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 002: Communion

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."  Acts 2:1

"Now all who believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need."  Acts 2:44-45

The account of the early church shows a business model that was quite successful, with numbers growing in the hundreds and thousands in the first years.  To me, what seems to be at the heart of it all is the communion between one another, sharing the Holy Spirit with one another.

To start, the early Christians, burning with the Spirit, spoke in the different languages of many different cultures of the time, and there were people coming from all over, hearing their languages, feeling the hospitality that comes from a love for God.  In addition to that, as some scholars point out, they divided their possessions among each other out of necessity, since there were many who were coming to them from afar.
This is the embodiment of Jesus' command in John's Gospel, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37)

When I think about how the larger Church today works, I appreciate my own, the Episcopal Church, because of our communion table, which is open to all.  Just as Jesus commanded us to come to Him for fulfillment, we continue that invitation to this very day.  Unfortunately, though, the difference is that we extend this invitation reluctantly.  We only want a certain gender, a certain sexual orientation, a certain color, a certain race, a certain ethnicity, a certain culture, a certain language, a certain doctrine,  a certain credence.  We add terms and conditions to what Jesus explained simply and the apostles executed simply.

I am certain that each and every one of us has some need.  Some needs are material, and others are spiritual, but the important thing to remember is that we all have them and need to respect those of others.  How about making the church a place for those needs to be fulfilled?  How about coming together in the church with one accord?  How about bringing the Holy Spirit to our neighbors without that terms and conditions box?