A Greater Story
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Our lives are woven from many threads — community, memory, story, and grace. Consider the unseen strands that hold it all together.
Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so [dim].
— Kate DiCamillo
Telling our stories is a revolutionary act.
— Audre Lorde
Matthew 13.34-35
All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy:
I will open my mouth and tell stories;
I will bring out into the open
things hidden since the world’s first day.
Food for Thought
I recently took my kids for an afternoon visit to see my grandparents. My kids love them just like I do, and they immediately took to them. As they crowded around the table to play their usual game of Skip-Bo, I was reminded of when I was about their age — when I would crawl onto my grandparents’ laps and listen as they entertained me with stories.
Stories of their childhood adventures.
Stories of our shared faith journeys.
Stories of faraway worlds filled with magic and wonder.
Those stories didn’t just entertain me — they made me feel known, safe, and part of something bigger than myself.
My love for stories began in moments like this — listening as others brought words to life, expanding my perspective, evoking my imagination, connecting me to something greater.
Stories and storytelling have always been important to our communal life. For as long as we can remember, stories — told around kitchen tables and evening fires, woven into songs and chants, performed through rituals and shared during sacred ceremonies — have traced our shared history, built communal identity, and passed down wisdom and truth from one generation to the next.
Stories connect the young and the old, bridging time and distance, memory and hope.
Jesus himself was a storyteller. He spoke in parables, using simple, everyday images to reveal deep truths about God’s kingdom — truths about love, justice, and mercy. He told of a prodigal son welcomed home with open arms, a good Samaritan who showed what real kindness looks like, a tiny mustard seed growing into something bigger than anyone could have imagined.
Through his stories, Jesus invited people to see the world — and each other — in a new light. He showed that every person matters, that love can cross every boundary, and that God's kingdom is full of surprising grace.
We are storytellers, too. We bear stories, tell stories, and live stories into the world around us. Each of us carries stories about who we are, where we’ve been, and what we believe we do — or do not — deserve. It’s natural to hold onto these stories that have shaped us, even when those stories no longer fit.
We live out the story of busyness, filling every minute so we don’t have to face the quiet alone. We cling to stories of hurt, telling ourselves it’s safer to stay guarded than to risk forgiving. We rehearse the story of fear, convincing ourselves that failure is inevitable, so why even try?
As communities, we tell ourselves that the gaps between us are too wide to bridge. We repeat the story that says, "That’s just the way things are," and we stop imagining how things could be different. We hesitate to dream of bold possibilities for renewal, because change can feel risky and uncomfortable.
And yet — aren’t these the very kinds of stories God invites us to set down? God invites us to lay down the old, worn-out stories so we can take up a better story — God’s story.
A story where hope is found in unlikely places.
A story where love transcends expectations.
A story where grace makes room for all.
What if the good news for all of us is that God is inviting us to set down our worn-out stories and step into a new story — one filled with hope and possibility?
What if God is calling us away from our old narratives of worthlessness and busyness, scarcity and fear, to instead live more boldly into God’s story of unity, abundance, and courage?
What if, in this very season, God is continuing to write through us a divine story of transformation and love?
Let us, as Easter people, remember that God is still telling a greater story — one where redemption is real, where love has the final word, and where our lives are part of something far bigger than we can see.
May we listen for God's voice in the silence.
May we embrace the movement of God's spirit that is leading us toward grace — toward hope, renewal, and belonging.
And may we have the courage to live into God's divine, unfolding story — where all are welcome, all are loved, and all are made new.
This week, take some time to reflect on the story you believe God is inviting you into—a story of hope, renewal, unity, or courage. Consider how that story looks, feels, or sounds. Then, express it creatively in a simple way like a drawing or painting, a poem, a collage.
This week, pay attention to the people around you and look for opportunities to extend simple acts of welcome as a part of living out God’s story in the world. These acts don’t have to be grand or formal; they can be as simple as offering a listening ear, sharing a moment of kindness, or creating space for someone to feel seen and valued.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
God of all our stories,
Draw us into your story of renewal. Open our hearts to the quiet ways you speak — to the slow and steady work of transformation in us and around us. Make us bold enough to believe that the best story is still unfolding, and that by your grace we are all part of telling that story.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Think about a moment in your life where you’ve experienced a shift—when an old narrative was replaced by a new understanding. How did it feel to step into that new story?
What is a story of hope, renewal, or grace that you long to live into? How might you begin to embrace that story in practical ways this week?
In what ways do you see God's story of welcome and grace already at work in your life or community? Where do you see room for more inclusion, love, and grace?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Sit with your kids and share a few stories from your own life. Help them understand how those experiences have shaped the way you see God and the people around you.
Ask your kiddos to think about ways that God has helped them grow or change?
Talk together about God’s love for everyone. What is the story you all think God might be writing for us and for the world? How can you live out that story this week?
Meet This WEek’s Writer...
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
To hear more from our team throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!