Jesus' Table

David Fitch writes these helpful words regarding the role Jesus' table is intended to play in our broken world:

We are a mass of disconnected souls with too many tasks to do and too much stress to do them. Nonetheless, our world starves for presence. After work is over, after we arrive home on the train, we swarm to restaurants and bars just to share a beverage or a meal in hope of making contact. Whole train cars on the Chicago Metro commuter train are segregated for those who want to bring a beverage and share a conversation at the end of a long day. It's not much but it's something. People everywhere long to be known. Our culture bears the signs of people wanting to share life meaningfully with one another. The world longs for Eucharist.

In our exploration of Jesus' Table in Luke 5.27-39, we learned that one of the things that got Jesus in trouble with the religious authorities was his table habits. It wasn't only his preaching that led to Jesus' crucifixion, it was also his eating. More specifically, the cast of characters with whom he chose to eat. Tables, you see, tell stories. They tell the story of who's in and who's out - of who belongs with whom - and the basis of our mutual acceptance. Think for a moment about the cafeteria tables in high school. The jocks sit with the jocks, the cheerleaders with the cheerleaders, the FFA students with the FFA students, the preps with the preps, the gothic with the gothic, etc. Jesus' table tells quite a different story. "For Jesus the table was to be a place of fellowship and inclusion and acceptance" (Scot McKnight). According to Jesus, if you have recognized your ultimate need, forgiveness and restoration to God and others, and have turned to him to meet that need, then you belong to Jesus, to God, and to all who have likewise turned to Jesus. This means that Jesus doesn't require purity or certain earthly identity markers before he will share a meal with us. Rather, when we share a meal with Jesus, the meal has a mysterious way of creating purity within us, of shaping us into the image of what God created us to be.

Indeed, "we are a mass of disconnected souls," What evidence of disconnection do you see in your life? Are you feeling disconnected in your relationship with God. What human relationships fee disconnected? Jesus responds to disconnection by inviting us to a meal. Most often that meal is what we call communion - bread and wine shared by Christians after the Word of God has been proclaimed. If you sense a disconnect in your relationship with God, Jesus is inviting you to this sacred meal that he longs to share with you (Luke 22.14-16). If you feel a disconnect in relationships with others, Jesus is inviting you to share a meal with those persons so that his healing touch can restore connection to those relationships. At both tables Jesus is present to forgive, heal, and restore. What's more, it is at these tables we learn to sense where Jesus is present elsewhere in this world. Be encouraged to perceive the restoring presence of Jesus among this mass of disconnected souls.

The next time you walk down the street, take a good look at every face you pass and in your mind say, "Christ died for thee." That girl. That slob. That phony. That crook. That saint. That damned fool. “Christ died for thee.” Take and eat this in remembrance that “Christ died for thee” (Frederick Buechner)

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Gentleness Rules the World

Jesus was a gentle king.

In our text this past Sunday, Luke emphasized the authority of King Jesus who came into the world and through words wrestled this world back to God. As Jesus proclaims the reign of God in the synagogues of Nazareth and Capernaum, Luke reports again and again that the people were "amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority" (Luke 4.31-32). For our purposes it is important to note that in the same context Luke records that Jesus' authoritative words - words that can exorcise demons and restore life to an older woman on the verge of death - are also words that are full of grace (Luke 4.22). Brothers and sisters, Jesus' words changed the world. His life and ministry divide history into B.C. and A.D. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. And he was gentle. 

In the second half of Isaiah's ministry he promises a Spirit-anointed Servant who will bring justice to the nations in a quite unexpected way. Listen to the prophet's promise. 

He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope (Isaiah 42.2-4, NIV). 

Did you catch that? This King who will bring justice to nations like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, North Korea, and the United States, will do so through gentleness. In Matthew 12, this chosen and Spirit-anointed King is being chased down by religious leaders who want him dead (See Matthew 12.15-21). What does Jesus do in response to this threat? He withdraws. Why? In order to fulfill Isaiah's promise recorded above. 

Each of us inhabits a certain sphere of authority. Maybe in home, or school, or work, or a baseball diamond, each of us is blessed with the opportunity to influence others from a place of power. As followers of Jesus we are called to inhabit this place of power with gentleness. And that doesn't mean less influence. In fact, it means more, better, stronger, and more lasting influence. Dallas Willard helpfully writes: 

Is gentleness an absence of power or a power born through the spirit and found in wisdom? Matthew 12.20 says Jesus would not even break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, and yet his gentleness launched a worldwide revolution. In many ways, Jesus' impact seems to be not in spite of his gentleness, but because of it.

May each of one us gently influence each one we encounter today.

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Deep Compassion for the Poor

Good News for the Poor

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. 

