Come! The Table is Ready

Come, for all things are now ready. Luke 14:17

The show is available starting
August 1, 2023.

Come! The Table Is Ready is an invitation to celebrate gathering with family and friends, but also with those of common faith around the table of our Lord. The table is one of the foremost places of human connection. It is a rich biblical metaphor, a place of gathering, a place of blessing, and a place where we share and serve.

It is important to remember the blessings of God when we are seated at the table. An ancient Hebrew prayer says, “Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you give us food to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad.”

N.T. Wright has said that When Jesus himself wanted to explain to his disciples what his forthcoming death was all about, he didn’t give them a theory, he gave them a meal.”

This exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through Scripture beginning with an engraving of Melchizedek serving Abraham bread and wine, continues with a Russian icon of Abraham entertaining angels, as well as a painting by Bernard Gussow of the Passover Meal. The New Testament is no less filled with His people eating together: The Wedding at Cana, Feeding of the Five Thousand, The Last Supper and the Supper at Emmaus. All are represented in this exhibition.

Work by historic artists such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Kokoschka, Jasper Johns and Sadao Watanabe, as well a contemporary pieces by Wayne Adams, Tanja Butler and Nicora Gangi, all offer fresh insights into the meaning of the table and gathering together.

The pieces in this show come from Mexico, Germany, England, France, Austria, and Hungary in a wide variety of media including sculptures, paintings, silver works, an original poster of Andy Warhol’s Last Supper, and even a 1950s paint-by-number Last Supper.