The Table Series: Communion in Everyday Life

 

Session 10: The Table of Anticipation

Based on Revelation 19:6–9

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I. A Table Still Being Prepared

Scripture ends with a feast.
Not a battlefield.
Not a courtroom.
A wedding table.

“Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:9)

This table is not symbolic only.
It is promised.
It is prepared.
It is certain.

Every table we have encountered points toward this one.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“Hope is the expectation that something new is being born even when we cannot yet see it.”

The table of anticipation teaches us how to live toward what is coming.

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II. Living Between Tables

We live between the tables of earth and the table of heaven.
Between broken meals and the perfect feast.
Between communion now and communion complete.

This tension shapes Christian hope.
We eat in faith.
We wait in trust.
We anticipate in joy.

Thomas Merton wrote,

“Faith is not clinging to the past but opening ourselves to the future God is preparing.”

Anticipation is not impatience.
It is confidence.

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III. The Joy of the Coming Feast

The wedding supper is the fulfillment of every longing.
All loneliness answered.
All separation healed.
All hunger satisfied.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory.” (Revelation 19:7)

Joy is the language of this table.
Not effort.
Not striving.
Joy.

Dallas Willard wrote,

“Joy is the settled assurance that God is at work and that His purposes will prevail.”

At the table of anticipation, joy begins before fulfillment arrives.

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IV. Eating Today With Tomorrow in Mind

The promise of the future table shapes how we eat today.
It teaches us patience.
It teaches us gratitude.
It teaches us hope.

Every shared meal becomes rehearsal.
Every act of hospitality becomes practice.
Every communion becomes foretaste.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“The Eucharist is always a promise of the future.
It tells us that what we taste now will one day be complete.”

Anticipation sanctifies the present.

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V. The Invitation

The final invitation of Scripture is an invitation to the table.

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’” (Revelation 22:17)

We live as invited people.
We eat as hopeful people.
We gather as those who know the feast is coming.

The table of anticipation fills ordinary life with sacred expectancy.

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Practicing the Table of Anticipation This Week

1. Eat with hope.
   Let meals remind you that joy is coming.

2. Practice gratitude for what is unfinished.
   Thank God not only for what has been fulfilled, but for what is promised.

3. Hold sorrow with hope.
   Let anticipation soften grief.

4. Share hope with others.
   Speak of the future God is preparing.

5. Pray toward the feast.

   “Lord, teach me to live as one who is invited.
   Let hope shape my days and joy steady my heart.
   Prepare me for the table that is coming.”