- Jesus Christ 

How do we feel toward people we would label as poor? I am not asking do we give to the poor or whether or not we have ever dropped a quarter into someone's metal coffee cup. I am not wondering whether or not we have purchased a Big Mac for someone who told us they needed money for food. How do we feel towards them? What emotion rises up within us as we encounter the beggar outside Wrigley Field, when we have just spent several hundred dollars to watch millionaires compete in a sport? If we are honest, we often feel a strange mixture of fear, judgment, and disdain. To be a bit more specific, we sometimes feel thankful - thankful that "we are not like such men" (See Luke 18.11). These feelings reveal that we still have parts of us that need to be transformed by the Gospel. When we are being transformed by the Gospel, we will begin to notice the Spirit of God working within us a deep compassion toward all people, especially the poor. Jesus himself reveals God's heart of deep compassion for the poor. In fact, Jesus' entire message can be summarized in the text he chose for his first sermon - a text he proclaimed was being fulfilled through him.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4.18–19, NIV)

How can we follow Jesus in proclaiming a message and embodying a lifestyle that is "good news to the poor?"

Remember that in the most important sense each of us is poor.

In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul is exhorting his readers to show generosity to the church in Jerusalem. Before he makes his request, Paul leverages the Gospel so the Corinthians will be generous to the poor. 

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:8–9, NIV)

Instead of resorting to guilt (Look at all the food you have and let me show you a picture of a hungry little boy from Jerusalem.), Paul leans heavily on the Gospel. Jesus, who in the most important sense was "rich," set those pleasures aside that he might come to us in our poverty to raise us up with him to enjoy the utmost pleasure, communion with the Triune God. So we can find compassion toward the poor when we remember our impoverished state were it not for Jesus.

Fellowship with those in need. 

In Philippians 4, Paul is joyfully thanking his readers for the generosity they have shown him through the gifts sent to him through Epaphroditus. 

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only. (Philippians 4:14–15, NIV)

When Paul says it was good of the Philippians to "share in his troubles," he uses the word koinonia; a word we normally translate fellowship, deep communion, or even, kinship. Many of the friendships we developed in Seminary were some of the most significant we have ever known. I am convinced the quality of our connection with those people was due to the fact that we were all struggling together toward the same goal. Likewise, the Philippians were so committed to partnering with Paul for the spread of the Gospel, that they were willing to enter into suffering with Paul, if it meant relief for him that enabled him to spread the Good News of Jesus around the Mediterranean world. While there is nothing wrong with many of the ways we share resources with the poor (relief funds like the Salvation Army, Compassion International, and Operation Christmas Child), Paul is calling us here to a kinship with the poor. He describes a willingness to give to the point of suffering, so that the poor's burden can be relieved, and the Gospel can be proclaimed.

Worship Jesus who always showed compassion to the poor.

Finally, because we become like the God we worship, we must remember that King Jesus always showed compassion to the poor. In the writings of Luke, Jesus and the Church always have a compassionate posture toward beggars. In Luke 16.19-31 Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a beggar named, Lazarus. Of the many things this parable teaches, one of the most important is that when the reign of Jesus finally comes in its fullness, the wealthy who abused the poor in this life will be judged. Furthermore, the poor will finally enjoy the healing this world never provided. What's more in Luke 18.35-43 Jesus encounters a blind beggar. Notice that Jesus doesn't try to get the man to leave him alone - something we all have done along as did Jesus' disciples. Instead, Jesus has the man brought to him, and after a conversation, Jesus, full of mercy, heals the man. Furthermore, the early church continued to approach the poor with the same merciful heart of Jesus. See Acts 3. 

Jesus is calling the church to proclaim and embody a message that is good news to the poor. Paul wrote to the Galatians: "All they asked was that we continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do" (Galatians 2.10, NIV). Are we eager to remember the poor? If we remember the poor, we will encounter the presence of Jesus. Did Jesus not say that when we show compassion to the least of these, his brothers and sisters, we are showing compassion to him (Matthew 25.31-46)? Speaking of Jesus' parable of the sheep and goats, we conclude with a compelling commentary from Gary Anderson in his book, Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition.  

If almsgiving funds a heavenly treasury, then the hand of the poor provides a privileged port of entry to the realm and, ultimately, the being of God. In short, there is a deeply sacramental character to the act. The poor become a necessary and indeed nonnegotiable point of access to the kingdom of God (Gary Anderson).

Will you remember the poor?

