The Table in the Middle
“I miss when we could talk.”
Jonah sat at the church’s worn wooden table, the same table where he had once shared potluck meals, Bible studies, and laughter. Tonight, the table felt different—less like a place of communion and more like a battlefield.
Across from him sat Mark. They had once been friends. Brothers, even. But over the past year, something had shifted. Heated conversations turned into silence. Social media posts stung like accusations. Each man knew exactly where the other stood—on opposite sides.
A few months ago, their pastor, Maria, had asked them both the same question: “Would you be willing to sit at the table?”
Not to argue. Not to convince. Not to win. But to practice peacemaking.
Jonah had hesitated. What was the point? Mark would never change. But something in him—maybe the Spirit, maybe just exhaustion—nudged him to say yes.
Now, as they sat, Maria set the ground rules. “Listen first. Ask honest questions. Name hurts without attacking. Seek understanding more than agreement.”
The conversation started tense. Jonah clenched his jaw as Mark spoke about his frustration with "people like you." Mark stiffened when Jonah responded with the same edge. But as they kept talking, something shifted.
Jonah didn’t agree with Mark. And Mark certainly didn’t agree with Jonah. But in between the words, in the pauses where frustration softened into curiosity, they began to hear something deeper: The fear beneath the anger. The longing beneath the certainty. The heartbreak beneath the division.
At one point, Mark sighed. “I miss when we could talk.”
Jonah nodded. “Me too.”
They left that night still standing in different places—but somehow, standing together.
Peacemaking didn’t mean pretending differences didn’t exist. It didn’t mean avoiding hard conversations. It meant choosing to sit at the table when everything in you wanted to walk away.
And maybe, just maybe, that was the kind of peace Jesus was talking about.
____________________
At The 2nd Convening of a Community of Churches (May 2-3), we’ll learn together how to cultivate peace for the sake of the Gospel’s mission. If you’re ready to bring this work back to your church, join us.
