This is the third day since I posted anything - life has been pretty full on and I haven't read the book, let alone thought about the ideas.  So now, finally a quick catch-up!

Three objects:

• A salt-shaker
• A dining table
• A chair

Rather than try to pull together the threads of the reflections, I'll attempt something of my own...

Over the last nine months I have invited everyone who is part of our church to come to the manse for a meal.  Not everyone has been able to accept, but for those who have done so, it appears to have been an enjoyable experience.

The dining table in my kitchen is where we gather for meetings, it's where children play, paint and create while adults discuss scripture, it's where weddings are planned, it's where I lay out props for services... and it's where we eat, chat, laugh, pray, and, very occasionally, sing.

The dining table in my kitchen is rather battered - water has been spilled damaging the varnish, there are a few rings where coasters/mats were missed, and certain kitties have left scratch marks here and there.  But these marks are part of its story, and part of mine/ours.

The chairs are something of a hotch-potch -  four are smart dining chairs, four are former 'choir chairs' from church, two are folding chairs from IKEA.  Sometimes they are supplemented by office chairs or stools, and we squash up to fit in more people than is really comfortable.  I like the imperfection of this mix, and the way it draws together different parts of my life - links with the past (mine and the church's) and with other places, as well as the present time and place.

And the salt-shaker? I rarely use salt in cooking, but when I have folk round for meals it is there on the table. Because hospitality isn't about imposing what I like on others, but about enabling others to enjoy themselves, and a little (or a big) bit of salt can be part of that.

I like that in some small way, my kitchen reflects real life, in all its diversity and complexity. I like that around a bashed table, on mis-matched chairs, and with food seasoned to individual taste, we can experience communion... and I like to think that Jesus might agree!