In Luke 14:7-11 Jesus offers a small piece of what author Michael Frost calls “etiquette”. It’s a challenging, but pretty common sense, piece of advice, really:
When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, He gave them this advice: "When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, 'Give this person your seat.' Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! "Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, 'Friend, we have a better place for you!' Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
It’s a simple lesson in humility, but, the implications go far further than just our view of ourselves. Choosing a seat at the table is not just about where we believe we deserve to fit into the social pecking order. It’s also about who we choose to sit with – and this is where it begins to get really uncomfortable.
If we are to take Jesus as our example, then we may just find ourselves faced with companions at the Lord’s Table that we might not have intended or wanted to sit with. Jesus, after all, was known to share meals with religious leaders and with the shadiest characters of his time – tax collectors and prostitutes. In one incident, while a guest in the home of a Pharisee (who had treated him rather rudely according to the customs of the time) a prostitute came in and began to wash Jesus’ feet. The Pharisee was offended and wondered how Jesus could allow it, but Jesus, knowing his thoughts, used the moment to teach his host about God’s all-welcoming Reign. (See Luke 7:36-50)
At the heart of our worship, and of our faith, is a meal to which Jesus invited us. We call it Holy Communion, and it’s the primary way by which we are instructed to remember Jesus. The tragedy is that this meal has too often become a place of division and exclusion. If we truly mean to remember Jesus, then this exclusivity must be removed. Rather, the Lord’s Table can be nothing other than the most inclusive and welcoming place in the world.
But this means, of course, that we don’t get to choose the people with whom we will share the meal. We may find ourselves breaking bread with people who think or act or believe differently from us. We may be required to kneel beside those that we would prefer not to be in the same room with. But, that’s the challenging, miraculous invitation of God’s Reign – all are welcome. Even those we would rather keep out.
If we are to find a way to deal with the tremendous struggles in our world – the conflict between wealthy and poor, between powerful and marginalized, between races, religions and nations, we could do worse than to come together around Christ’s Table. There we are all equal, and when we learn that, we may just discover that the others who share the meal are loved by God just as much as we are.
__________
John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.