meal was God's abundance: All remembered! All were fed!

Lord, we grieve a church divided where your people can't embrace —
Where believers are excluded from the table of your grace.
How can there be joy and singing at the table you hold dear
When the words are clear and stinging, "No, you are not welcome here!"?

Christ, we know that you are able to bring healing through your cross;
Bring together at your table all for whom you paid the cost.
Though the feasting in your kingdom may still seem so far away,
May we share your meal of welcome as we wait that glorious day.