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How Love Overcomes Evil: Luke 4.1-13

Very few things - maybe even nothing is more important than knowing the love of Christ. Ephesians 3.14-21 serves as a hinge between the the two major sections of Paul's letter. In Ephesians 1.1-3.13 Paul tells us what is true. To over-generalize, his is the "doctrinal" section of Ephesians. Ephesians 4.1-6.20 comprises the "practical" section of the letter. In this portion, Paul tells us what to do. Paul transitions between what is true and what we must do, by praying in Ephesians 3.14-21 that we "may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (3.18-19). Did you catch that? The foundation upon which obedience is built, is knowing the love of Christ. The only hope we have for obeying the commands of Ephesians 4-6 is to comprehend the love of God in Christ described in Ephesians 1-3. This directly relates to this morning's study of Luke 4.1-13. Only because Jesus had absorbed the unconditional and affectionate words of his Father at his baptism (Luke 3.21-22), was he empowered to defeat evil in the wilderness. This is the same truth Paul teaches in Ephesians 3. Comprehending the love of God in Christ is the indispensable key to seeing sin defeated in our lives. What's more, we must believe God loves us before we begin to obey God in the way God desires. This is counterintuitive for most of us, because we accepted a false narrative about love. Indeed, we have reduced the definition of "love" to an emotion that is on display when Jerry Maguire says to Dorothy Boyd, "You complete me," to which she responds, "You had me at hello" (insert eye roll). Brothers and sisters, love is so much more than this sappy and emotional sentimentalism. It is love that gets a parent out of bed at 2:30am to comfort a feverish child. It is love that leads aged parents to rush to the side of their daughter whose husband has just suffered a major heart attack. It is love that drives an eighteen year old soldier to storm the beaches of Normandy. It is love that smothers a live grenade to save fellow soldiers. Beloved, the biblical concept of love is so much more potent than the fickle emotions on display in most romantic comedies. C.S. Lewis is helpful when he writes:

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

To love is dangerous. To love is to take a risk. To love necessarily includes pain. To love means your heart might be torn apart. And this is what God was doing in Christ on the cross. And thanks be to God this act of love defeated the Devil forever. May we never underestimate the evil-defeating power of sacrificial love.

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Searching for the Unsafe Jesus: Luke 2.39-52

Near the end of C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he narrates this conversation between Susan and Mr. Beaver. 

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

This exchange captures the essence of what Christ was saying to us yesterday through the Scriptures from Luke 2.39-52. Luke emphasizes Jesus’ wisdom in this, the one story we have from Jesus’ childhood. In the Jewish world, wisdom can be described as the art of skillful living. In the Jewish Scriptures (a.k.a the Old Testament), we encounter an entire genre that is devoted to teaching us how to live a good and wise life. Some of the Psalms can be described as wisdom literature. Proverbs is the most common form. Other wisdom books include Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. These books, in quite practical ways, teach us how to live well within the orders the Creator God has established in his world. The goal of wisdom literature is “to teach men and women these ‘orders,’ so they may know how to act in harmony with the world around them” (Elizabeth Achtemeier). 

Indeed, the Bible has much practical advice that we would call, “Wisdom.” However, when Jesus comes into the world, we learn even more about God’s wisdom. Paul, who never really got over meeting Jesus (see  Acts 9), writes to the Corinthian Church that Jesus has become to us, “wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1.30, ESV). Did you catch that? Jesus is the wisdom from God. He is the “order” to creation. He is the arc of the universe. He lived in complete harmony with the world, not as it is, but as God intended it. The problem is, we sinners have messed up the order and so twisted the arc that it is no longer recognizable as God's good design. The good news, however, is that God loves us twisted and twisting sinners, so he sent his Son to live in harmony with what God had designed and his life’s mission was to straighten things out. This is why Jesus’ life was a battle. It was no easy task to restore the world to his Father’s original vision. But that is what love does. Love suffers to give the beloved what the beloved needs. When we treasure Jesus, not only as Savior and Lord, but also as Wisdom, he will teach and lead us toward what life was supposed to be. Jesus’ life is the life we are called to imitate. His life establishes what the good God always intended for us. Jesus is the wisdom of God.

This is where Mr. Beaver’s words to Susan ring true. Because Jesus’ work of restoration is not yet complete, it can feel quite dangerous to literally follow Jesus. To really follow Jesus means we might have to increase in humility. Most of us can say from experience that learning to grow in humility is never pleasant. To really follow Jesus means we might have to be generous to those who might take advantage of our generosity.  And who enjoys losing stuff to ungrateful people? Furthermore, to really follow Jesus means we might have to walk with him directly into the face of danger. But the good news is that Jesus promises by his Spirit, to walk with us and that he will never take us to a place he has not gone before! Indeed, Jesus possesses the experience and the power to defeat hell itself, because after he walked to the cross and stared death in the face without blinking, he rose from the dead on Easter and began to reshape the arc of the universe so that all its inhabitants would always be humble, generous, and never afraid. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is the true wisdom of God. His life is good and beautiful and worthy of imitation. Please follow him. Jesus isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you. Thanks be to God.

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