Scripture Reflections

Over the last few weeks, we have encountered a couple moments in Luke that revolve around who receives an invitation to the dinner table:

Jesus said also to the man who had invited him, “When…you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. (14:12-14)

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (15:1-2)

I doubt that most of us think often about the relationship between our tables and the kingdom of God, but the Pharisees and Jesus did! Their thoughts, though, couldn’t have been more different.

For the Pharisees, the table was a fence, a way of reinforcing the boundary of who was, and who wasn’t, in the kingdom. Sinners? Out, so don’t eat with them! The lame or blind? Unclean, so don’t eat with them! The poor? Clearly not favored by God, so don’t eat with them!

Jesus had a very different perspective. Rather than viewing the table as a fence, he viewed it as a bridge. Sinners? They should be brought into the kingdom of God to receive forgiveness and new life, so eat with them! The blind and lame? The kingdom is a place of healing for them, so invite them in by eating with them! The poor? They are rich in the kingdom, so bring them to the table!

As you pray for your friends and neighbors to enter the kingdom of God, remember the power of your table. Although an entire theology of eating is more than one little newsletter can bear, eating is more important than we realize. From the garden to Passover, from manna to Jesus eating with sinners, from the Eucharist to the heavenly banquet, eating is integral to God’s redemption of creation. Use your tables for those who are lost, lonely, and hurting!

Steven+