Come To The Table

COME TO THE TABLE

We just had Thanksgiving where we got together with family and friends and gathered around the table. We like to hear that call, "dinner's ready, everyone come to the table". But that's not just a call to come and eat. The table is more than just a place to have a meal. Other things happen at the kitchen or dining room table. Conversations take place at the table; people play games and do projects at the table. Special things happen at the table.

It's interesting that we have a living room but how much living happens there when the focal point is the TV? [Joey from Friends]. That's not the case at the table. When you remove the cell phone from the equation, the table becomes the place where people actually engage with one another.

Jesus had some special things happen at the table. When he was at a Pharisee's house having dinner a woman came to him and anointed him with expensive perfume. That caused quite a stir but Jesus turned it into a teachable moment on love and gratitude.

Another time when Jesus was eating at a Pharisee's house he noticed people took the important seats at the table. He gave a lesson on humility. He also taught a lesson on love and generosity when he challenged them to invite the poor and crippled to their banquet instead of friends, relatives or rich neighbors. Come to the table.

Fixating on the table.

So much preparation goes into the cooking, the table setting and everything in between. And then everyone digs in and it's all over in a matter of minutes. It almost doesn't seem like it's a valid payoff for the ones who put so much into making sure everything looked and tasted just right.

Although all the hard work is important and should not go unnoticed, it can take the focus off what is most important-each other. The table can look nice and the food can taste great but what's more important is who's around the table not what's on the table. It's not a the turkey, the trimmings, or the dessert, it's not the football game afterwards; it's the people who make it so special. But sometimes we can lose sight of that.

Luke 10:38-42, "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I'm sure some of the ladies can relate to Martha. When you know someone's coming over you go through the house to get everything ready for presentation. Then you focus on the meal prep and all that goes into that. And this was no ordinary guest coming over for dinner-it was Jesus! Martha had that hospitality thing going on.

Then you have Mary. Martha's running around but Mary is just sitting at Jesus' feet. One may think Mary is being selfish and lazy; which is really Martha's complaint. Under normal circumstances I'm sure Mary didn't leave her sister to always do everything around the house. But with the special guest in her presence, she was more focused on the person in the house than the house.

Martha was distracted. To be distracted means your focus is being taken away from where it should be. In this moment, the focus should not have been the prep work but listening to Jesus. Martha made the mistake of thinking the things she was busy with needed to come first but Jesus tells her what she should've been focused on in that moment.

Jesus wasn't telling Martha what she was doing wasn't important. Jesus appreciated her hard work and hospitality but he points out that Mary was making the better choice. Martha wondered if Jesus cared. The fact is he did care but not about what Martha cared about; he cared about Martha joining her sister and not missing out on what he was saying.

Sometimes we can become too busy with lesser things and miss out on what's more important. Sometimes we think what people care about is how things look when what they actually care about is being in our company. Not that we shouldn't care at all what the place looks like or that the food is done well, but what's more important when your guest is there is spending time with them.