Pull Up a Seat

Some of the best times in life take place with our feet underneath a table. Just last week, celebrating the 4th of July and the independence of our nation, we gathered with much of our family and shared a wonderful meal. The food was delicious, but the company was even better. We told old stories, and shared new ones. We laughed together, and sympathized with one another. We are all especially enjoying the addition of a whole new generation to the family - the littlest ones among us bring a new delight and wonder to everything we might consider commonplace. Seeing their eyes light up as they enjoy strawberry ice cream for the first time, or as they watch simple glowing sparklers, provides something nourishing to our souls.

Another time last fall, we were able to have dinner with a good friend of mine from high school and her husband. At a reunion like that, the years roll back and fellowship is so joyful and encouraging. And just a month ago, we gathered on the other side of the country with longtime friends for an annual visit. We feasted, but it was more than celebrating the wonderful food: it was a celebration of life and friendship and hope for the future. Nobody wants to get up and leave a table like that. The very presence of God is with us as we dine together. 

There is a seat just for you!

​Think of all of the best meals you have ever had - I can think of so many lovely gatherings, can’t you? And they don’t always happen around holidays and special celebrations. I am thinking of one dinner in particular, with some good friends who had been going through a frightening rough patch in their marriage. They braved the storm to come sit at our table with us, and the Lord helped us all have such a delightful evening together. Rather than focus on the difficult time we were all well aware of, as we ate we remembered good things from the past, and dreamed of hopeful things for the future. It felt so good to laugh and to share happiness and hope together that night, and I am so grateful to God to say that their marriage has weathered that hard time. I can think of other meals shared when tragedy had struck someone’s life. Life is certainly not always easy, but even the most difficult burdens can be eased when we share them with one another. Even when there is no “happy ending”, or at least not the one we might have wished for at the time, something about being together and vocalizing the truths and realities of Jesus and His Kingdom fills our hearts with courage and fortitude. 


This is not just a coincidence. I am convinced that God wants us to share meals together, and often. In our fast paced, fast food, and single serving meal kind of world, it is a good idea to slow down and consider this. God created us with the need to refuel every few hours. He also made us to have taste buds, while He made possible all the delicious things out there to eat and drink - bread, cheese, smoked salmon, berries, chocolate, lattes, lemonade… the list goes on and on! Built in to humanity are both the need to eat and the ability to enjoy the fulfillment of that need. Also built in is the wonder, mystery, and delight of interdependence. We need God and we need one another. How lovely when those needs can all converge on such a regular basis as we break bread together! 


Notice how frequently the Word of God mentions tables and meals…
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-In Egypt, Joseph’s table is laden high with food and drink for his brothers, and five times as much given to his mother’s youngest son, Benjamin. The graciousness and generosity of God is displayed through this meal; recall the brothers didn’t yet know it was Joseph, or that God had turned what they meant for evil in his life to everyone’s good.


-The Tabernacle in the wilderness had a special table, covered in gold and laden with golden dishes and implements, that was to have the bread of the Presence on it at all times. God's table is always open and available, and is always beautiful and nourishing. 


-The cycle of the year as prescribed in the law was to revolve around seven special multi-day feasts, ordained by God. In striking contrast, the law called for far fewer times of national fasting. God has made the world and us for His pleasure, and invites us frequently to join Him in His pleasure and celebration. 


-David’s royal table always had a seat for Mephibosheth, the crippled grandson of Saul, the complicated king who tried to kill David many times. According to the world’s code, every one of your enemy’s relations should be wiped out to ensure your own security, but according to God, forgiveness and friendship make a reserved seat at the royal table. David, the man after God’s own heart, wrote more about the Lord’s table in one of the most familiar and beloved psalms, Psalm 23. It is thought that he wrote that song as an old man looking back on a life lived with the fellowship and presence of God - the Lord who is both the Good Shepherd and Gracious King, Who prepares a place at His table, even in the presence of enemies.


-The beautiful bride in the Song of Solomon, a book understood to be both an individual love story as well as a picture of God’s love for His people, sings of the banqueting table her beloved has prepared for her. It is laden with choice delicacies, and the banner hanging over it spells out LOVE. Think of every wedding feast you have ever been to, and of the special table reserved for the wedding party - God is preparing a setting like that for us!
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​Then came Jesus, Emmanuel and God the Son, who shows us just what the Father is like. He spent a lot of time eating and drinking with others, so much so that His enemies and detractors thought it was suspicious. They didn’t think anyone holy should be spending so much time in fellowshipping with others around a table. Evidently Jesus didn’t agree. He ate with His friends, He ate with sinners and tax collectors, and He ate with self-righteous religious people. He had an impromptu picnic with thousands of people, barbecued on the beach, and even invited Himself and His disciples to a man’s house for lunch one day. It seems there was rarely an opportunity missed to spend time with others around a meal. 


Even on the night that He was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and the cup from the table they were gathered around, and blessed them. The God who wants us to be careful to purposely and regularly remember the vital and important things in life, blessed the bread and said, “‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Now, certainly when we gather for worship and to celebrate communion, but also every time we break bread together, we can remember what the Lord has done and what He has promised to do. 


His table is open to all who will come; there is a seat reserved just for you. God’s table is laden with good, beautiful, nourishing things - with fresh daily bread and new mercies each morning. You are wanted, eagerly expected, and there is no hurried rush at God's table. Enjoy His presence, enjoy His company and delight, enjoy His goodness. Our own tables can reflect this wondrous truth. We can put courage and hope into one another’s hearts as we eat and talk and fellowship, with the Lord Himself always at the head of every table we put our feet under.

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​Our faith can be strengthened as we remember how His body was broken so that our bodies could be made whole, and as we remember that His blood was shed as a sacrifice once and for all of our sins. The table is the place we can encourage and uplift one another; where we can laugh and cry and hope and dream with one another until the Lord returns. Then, on that beautiful day, we will gather at the last table the Bible mentions for the marriage supper of the Lamb, where His shining banner of love will be over and around us forever. 


Until then, when we set the table for a meal, let’s recognize the presence of Jesus with us as we gather, and let’s set a couple of extra places to invite some friends and neighbors! May the Lord bless and keep you this week and always - 

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EXCITING NEWS!! 

I am so grateful and pleased to announce that my new book, Living Stones, is now available for pre-order! What a wonderful time for followers of Jesus to engage together in a Biblically-based conversation about healthy Christian community. This book is designed for personal and group study, and is available for purchase here:

Living Stones: Learning to Walk in Community as a Follower of Christ