Blog:
A meal with Jesus

Posted by Dan Kingsley
on 27th June 2012

On Sunday 24th June 2012 Chris Mason spoke from Luke 14 where Jesus, in discussion with His dinner guests over whether you can heal someone on the Sabbath, tells the parable of the wedding feast.

The parable challenges the whole social hierachy and honour of mealtimes and therefore what is important in the Kingdom of God when it comes to sharing what is probably the most regular and intimate social gathering we partake in.  As part of our discussion, we reflected that society often views mealtimes around themselves - this is a time for me to eat, to have people i want round for dinner, to show off a little, eat well etc.  Jesus, in painting a picture of an eternal mealtime where everyone is equal before a glorious host, suggests you place yourself at the bottom and allow others to raise you up, to give you honour and status.  Much bigger than mealtimes, Jesus is challenging the whole religious mindset and purpose of the law.  The people around Jesus' table as he's telling this parable would have been excellent law keepers and yet perhaps they had missed the point of a law that was meant to display to the world the glory of God and a people that know how to care for one another in the light of God's mercy and grace to them.  Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

We challenged each other to think about who we share the table with.  Who we have round for meals.  What is our heart motivation for it?

As a follow up to this talk, we'd like to suggest a book for further reading.  'A meal with Jesus' by Tim Chester goes much much further into this parable and others rediscovering the true meaning of the meal and the transforming power it can have in bringing the gospel to our city, nation and world.  It really is worth a read - it may even transform your eating habits!

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