Ten Tables

Our theme in this study of Luke is the Table, and for weeks we have talked about how in Luke’s narrative we are continually seeing Jesus coming to or going from a meal. Here are ten examples as broken down by John Mark Hicks in his book Come to the Table:

Luke is a narrator. He tells stories, and through the stories he seeks to inculcate the values which he wants his community to embrace. The “table etiquette” presented in these instances (and others) is kingdom etiquette. The significance we see in each of these meals above is what we are to see as significant in our community, and the teaching we see is to be a large part of the teaching we present to others and reiterate to ourselves.

MM

Joining the Army

There was a movie when I was young called Private Benjamin. Goldie Hawn was a rich girl who joined the Army, and the humor in the film is based around the fact she has no idea what she has gotten herself into. She asks if she can sleep in one day and asks for a uniform in a different color that looks better on her. It is humorous to us because we all know that joining the army is not a picnic. Even those of us who have never served realize good and well that when a person signs his or her name on the line, Uncle Sam has a clear cut set of expectations. The recruiters may talk about the great benefits, but they also tell you clearly that you are turning your life over to a larger cause.

In the latter part of Luke chapter nine, Jesus tells everyone up front what the expectations are for joining his crew. He tells one guy, “Look, we won’t be staying in the best hotels.” Another guy does not ask for much, he says, “I’d like to join as soon as I bury my father.” In his reply Jesus is not trying to be mean; he is just being clear. He tells the guy in no uncertain terms that joining his army means a surrender of personal freedom.

The United States military asks for this surrender of personal freedom because they realize it is required for them to accomplish their mission and be effective. Perhaps Jesus’ warnings are rooted in similar concerns for organizational effectiveness…but in a larger sense they are not sacrifice for the sake of effectiveness in the same way that most organizations and businesses require. Jesus, as the maker and crafter of the human machine, the maker of life, knows what is required for true life, and he has come to put together an organization that allows for people to truly live. He is a good and honest recruiter: he does not soft sell it; he speaks clearly and directly.

Today we look at some tough language from Jesus, and we look at the amazing opportunity for life that comes for those of us willing to listen and submit to his requirements.

Mark

Luke Chapter 8

There are times when we face the terror of mother nature head on, and we realize that we really have no chance. Maybe it’s a hurricane or maybe a flood... or maybe it’s just when we find ourselves in a bad situation. I had that happen at least once in my life. I jumped off a cliff into the mighty Nile River on a rafting trip one time. We were not in the rapids where the white water churns, we were off to the side in the calm water. It was supposed to be safe so we had taken off our life jackets to dive into the river. I jumped in feet first and plunged deep into the water. Going in was no problem, but coming up was. I found myself stuck in the undertow, first for just a second or two, then longer and longer as I struggled with all my might to get to the surface. I am not sure how long it lasted... 15-20 seconds. But it was long enough that I began to think that I was going to drown that day. I remember thinking, "I can't believe this. This is how I am going to die; I am going to drown." Suddenly I broke free and shot to the surface.

In Luke 8:22 we see that the disciples were in a similar situation. They were in a small boat on a rough sea, and they could see they were not going to make it. They had come face to face with mother nature, and they knew they were about to lose to the mighty forces of the sea. "We are going to drown!" they yelled.

People who doubt our faith in an all powerful God say we are just deluding ourselves. They would say that when humanity comes face to face with nature and needs to believe there is some rhyme or reason to it all, people invent a god, who they can pretend has power over all the scary and terrible things in nature. They say men invent a god who might be sympathetic to them.

Apparently these people have not read Luke chapter 8 because these disciples come face to face with nature, and they are afraid. Yet at the very next moment they come face to face with God himself and rather than feel comfort and peace they are filled with more fear and amazement. If the atheists’ theory about man creating god for a sense of safety is correct, then this little scenario we have is very strange indeed.

Luke 8 has a couple more stories we will look at today that show people who are afraid of Jesus and his power. As we read them, we see that rather than man inventing God to subdue his fears, perhaps man has invented atheism to avoid having to deal with a god who is as powerful and awe inspiring as the Christ we serve.

Mark

Luke Chapter 7

Last week we looked at Jesus and the method he used to select his disciples. We noticed that he spent the entire night in prayer and then showed up the next day and named the twelve. We also noticed that in spite of their resumes, he selected some guys who, though lacking many qualifications, had the qualities he was looking for: they were risk takers, they were seekers, and they were witnesses. This week we will look at the big picture of the plan he gave these new employees.

Now that Jesus has "hired" his guys, he has to give them a plan for what they will be doing. Luke seven tells us a lot about Jesus’ master plan. It begins with a story about a Roman centurion. This little story is no big deal to us because we have heard it before, but shows the reader God's plan of salvation is for everyone. Luke then uses story after story in a section of writing we call "the seventh chapter" to reveal who Jesus is and what his plan is. He shows us some great hearts and some great attitudes in the chapter.

