Isaiah 25: The Future Is at the Table, Start Practicing Now

Introduction

"God loves variety." That is what Stella was reminded of the Sunday before, and it is where she begins this international Sunday at Streatham Baptist Church in London. We are all made in the image of God and we have the same worth, but we are not all alike: "our differences add to the richness of our experience as human beings."

This is the sixth and final week of the series "40 Days of Hospitality," and the message takes an unusual form. There is no traditional sermon. Stella and her husband Peter gather church members from different cultures around an "international table," and then Stella shares a few tips for hosting and being hosted. Bruce Naden closes on the theme of the day, "the future is at the table."

The thread is simple: the Bible announces a great feast where all peoples will be gathered. What you live today around your own table is training for that future.

Message outline

1. A foretaste of heaven around a table

For Stella, living in London is a privilege and a foretaste of heaven, where there will be people from every tribe, language, people and nation, redeemed by the blood of Jesus (Revelation 5:9).
In heaven, we will sit with brothers and sisters from every background at the feast announced in the day's readings (Isaiah 25:6-9, Luke 13:29-30, Revelation 19:6-9). "So let's practice now."
Everyone is given a glass of water, as a reminder that giving a drink to someone who is thirsty is doing it for Jesus (Matthew 25:35-40). "A glass of water is not much, but we are serving him."
The table itself tells the story of the world: a tablecloth from Mozambique, a salt and pepper set from Oman, napkins from Bangladesh, coasters from South Africa and candle holders from England.

2. What other cultures teach us about welcoming

Around the table, five church members talk about the hospitality they experienced in their families: in Guyana, Pakistan, Nigeria, Italy and Ecuador. Peter "represents Birmingham." No one claims to speak for a whole nation, only for their own experience.
A word to describe hospitality? "Mi casa es su casa": my house is your house, meaning opening your heart to everyone. In Pakistan, it is also "my house is your house," a way of sharing what you have. Another guest remembers her mother, who came from Guyana and kept saying: "Feed the people." For England, Peter suggests instead "careful" or "well planned."
If you are invited for 1 p.m., what time do you arrive? The answers make the room laugh: twenty or thirty minutes late, an hour early to have time to chat, or half an hour, even an hour late, because that is the polite thing to do. The practical consequence: think about the time you give each guest.
Should you have a second helping? Most of the time, yes. In Pakistani culture, not taking more can even offend the host. Should you finish your plate? Yes, to show gratitude and respect the work that went into the meal. For England, Stella still hears a voice from her childhood: "If you don't finish, you won't get dessert."
What does hospitality look like? Houses that are always full on weekends, big cooking pots, conversations, stories, dancing, whole days spent together. Peter adds a more informal English hospitality: the cup of tea and a biscuit, where you don't need to bring anything and simply share life.

3. What the Bible says about hospitality

"given to hospitality" (Romans 12:13). Stella loves this word: it implies more than once, and it implies getting it a little wrong at the beginning. Hosting is not always perfect.
"Be hospitable to one another without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:9). For her, this speaks of a willing heart, which came through in every testimony around the table.
"Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). Angels are unexpected, but we receive a blessing when we open our home.
Martha welcomed Jesus into her house (Luke 10:38). "What a beautiful expression." Her door was not closed to Jesus and his disciples, and we too can open our home.
Stella describes hospitality in her own words: fun, unpredictable, life-changing, tiring and joyful. But the most important thing remains welcome: "We don't need to be perfect, but we need to welcome."
"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fattened calf with hatred" (Proverbs 15:17). At someone's home, you can make do with almost anything if there is love in the house and you feel safe there.

4. When you are the guest

In many cultures, you honor someone by going to eat at their home. In Bangladesh, Stella and Peter honored their hosts by going to eat with them, and they themselves, according to their own culture, felt honored to be invited: "everyone was happy."
The key, perhaps: "Remember that Jesus comes with you." You are not going alone.
Don't expect the meal to be served as soon as you arrive. In Bangladesh, people waited for hours, and then left right after the last cup of coffee. "It's not that one is right and the other wrong. It's simply different." If you don't know what to do, ask.
Your role as a guest: show your gratitude, relax and enjoy being hosted.
A former member of the church, who is Spanish, once offered her a stay with her parents. Stella went alone, so as not to speak English with Peter. This godly couple had never met her, yet they welcomed her, loved her, took her sightseeing, introduced her to their friends and included her. "Such a beautiful example of hospitality in Jesus' name."

