A Place at the Table

Luke 22:14-23

“When the hour came, (Jesus) took his place at the table, and the apostles with him” (Luke 22:14). This is how Luke begins his account of the Last Supper. When it was time for the celebration Jesus and the disciples gathered in the upper room. It was natural, of course, for Jesus to have a “place at the table,” after all he was the leader of the group, and as Luke helps us to understand, he was (and is) the Messiah, the Son of God. What may seem troubling is a verse that comes later in the passage, where Jesus says, “But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table” (v. 21). Not only did Jesus have a place at the table, but so did Judas!

What does this mean? We may not betray Jesus the same way that Judas did, but all of us are willing to cast our lot with the world when it suits us. Ultimately our choices lead us to betray Jesus in our own ways, turning our backs on God’s will for our lives and treating each other with greed and self-interest. Yet, even sinful folks like you and me are welcome in the presence of Jesus. There is a place for us at the table as well. The meal that Jesus offers, then, is one of hope. In worship, gathered around the table, we find our identity as forgiven people. In confessing our sins we know we will receive pardon, and in the Lord’s Supper (or Communion, or Eucharist) we are given a share in the work of the body of Christ now, and a foretaste of that which is to come. This is one reason why I consider the communion table, the font, and the pulpit to be the “watchposts” of my own faith tradition, Presbyterianism, for it here that we actively await the fulfillment of God’s plan in history (Habakkuk 2:1).

Luke helps us to see that it is a big table to which we are invited. Jesus knows our sins. Nonetheless, he invites us to come and to take our place with him, with one another.

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, forgive us our sins and help us to live as your people, gathered around the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Tension and Transition

Job 40:1-24
Acts 15:36-16:1
John 11:53-12:8
There are arguments and disagreements sprinkled throughout all of our passages today. They begin with Job whose complaints against God elicit a pointed response. “Will you condemn me that you may be justified?” God asks (Job 40:8). I believe we may safely assume this to be a rhetorical question. In the reading from Acts Paul and Barnabas have a falling out over the presence of Mark. “The disagreement became so sharp,” Acts tell us, “that they parted company…” (Acts 15:39). Finally in the gospel of John, not only are the chief priests and Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus (John 11:57), but when Mary anoints Jesus with a costly perfume Judas strongly objects (12:11). Then Jesus reacts just as strongly against Judas’s words (v. 7). Whew. So much conflict in so few verses.

But consider this. Job is on the path to a greater understanding of God’s relationship with humanity at this time of conflict. And after Paul and Barnabas parts ways in Acts Paul and Silas encounter Timothy who becomes a integral part of Paul’s ministry. And in John Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem and his impending passion. Sometimes tension and conflict are the catalysts that cause growth. Sometimes transition comes with pain. Sometimes finding the new thing in God’s plan means a sharp break with the old thing that has gone before. Sometimes is takes a lot to kill our faulty assumptions. Sometimes we must experience the wilderness before we may arrive at the promise.

I would never suggest that all change requires pain, or that conflict is always an indications of God’s work. I do want to suggest that there are those times when we have got to let go of what makes us comfortable (or what we think makes us comfortable) in order to find that place where God intends us to be. And whatever the case, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8, God is fully capable of working through any circumstances—indeed nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:28, 39). So we should trust in God as we move along, always looking for the next sign of grace that will remind us of God’s abiding presence.

Prayer: Thanks be to the God of hope, who, even in the midst of the most trying of times, is at work to bring about the divine will. Lord, help us to live with patience and openness to those times of transition that we may also be open to those around you and may offer help and comfort to others as they pass through their own wildernesses.