June 11, 2023 Text: Matthew 9:9-13
Dear Friends in Christ,
What do you do around your table? We all eat at a table. How many family discussions happen there? At the Lueck house we’ve discussed college decisions, family vacations, finances, funeral arrangements and what color to paint a room. What is on the agenda at your family table?
Today you are invited to join a table. You can even recline. Kick back, relax, you are eating with Jesus today. Sounds good, but we still wonder . . .
“WHO’S AT THE TABLE?”
This table in the house of a man called Matthew. Matthew has a nice job. He probably bid for his job with Herod and since money talks, he was assigned as a tax collector. This meant he could levy a high tax and pocket some of the money. He is not well-liked because everyone knows what is going on. Do you want to enter his house and still sit at the table?
Jesus does. The people are not sitting. We might call it lounging. The table is short, and the people are gathered and reclining on their left side. If you have ever eaten with someone from the Middle East, then you know that the meal is communal and laid back. The food might just be dumped in a big pile, and you eat with your fingers. There is a lot of fellowship and visiting. Their customs have not changed in thousands of years. Pull up a pillow and enjoy.
But can you enjoy a meal with a tax collector? These people are greedy. Pocketing money, buying stuff, dishonest. But you join. Inflation, especially the cost of groceries, is cutting into your income. You are concerned about your investments. Are taxes going up again? You get anxious. So, when the Lord calls for giving and generosity, you think mostly of yourself. Open the tightened fist, because it’s really not your money. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23). Who shouldn’t be reclining with Jesus? We shouldn’t be.
Another group at the table are the “sinners.” Let’s narrow that down to prostitutes. They sell their body for money or drugs. The sanctity of sexuality is lost. Sex sells instead of being a sacred gift for husband and wife. Are we under this umbrella? Things are exploited, exposed, explicit. It is difficult to turn away. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Who shouldn’t be eating with Jesus? We shouldn’t be.
What other sinners are at the table? Those who can’t control their mouths. Filthy words. Coarse talk. Do we ever find this at our table? Lashing out with hateful words. Posting something about someone that isn’t true. Not calling out the profanity you hear. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Who shouldn’t be in the same room with Jesus? We shouldn’t be.
Standing off to the side are the Pharisees with their questions. Condescending as they compare themselves with those at the table. We too stand off to the side and make judgments. We get things wrong because we are lazy and don’t take the time to know the truth. We compare ourselves with others to feel better. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Waiter, get me out of here, I shouldn’t be eating with Jesus.
And yet there is a welcome from this Jesus. He has invited me? Really? This meal brought people together. No reservations. No prime spots around the table. When Jesus welcomes sinners, everything changes. This table is a time of warm fellowship, and the invitation includes everyone.
It may be the house of Matthew, but the host is Jesus. He speaks and everyone listens. The Pharisees go after Jesus, not Matthew. Why is Jesus doing this? Why be so hospitable to these sinful people? Because they need Jesus. They need his mercy. His mercy flows from the sacrifice of himself. Let’s finish the sentence I’ve been repeating from Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus left a table the night he was betrayed. He heads to the table of the cross. He leaves the Holy City and on the cross he shows his mercy. He shows mercy by sacrificing himself. All the greed, all the lust, all the worry, all the condescension – all of it, he has taken on himself. His sacrifice brings his mercy of forgiveness. Jesus welcomes us with this forgiveness.
He would rise three days later from the dead. Not long after he would be at another meal. This one at the shoreline. With the disciples. Jesus provides the meal with 153 fish. After finishing the meal, at a literal table where things get solved, Jesus restores Peter who had denied him. He welcomed him back into the family, back to the table of Christ’s mercy for all eternity.
You are welcomed at a table. We call it an altar. Jesus is the host. Jesus welcomes us with his body and blood given and shed on the cross for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. We receive mercy. We receive sacrifice. We fellowship. We leave the table, following him. Our greed is transformed to generosity. We use the gift of sexuality rightly within marriage. We use our words to encourage not tear down. We respect others and lift them up. We show mercy.
The table is ready. The host, Jesus our Savior, welcomes you.
Amen.