In the middle of that chapter, we find John the Baptist, and he is confused. It appears as if he is in doubt, and he seems to be reaching out to Jesus to get some confirmation in the midst of his doubts. I find strange encouragement in this because it tells me it is okay to doubt and to express our doubts. If it is okay for John to wonder out loud about who Jesus is, then it's okay for me to do so as well.

Jesus answers John by telling a strange little story about bratty kids. Today we will compare the hearts and the attitudes of those we see in the other stories in Luke chapter seven with the self righteous bratty kids in verse 32.

Mark

Malachi to Luke

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Malachi 4: 1-5

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1: 11-17

God in the Dock

C.S. Lewis wrote a famous essay in the 1940's called "God in the Dock." The word "dock" in this case is the British use term for the place for a defendant in a courtroom...we might say "On the stand" in American English. The gist of the essay is that ancient man was, in effect, on trial before God who was the great judge of all things. Today, things have changed and man (humanity) is the judge and as judge, man has decided to put God on trial. No longer does man have to answer to God, God has to "prove" himself to man...and man can decide whether he thinks God has a very good case for himself.

This week a Nebraska lawmaker took that notion to new heights. See the article below:

Lincoln, NE- The defendant in a state senator's lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still.
He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He's everywhere.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terrorist threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."
He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Today we look at Luke's evidence so that this "orderly account" might "assure" us of what we have been told about God... a God who put himself in the dock, was found guilty in a sham trial and sentenced for our transgressions.

Mark

The Luke / Acts Story

Most Biblical scholars think that Luke and Acts are the work of one author. If that is the case, then we have a very valuable resource to use as a companion to Acts. Many Christian denominations throughout the ages have been guilty of ignoring or downplaying the book of Acts...a crime that we in the churches of Christ could never be convicted of. We have studied and exalted Acts. Followed its examples, commands and inferences to the letter and generally been heavily influenced by this Lukan volume in ways that most Christians
cannot claim.

Critics might say that we would be well served to spend as much time reading Luke's first book as a lens through which we interpret his second. I guess that is a valid observation, isn't it? Which one of us would start at book two of a modern series such as Harry Potter or others and not take the time to read the first? Or better yet...which one of us would watch episode two of a season’s worth of TV shows and not watch the first? It is in the first where we learn about the characters and their development and begin to see why they behave the way they do in episode two or season two.

Of course, we have not ignored Luke...we have read it just as much as we have the other gospels. But this fall, we want to focus on Luke's writings and look for clues that can help make more sense of this thing we call the church (the entity we see develop so rapidly and amazingly in Acts) and to help us make more sense of this thing we call the Christian life.

Mark

Jesus' Table Etiquette

My poor wife! Up till recently when Rylee came along she has been dealing with a problem that cave woman for centuries have had to deal with. The table etiquette of the cavemen she lives with. She has four of them at her table each evening and has taken on the task of trying to instill (to cavemen that means beat with a club) some sense of etiquette, or table manners in the brains of the men at her table. She is trying to teach them (us) that it’s not okay to grunt and grab and stuff things in their mouths. If she had any hopes that adding dainty little Rylee to the mix might help, those dreams have been dashed by the fact that Rylee has a propensity to throw food and make things even less orderly.

It has often been noted that in the book of Luke we always find Jesus coming to a meal, at a meal or leaving a meal. This fall we will be looking at Jesus in Luke, and often we will be sitting around a table with him. In Luke 14 we see Jesus with a group of Pharisees and religious scholars at a table, and we see him commenting on their manners. He notices they put a great deal of effort into the jostling and positioning of getting the best seat at the table, so he takes the opportunity to tell them a parable about how to choose a seat and whom to invite to their tables.

The meal mentioned in Luke 14, if understood in the context of the culture of the time, would have been not just an occasion to eat, but an occasion to build reputations and connections. The invitation to such an event would have come with an expectation for a similar invitation in return. Jesus gives them a whole new set of table manners. He teaches them and us, that when we come to Christ’s table, everyone is welcome. It does not matter if you can pay him in return, in fact, he invites those who know they cannot repay him. At Christ’s table it does not matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, young or old; you come elbow to elbow with people from all walks of life.

The reason my wife is concerned about table manners is not because she cares about being prim and proper, but because meals are not just occasions to pour fuel into our human machines, they are opportunities to share and reflect and laugh and be a family. Today at the table of the Lord, all are welcome and we are a family. If you show up today knowing that you are poor, lame and blind…then you are minding your manners in a way that would make your father proud.

Mark