Connect

Room at the Table - Week Three

December 14, 2025 0 0

 

Room enough

Hospitality and generosity

 

This Advent how can the invitation of ‘Room at the table’ challenge ongoing narratives of hostility, fear and antagonism? How can an ethos of hospitality and generosity change how we do politics, economics, church?

 

Seeds to sow: How hospitable and welcoming are church buildings in our local communities today?

Additionally the group could reflect on the Advent short story that will be released each week of the theme at sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/blog

 

Read Isaiah 35: 1-10

Room enough for abundance!

This surely is a picture of the new heaven and the new earth — a picture of the Kingdom that is coming. Advent is a reminder that God will make all things new.

Q: There are several key themes in this reading: redemption, rejoicing, flourishing, renewal, justice, transformation, abundance, guidance and restoration. Which of these themes is resonating most for you this Advent?

Q: How can this vision of a future of abundance and renewal help us to counter competing visions of the future of scarcity, conflict and decay?

 

Read Luke 1: 46-55

Room enough for the hungry!

Let’s unpack the prophetic edge of Mary’s voice in this reading. Her song declares that in Christ’s Kingdom there is room enough for the poor, the hungry and the oppressed. But there is challenge here as well as reassurance — for the same God who lifts the marginalised also displaces the proud, the powerful and the rich.

Q: Does this reading make you feel comforted or uneasy? Or both?

Q: Where do we hear Mary’s voice today — who is championing the cause of the deprived and the disadvantaged?

 

Read Micah 6: 8

Room enough for what is required!

There is room enough in our hearts to love mercy, and to walk humbly!

Q: Once you read this verse it has a way of staying with you. How does it make you feel?

Q: How can we help an entire nation, an entire world even, to love mercy — to believe that there is room enough for everyone? How can we use hospitality and generosity to nudge the world towards mercy and humility?