Are You Seated At The Accountable, Stable, Table of Christ?
Good Morning Friends,
Being part of dominate sociological structures does mean that there is not more to experience in who we are as Christians. Jesus took the symbol of the table and expanded the inclusion of the women and outcastes as a way of moving the cultural needle. That work has been more powerful in some ways than the miracles of healing. Perhaps it is a miracle itself. Hagar captured the essence of the issue in recognizing that God sees and saw her. She was not invisible. This reality has changed the world. Well parts of the world. Are You Seated At The Accountable, Stable, Table of Christ?
Scripture: Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:23-29 (NRSV)
But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.
Luke 14:10 (NIV)
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Genesis 16:13 (NIV)
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.
John 6:1-13 (NRSV)
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Mark 7:24-30 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s smorgasbord of scripture helps us to better understand the symbol of the table in the ministry of Christ beyond the image of communion but connected to it. They demonstrate in a way just how radical Jesus was in the patriarchal society in which he lived. The first scripture comes from Paul addressing the problem the churches in Galatia faced regarding Christian Gentiles. The leadership wanted to exert its power by requiring others to follow traditional authority. It is a problem in some ways we face today as well. The church has a long history of pandering to the wealthy and powerful by blessing them while betraying the poor. It is about power…who is in and who is out and who is at the table and who is not. The message that Paul preached was about the power of his dramatic transformation and revelation of our shared experience as Christians. He reminds them and us that the curtain separating us from the Holy of Holies has been ripped in two. Here the dividing walls of the human race have been removed. Our power is now in Christ. What we need to understand is that Paul is not speaking of a utopian ideology. He is not setting forth an ethical demand. He is stating an accomplished fact. In Christ we are part of God’s family….the one holy universal Christian Church. If we want to be part of the family, we need to be connected by faith to Jesus. We need to reflect it in how we set the table. And the passages from Luke and stories from John and Mark help as well. Look at the miracle of the loaves and fishes and how it brings us clarity in how to proceed when faced with a problem. Friends, never assess the problems you confront in light of your own resources. Learn that little is much if God is in it….that Jesus alone can truly satisfy. Discover that every problem we face, every difficulty that challenges us is allowed or even sent by God to enrich and increase our capacity to serve His Kingdom. When it comes to understanding God, believe that what is over our head is under His feet. In Christ we have a place at the table.
Pray we see beyond agendas as we come to the table of Christ. Pray we recognize that even a small piece of Christ in us…even a weak faith, will in time make a big difference. Pray that we see beyond the miracle to the miracle maker…that we see beyond the function of the feeding to the intimacy and completeness of being at Christ’s table partaking of a meal that truly satisfies.
Pray that God help us all to be what Paul says we already are…united, equal, and free…inclusive and whole. Pray we rejoice when unity is respected in community. Pray we realize that none is too small or unimportant. Pray we realize that we all play a unique part. Pray we realize that all are welcomed at the table of Christ. Pray we partake of the food that comforts us in the new covenant. Pray we serve one another in love. Pray we seek to be healthy. Pray we receive new life in the supernatural power of His Communion.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 