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“Life happens at the table.” Have you ever heard this quote? I am not sure where it originates, but I’ve heard many say it. It’s true. At the table, strangers become friends, girlfriends become fiancés, enemies find peace, businesses become partners, and families come closer.
And for the most part, life simply stops. Life’s demands cease as this basic need draws us together. We eat. We talk. We laugh. We cry. We connect. We show that life is more than doing—it’s about being. At the table, we simply “be” together.
But not all tables are good. As you know, spending time with people around the table is not always joyful. People disagree, argue, and lie. We all need tables to give us life—not take it. And it is this kind of life-giving table that Jesus has built and invited us to join.
In the Gospel record of Luke, Jesus’ resurrection sends an open invitation to sit at his table. Just before he died, he gave his followers a meal to have in order to remember the purpose of his death and the surety of his promise.
He suffered an unjust death from Rome in order to pay the penalty we owe. From the injustice of governments to excessive arguing at the table—the world screams it isn’t as it should be. There is a nature in each one of us contributing to its corruption. We earn judgment. We owe God. Jesus paid the penalty and received what we earn.
He also resurrected. God’s table isn’t smashed to pieces. In fact, Jesus’ resurrection foreshadows a table bigger than any can imagine. Of course, it is wood—Jesus was a carpenter. All of the plates will be aligned, coffee will be endless, food will taste better than we’ve ever had, and spills will not stain your clothes.
Luke wrote his account in order to relay Jesus’ teaching about his kingdom and the new world he will one day create. As a sign of the coming kingdom, Jesus left the meal to foreshadow the coming feast that will inaugurate the new world. I know. This is weird and too movie-like, but if he is resurrected, then it is the greatest and truest story ever told.
Luke also writes his biography of Jesus in order to show that the Christian way is not something newly contrived in Jesus. Jesus is connected to history. Jesus was foretold long before he came.
God told the nation Israel he would send them a “Christ” (the Anointed One). When God saved Israel from Egypt, he told them they would live like kings and serve as priests. God was making them the middlemen between heaven and earth. He was going to bless the world through ancient Israel if they followed his way. They didn’t.
After Israel forsook the blessing, God promised to send the Christ to restore Israel and her vocation. Ancient Israel lost its prosperity, land, and God’s presence. In Jesus’ time, there were sects of Israelites believing the Christ would come and rescue them in this way or that. Though they disagreed how it would come, they all anticipated restoration.
They wanted freedom from Roman oppression. They wanted prosperity. They wanted their land. They wanted the Anointed one, the promised king.
Jesus brought them restoration in a way different from their anticipation(s). God fulfilled his promises according to his word—they simply misunderstood how it would happen. Some opened their mind, sat at Jesus’ table, and developed a relationship with the host.
Many rejected Jesus because he wasn’t who they wanted him to be. We do this with people all the time, but relationships simply don’t work that way. We have to have an open heart to truly know someone. If not, we fit them into our own constructed box of who we think they are or want them to be.
Since God is so different from us, we have to learn from him who he actually is. In Jesus, this knowledge is freely available. And that is what Luke is saying. God has made himself known and invited all to his table. Your seat is waiting.
Thanks for Reading,
Aaron