Invited to the Table

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ May 29, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

(ESV)Ps 23:5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

Luke 14:15-24 (ESV)

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

In the business world, when someone uses the phrase, come to the table, they are talking about negotiating a deal or a treaty. The invitation, or challenge, to come to the table is not about friendship—it is generally about who comes out on top.

In the kingdom world, the invitation to come to the table is issued by God Himself and it is about relationship, it is about putting God above all others. There is nothing to negotiate—Christ paid the price for our salvation, no strings attached. Either we accept his invitation or we miss the banquet.

When I think of coming to the table, the first thing that always comes to my mind is Psalm 23 where David tells us that God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. David uses the analogy of a shepherd caring for his flock, and the shepherd seeks out the best pasture for feeding by going up to the high places. While the grass there is the sweetest, it is also a place of danger where lions and other animals of prey look for an opportunity to attack. But if the good shepherd invites us to the table, we should have no fear.

In the scripture from Luke, Jesus relates the story of a man who gave a great banquet. In the Middle East, being invited to eat with someone is a big deal. And as anyone who has ever prepared a thanksgiving meal, you know the meal does not just come together. It takes weeks to prepare the menu, invite the guests—in Jesus’ story even though the invited guests had plenty of notice of the banquet, and they had responded they would attend, when the day of the banquet came no one showed up.

The first person who declined to come said he had business to attend to.

The second person said he had bought a herd of oxen, and he must be there.

The third person said he had married and could not come.

So, the man throwing the banquet sent his servants out to the highways and byways, inviting the poor, the crippled, the blind and lame to come to the table. And do you know what happened? They came.

You see, the originally invited guests were kept from the table not because they were hard working or they had a family, it was that they took their eyes off of the Savior and let their business, their possessions and their families keep them away from God.

Perhaps the second group invited to the table had none of these distractions to keep them from God. Or perhaps they were so grateful to be invited that they would not let anything distract them—so the poor came as they were, the crippled got someone to carry them, the blind got someone to lead them, and the lame limped all the way to table.

May we understand the importance of keeping our eyes on the Savior, and our hearts tuned in to the sound of His call.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.