5. When you are the host

Here again, remember that Jesus is your partner. If you have an easygoing spouse, host together; otherwise, ask a friend to give you a hand if you feel a bit nervous.
Do it graciously. One day Stella was driving her daughter's friends home, could not find the way and was becoming very grumpy. Her daughter said to her: "Mum, either you do things graciously or you don't do them at all." It is the same for hosting, "or better still, change your attitude."
Abraham welcomes his visitors by saying: "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don't go away from your servant" (Genesis 18:3). For him, hosting was a favor.
Be considerate of your guests: no pork for Muslims, and no alcohol for Christians from countries where people don't drink. Serving non-alcoholic drinks is kinder.
Be clear about timing. A woman from her English class had invited a family from the church, from another culture, for "Sunday dinner," the traditional Sunday meal. With her husband, she prepared everything after coming home from church, and the family arrived at 6 p.m. "That is where the funny word comes from."
Keep a few reliable recipes. Stella never tests a new dish on guests: she always serves the same dessert, which is delicious and very easy.
A little hospitality goes a long way. More than ten years later, a former Eritrean student of Stella's still remembered being welcomed at her home, because being invited into a home is rare for some people.
We receive a lot when we open our home. On a difficult morning, while she was hosting two men from Rwanda and Tanzania, Stella heard them singing: "I know who holds the future, and he'll guide me with his hand." She got up knowing that God understood what she was going through.

6. The future is at the table

Bruce Naden felt "the joy in the room" during the testimonies. The Church is "beautifully, richly diverse," and it is "a foretaste of the future."
The three readings remind us that the future is at the table. Isaiah announces a feast of rich food and aged wine. Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a banquet. John speaks of the wedding supper of the Lamb. We should not take it entirely literally, but "we all love a good feast."
During these 40 days, the Church has learned that hospitality is not "a little extra" in the Bible. It runs through it from beginning to end.
In creation, God prepares the home for us. When we trashed it and dishonored the host, he still makes room for us in salvation, giving his Son Jesus Christ so that we can eat with him again. And he makes room for us in eternity, for the banquet where we will sit at table with him and with one another.
"What a future awaits us!" And what we do now is practice for that future.

7. Start practicing now

The series is ending, but for Bruce Naden the journey is only beginning: growing in hospitality, personally and as a church.
He invites us to cross the room, to mix across generations and cultures, and to take an interest in one another as around the table this morning.
At the end of November, the church is planning a Hospitality Sunday. Everyone is invited to host, to be hosted, or both: a Sunday dinner, a shared meal or simply tea and cake. No one is under pressure.
He dreams of seeing the Church step out of its "silos": an older woman sharing a meal with a family and their children, like a spiritual grandmother; families of Pakistani background at the table with families of Caribbean background.
"What a witness to a divided world," in the midst of culture wars and growing hatred. If we visibly show the unity we have in Jesus, "how beautiful that would be." "That is the future. Let's start practicing now."

Key takeaways

The Bible announces a feast where all peoples will be gathered. Every meal shared across cultures is a foretaste of it.
Hospitality is not an add-on in the Bible: God makes room for us in creation, in salvation and in eternity.
Practicing hospitality means starting again and accepting imperfection. The most important thing is not to be perfect, but to welcome.
Whether you are hosting or being hosted, Jesus comes with you. Cultural differences are neither right nor wrong, they are different.
A little hospitality goes a long way: guests remember it, and the host is often blessed in return.

Personal application

When did you last open your home to someone from a different culture or generation than your own?
What holds you back from hosting: fear of getting it wrong, tiredness, lack of time? What would change if you remembered that Jesus is your partner?
Do you host graciously, or does your attitude need to change before you open your door?
What simple hospitality can you offer this week: a cup of tea, a shared meal, a glass of water?
Are you ready to let yourself be hosted, with gratitude, at the home of someone whose habits are not your own?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Why say that the future is at the table?

Isaiah 25 announces a feast prepared by the LORD for all peoples, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a banquet where people come from east and west, and Revelation speaks of the wedding supper of the Lamb. Bruce Naden does not take it entirely literally, but he draws a conviction from it: what we live at the table today is training for the future.

What does the Bible say about hospitality?

It asks us to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13), to practice it toward one another (1 Peter 4:9) and not to forget strangers, because some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2). For Bruce Naden, hospitality is not a little extra: it runs through the whole story of God, from creation to eternity.

How do you welcome guests from another culture?

Stella advises remembering that Jesus is your partner, welcoming graciously, being attentive to your guests' habits (no pork for Muslims, no alcohol for Christians who don't drink), being clear about timing and keeping a few reliable recipes. When you are the guest, ask if you don't know what to do, and relax.