As one of our Lent initiatives this year, I decided to have a go at 'Table Fellowship,' even though I wasn't exactly sure what that was meant to be/do!  I offered 6 Monday evening slots for groups of up to 5 to come to the manse for a meal during which we'd talk over a Bible story and share bread and "wine" (grape juice).  The plan had been to choose 6 different stories of meals Jesus shared and talk about them in six different groups.  In the end only two groups came and I opted to use the same passage each time - the Lukan account of the annointing of Jesus at the home of Simon the Pharisee.

It was interesting to see what each group homed in on in the story, the themes that emerged and so on.

The first group, all women, all retired, tended to wander off course quite regularly but were fascinated by the woman and her actions: why had she gone in the first place, why did she take this perfume with her, how much did she cry to make enough tears to wet someone's feet, how come no-one threw her out.

The second group, mixed, and a bit younger (50 +!) were more focussed but were more intrigued by her 'sinful' nature and whether her hair would be too greasy to dry feet with!  They stressed the symbolism of the washing - a few tears easily wiped away - and were (apart from the personal hygiene topic!) more overtly spiritual in their discussions.  A lot of energy went into considering why it is that one who has been forgiven much loves more than one who has been forgiven little, and why it is that churches are full of 'nice' people who take their salvation for granted with little sense of joy or extravagant love.

It is fascinating to compare how the groups worked with the passage and to reflect on the insights they drew from it.  They were two good evenings and worth repeating at some future date - perhaps not as part of a special series but as an occasional part of the worship life of our fellowship.  It was certainly a relaxed way of approaching 'Bible study' and made for two pleasant evenings for those who took part.

Of course, one person, should he ever meet the woman in the story will be itching to ask her 'do you use Head and Shoulders'!