You may recall that back in the summer a small group of our church family began eating together each Sunday morning.

So much has come of that gathering. We've been blessed by it. And, since we are, like Abraham and his descendants, "blessed to be a blessing," we are now ready to pass on that Sunday morning communal breakfast blessing to others.

Yep, beginning this Sunday the First United Methodist Church in Cave City will provide breakfast for any and all who show up at 9:30am.

Yes, it's wonderful. But, what's even better is the sense of community it will foster as we all break bread together.

Soup kitchens are wonderful. Food pantries meet a great need. But, in the soup kitchen, someone holds the ladle and someone else is in line. At this breakfast, ALL are welcome. Even those who fund the breakfast or prepare the meal will eat the breakfast. We will all sit down and break bread (or pancakes) together. Sound familiar? Jesus, of course, ate many of his meals this way. Some thought less of him for it, if you recall.

But, the earliest Christians understood the importance of the communal meal. Since that time, we've gotten away from the all-inclusive meal. Yes, we still love our potlucks and family reunions and Super Bowl parties, but those are all gatherings based on what we have in common; they are for "us" and may not always include "them."

Rachel Marie Stone writes in Eat with Joy that "It is the rare group that . . . regularly practices sharing meals across the boundaries of social class, background, and . . . intellectual capability. It's precisely this kind of sharing that comes closest to Jesus' ideal."

What if we sat down at the table with "them"? It might be awkward at first. But, I suspect that if we make the effort to really see and to love that we'll find the line between "us" and "them" gets pretty blurry. It may even disappear.

Will you join us?