At Jesus’ Table: Introduction

Each year for Holy Week I prepare daily devotions for my congregation. This year I’ve decided to share it on the internet as well. Starting Monday, a new, brief devotion will be shared every morning of Holy Week. You can subscribe or follow this blog to get these delivered right to your inbox, or you can just keep coming back daily (or never again, I suppose). What follows is the introduction to this year’s devotional, “At Jesus’ Table.”

My favorite description of Jesus is the accusation the Pharisees made about him in Luke 15:2, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Yes. That is exactly right. Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. Jesus welcomes us and eats with us.

Nowhere is that seen more clearly than at the Lord’s Supper, or the Last Supper. It is where the sacrament of Holy Communion was instigated. It was the final physical nourishment Jesus received before his betrayal, arrest, trial and execution. It is where Jesus welcomed the one who loved him, the one who denied him, and the one who betrayed him and shared his bread and wine with them all.

This devotional is intended to draw your attention to Jesus through the table fellowship he shared with sinners like you and me. Other than bread and wine we are not sure what food Jesus and his disciples ate that night, so I am taking some creative liberties. Drawing from scriptural descriptions of Passover, the Seder tradition from our Jewish brethren, and our own Christian traditions, I have chosen six items that might have been enjoyed at that Last Supper.

Each devotion is intentionally brief. I am not trying to answer all your questions or provide a thorough look at the symbolism of the Lord’s Table. Instead, I want to point to the mystery of it, and leave you with questions and thoughts that will stick in your mind throughout this Holy Week. It is my hope that you will be drawn into prayer, a communion with your Heavenly Father, and thus deepen your relationship with the one who Created, Redeemed and Sustains you.

The meal is prepared. The invitation is given. This is the One who welcomes sinners and eats with them. Will you join me at Jesus’ table?