If we’d lived in first-century Israel and witnessed Jesus of Nazareth firsthand, we would have noticed that parties followed him wherever he went. After all, there was much to celebrate. The center point of his teaching, “The kingdom of God is near,” struck a deep chord in the people. They had been waiting a long time for this good news.
Celebration was at the heart of Jesus’ way of life.
We would also have noted that, for a rabbi like Jesus, his parties included all the “wrong people”—the unclean, the unwell, the unrighteous. By welcoming those who had been unwelcomed for so long, he announced God’s kingdom’s availability to all. Celebration—as sincere and godly as it was startling—was at the heart of Jesus’ way of life. “We must celebrate and rejoice…” (Luke 15:32).
Then, as now, we may have much to be unhappy about in the world, the nation, and our communities and families. In Jesus’ day, the Roman Empire’s occupation of Israel cast a dark cloud over all of life. Social tensions abounded between Jew and Gentile, between rich and poor, and between various religious sects within Judaism, all expressing opinions and hopes about how God would intervene in the world.
Jesus was not putting his head in the sand.
Despite his continued celebrating, when it came to the heaviness of life in first-century Israel, Jesus was not putting his head in the sand. He repeatedly looked out on the crowds and felt compassion for them because “they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34). He knew firsthand the people’s disappointment, despair, fear, and suffering. Ultimately, on the cross, he would identify with them in a way that still feels incomprehensible, unimaginable even today.
But Jesus could celebrate because he knew that God was up to something good—he was living out God’s compassionate rescuing work in their midst. The practice of celebration reflects a deep attentiveness to God’s active grace among us. Amidst wayward, broken, and despairing lives, true joy wells up for those who embrace the big story—”The Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
May our tables be places of communion, not just consumption.
May something of this attentiveness to Jesus’ grace and kindness be present among the many tables we will gather around this Thursday. “In the scriptures, a table always represents presence—where God is present with God’s people, and people are present with each other,” writes VP3’s Keith Anderson (“Company of Others,” At the Table).*
Thinking about Jesus’ many tables last week, I bumped into a great quote from Stephen Smith found in our A Way of Life process. Ponder it a bit. Smith writes,
Jesus transformed time around a table that was laden with food into a place of encounter, connection, and epiphany. The thick wooden tables became places of the soul where humanity could encounter God, connect with one another, and see life and truth as never before. To be alive, we know everyone has to eat and drink, but in Jesus’ way of living life, the table and mealtimes became communion, not just consumption.
As we see Jesus sharing life around the table, we learn that the real food is something far more than calories and carbs. We become deeply satisfied with something that is far more than bread and realize the truth of Jesus’ statement: “It takes more than bread to stay alive.” We stay alive and enjoy life when we learn to treat the mealtime as more than a meal.**
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this week, may your table be a place of communion, not just consumption. Spirit of Jesus, be generous among us….
**Stephen W. Smith, The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity (David C. Cook, 2012), 143.
* At the Table with Keith Anderson, “Company of Others”; this blog is a new VP3 offering we are really excited about. It is amentoringway.org resource for following Jesus in the company of others. Check it out now and subscribe.
