Friday, October 15, 2010

Reflection On Luke 14:1, 7-14

“On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.” They were watching him intently. They were watching his every move. They wanted to see where he would seat himself. They wanted to see what he thought of himself; how important he thought he may be. They wanted to see if this man of God was just like the rest of us and would get an obvious chunk of spinach stuck in his teeth while he talked endlessly about the weather.

Do you not hate it when "they" watch you so close? It is impossible to get anything done when “they” are watching. What if you choose the wrong seat? What if you suddenly notice that each chew of your food makes a disgusting crunching sound? Can “they” hear that? What will they think? They were watching Jesus’ every move.

But, they made a mistake. Eyes can peer both ways and Jesus’ eyes are set on them. Where would they seat themselves at the table? Where would they expect him to sit? What does their seating choice and seating arrangement say about them?

Table arrangements say a lot more than you think. You may be surprised to learn that the table arrangement of the evening meal was one of the first things that we chaplains would ask about when evaluating a mentally ill patient. Taking a sheet of paper with a square drawn in the center, we would ask where all of the chairs in there home were placed, and then have the patients draw and label where each person sat at their evening meal.

“Charles, why is your Dad at the head of the table?”
“Because he controls all of us, he wants to keep an eye on us.”

“Katie, why are your Mom and Dad at opposite sides of the table?”
“I guess they don’t like each other. They never have really. I sit next to my Mom because she doesn’t hold a grudge.”

“Tom, why isn’t there anyone at your table? What’s wrong, why don’t you want to participate today?”
“I am participating. My family sits in front of the TV. We don’t talk. Leave me alone.”

“Lexie, why is only your Dad at the table? And, what is next to him on the table?”
“That’s his computer. He eats at the table with his computer. We are over here by the TV. He doesn’t like to be disturbed while he works.”

“Mary, why did you draw your husband and your kids so big and you so small at the table?”
Mary just stares forward with tears in her eyes.

Tables are powerful things; where a person is seated or not seated matters. Tables can be used to bring all creation together in one unifying meal, and they can be used to divide and put people in their place. The productivity of a meeting between national leaders can be predicted by their seating at the table. Are they equals, sitting across from one another the short length of the table, or is the deck stacked, the inferior leader being placed to the side and the superior at the head?

Tables are powerful things. My High School drama teacher pointed out frequently that even King Arthur’s round table was not an equitable arrangement. Those who were more important would sit nearer to the King, and those opposed would sit opposite. He said during this lesson about staging that, “even at a round table, the audience will know that the one across the table will be the enemy. They also will know that the one close to the king, but facing the king during discussion with the enemy rather facing the enemy will be the one to betray the king. You do not need to say this, the audience already knows it. It is ingrained in our being.”

If the importance of table placement is ingrained into our very being, it then makes sense why Jesus’ etiquette advice on table placement causes people to desire his crucifixion. People’s foundations are shaken when they are told that they should not sit where they are comfortable or where it may be advantageous to sit. How would you like to be the one told to choose the side corner of the table, where you will be forgotten? Of course, the host may invite you to sit closer and you would be honored, but more likely, you will simply be forgotten.

And, the nerve of Jesus to tell the host who he or she can and cannot invite. Who you eat with and who you refuse to eat with and where they are placed at the table means everything. It means family harmony. It means grooming the one to come next in line. It means spending time with those who interest and intrigue. It means everything!

Jesus says, “Don’t invite your friends and family to your dinner party.” Jesus, you might as well be telling us not to participate in capitalism or not participate in holding any other core belief. Tables are powerful things, and you are shaking our foundations Jesus! People who shake the foundations are the ones who are crucified.

We used to have a lime green metal kitchen table when I was younger. It was the ugliest thing that had even been created; plus, the screws holding it together where so loose that if I placed my arms too firmly on the table, the table would shift and my plate would slide over to my brother. After loosing my meal to my brother too many times, I told my parents that the table had to go. It had served its purpose, but it was no longer a good foundation for a meal.

And, Jesus too invites us to remove our assumptions about tables and who sits where and why, so that when the table is removed we can see that our true foundation is below our feet. It is a firm foundation. And, inscribed in the foundation are the words, “You are mine.” But, you will also see those very words inscribed below the feet of the person next to you, and down at the feet of the person in the far corner of the table you read the same words, “You are mine.”

In Jesus’ kingdom, the power of the table is completely circumvented. If you invite the poor to your meal, then you will not even be tempted participate in the table game; plus, the poor will have food; it is a win-win. When at the table, consider the low. Serve the lowest. Think about sitting low. In Jesus’ kingdom, what is low will become great, and what is great will become low.

I once asked a six year old why she drew herself at the far end of the table and her sister up near her parents. I expected to uncover the secret pain of her childhood, but she looked at me as if I were the stupidest person in the world and said, “because she is too young to eat by herself. Mom and Dad need to help her. I have fed myself since I was two.”

As this six year old already knows, the world is not necessarily concerned about "us." The world is concerned about "them."  But, for her and for other Christians, it is not about evaluating and judging "them." It is about watching closely for their need. There are places of honor at God’s table, and they are reserved for those who need them. Sometimes we will be invited up, and after we are healed, we will lead the next guest forward to the place of honor. Christ's table is a different kind of table.


All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.

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