Day 012: The Jesus Table

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  Matthew 9:10

This is one of my favorite images of Jesus because it is timeless.
Every day, we are confronted with our own demarcations about who are with us and who aren't.  We encounter people saying who should eat with whom, who should speak with whom, who should look at whom.  These confines can become quite ugly.

Jesus came to change all of that.  In the earlier scriptures, there are many examples of God choosing seemingly unconventional people to carry out God's work, but that didn't seem to be enough for us.  We, indeed, are stubborn.  We needed a man to go from the comfort of his own home, his own friends, his own people, to the outcasts.  We needed a living example.

But Jesus did not stop there.  He revealed himself as our doctor, and he made sure we were ready to take on his mission.  He fed us as his children before pushing us off the nest.  He went to wherever we were so that we might know that he is always around us.

In this picture of Jesus sitting at a table with all those who were 'unworthy' according to the scholars of the time I find comfort.  I am comforted because I know that Jesus will always be there for me.  I am comforted because I know that Jesus is always ready for me.

Today's readings:
Genesis 23-24
Psalm 9:33-39 (10:12-18)
Proverbs 6:1-25
Matthew 9:9-31
Acts 12

Day 010: Welcome

Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Acts 10:28

Through Peter's vision, God showed us a new way to see the church.
As Peter prefaces in this situation, Jews were not supposed to associate with outsiders.  But, after Peter saw the vision, he understood that not only did God purify all animals, but also all people.  God sent a message with Peter so that Cornelius could be received into the body of Christ, alongside all the foreigners.

That's how the church grew.  It wasn't with people who closed themselves off to a study, just to become stagnant with their own interpretations, speaking among only scholars and not congregations.  It was with the willingness of the disciples to be challenged, to be taught anew, to welcome those around them, to go out and serve, to see strangers as guests rather than aliens.

When we, as Christians, are open to listen and receive the voice of God, only then can we grow and unite.