Setting the Table

Introduction

This August, Eric and I will have been married for 29 years. Prior to our wedding, I made a radical decision. I did not have any RSVP for the wedding or reception. You have to remember that this was before our modern day technology. We did not have e-vites or text options. I was trying to save on money and did not want to waste postage that may or may not come back to us. People were still shocked. “How will you know how much food to prepare?” “How will you plan for seating?” Maybe because I was nineteen or maybe it was a foreshadowing of today, but I just said we would plan on who we invited. If they showed up, great. If not, we would be enjoying good food and sending food home with those who choose to celebrate with us.

While I do not remember a lot about the food, I do remember that everyone had plenty to eat. There were a lot of people in attendance. We both had lots of family and friends who celebrated with us. Yet, we did not have a problem with food. Had we had a “wedding crasher,” we would have gladly let them in and fed them as well.

We all understand and have been to a wedding feast whether invited or uninvited. The beauty of wedding feasts is that I have never been to one that has been exactly like another. Oh sure, there have been similarities or ideas that others use, but each is unique to the couple that is hosting the feast.

What does dinner with Jesus look like? Today we are going to look at something that has taken shape into mine and Eric’s hearts and callings. And, today, I’m going to speak on how we call all have dinner with Jesus.

The Mission is to Set a Table

Luke is such a rich writer when it comes to the daily interactions that Jesus had with others. If you were to sit down and count the number of times Luke specifically writes a scene where Jesus is sharing a meal with someone, you would find that number to be ten. There are also ten other stories or times that Jesus brings up food in the Gospel of Luke. Food for thought there.

Let’s look at the parable of The Great Feast found in Luke: If you would like to read along with me, I am reading Luke 14:12-24 from the ESV translation.

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessedis 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.’ ” [1]

To catch the full flavor of this parable, you must understand the setting. Jesus was eating in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. They were watching Jesus carefully to catch Him in some violation of their Sabbath laws (14:1). They believed that to heal someone was work and therefore not permitted on the Sabbath. They probably planted this man with dropsy right in front of Jesus to trap Him. Jesus was not your typical, “polite” dinner guest who went out of His way not to offend anyone. So, He defied the Pharisees by healing the man (14:1-7).

Next, Jesus watched as these proud men picked out the places of honor for themselves at the table. Then He delivered a pointed message about humility, which must have humiliated the guests (14:7-11). Finally, as if the tension were not great enough already, the Lord told the host that he had invited the wrong guests! He said, “You should have invited the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind instead of all these friends, relatives, and rich neighbors who can return the favor” (14:12-14)! At this point you could have sliced the atmosphere with a knife!

At the end of Jesus’ rebuke (14:14), He mentions the resurrection of the righteous. To break the tension and to try to sound spiritual, one of the guests exclaims, “Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (14:15). He probably thought that both Jesus and all the guests could agree with this pious comment. Everyone around the table probably nodded in agreement and said to one another, “Amen! It will be wonderful when we’re all there, won’t it!” Perhaps there was some nervous laughter.

But Jesus wasn’t one to pass up opportunities! He was quick and ready to correct wrong ideas in the spiritual realm. And so He told this parable about the great dinner to correct this man, who wrongly was assuming that he and all of his cronies would be present at that banquet due to the fact that they were Jews, and not just any Jews, but Pharisees. They saw themselves a few notches above the common Jewish people, and not even in the same league with pagan Gentiles. Jesus shows them that many of them would not be in the kingdom because they were refusing the Lord’s invitation. To their great surprise, many whom they assumed would not be there would in fact be there because they responded to the invitation. The last would be first and the first last (13:30). The answer to the question, “Who will be at God’s banquet in the kingdom?” is, those who respond personally to the invitation.

Here Jesus speaks for God and uses the parable to invite his hearers to take the necessary action to enter the kingdom of God. Failure to reorient their lives in accordance with God’s values, which have been proclaimed by prophets, shows they are not true children of Abraham and will not recline with him (Luke 13:18-30). Thus, refusal to accept Christ’s call now is equal to rejecting God’s invitation to the Final banquet during the end times. If they miss the kingdom meal, it will not be for a lack of invitation, since they (the pharisees) were the first to be summoned. God’s Final feast will be held on schedule and all seats will be filled by somebody.

Street in his book “Subversive Meals” states that there are two lessons we can draw from this teaching: 1) No one “can enter the kingdom without the invitation of God” and 2) No one “can remain outside of it but by his own deliberate choice.” The question then remains, “How do the Pharisees respond?” While no answer is given one thing stands out. This banquet is a venue for evangelism for us today.

I believe the church’s mission, no matter what church or denomination, in this world is to set a table for anyone and everyone. We need to invite people to come to a meal, be filled and satisfied with good food and more than that, hear some Good News that will make lives not just better but complete.

If you had met me 12 years ago, you would not have liked me. I was mean, bitter, full of anger and hooked on prescription pain killers. People tried to “fix” me and some even tried to us “tough love” to get me to change. Even to this day, those tactics will not work with me. They just make me angrier about the situation and to the person who is trying to change me.

When I look back, I see the clear calling of God on my life at the age of 14, but life kept piling things and obstacles in my way until I was angry at God and accused Him of sending me to this earth as a cosmic joke to him. In early August of 2014, I was running on the backroads of Gibson City. I heard a distinct voice say, “Kristina. Pull yourself together. I have great plans for you.” It made such a tremendous impact that I stopped running and almost bowled over. From that day forward, I pulled myself together and here I stand in front of you today speaking.

My pastor at the time would become frustrated with me. He would ask me, “What did God call you to do?” I kept saying: I do not know. I’ll know it when I hear it or see it. In early January of 2020, I went on a silent and solitude retreat. I was studying Elijah and Elisha. God spoke to me and told me that I needed to give the gift of goodbye to our current church. Eric and I had been going to that church since 2010. We loved the people there. Eric was the head of the children’s program and we were fully invested in the community. Yet, when I got home, God had told Eric the same thing. Needless to say that it did not go over well with our church. No one understood why we were leaving, not even the pastor.

God led us to first assembly. We slowly started becoming involved. In September of 2021, a speaker came to our church named Verlon Fosner. I had preconceived ideas about his concept of “dinner church.” Yet, when he spoke, it was like the heavens opened and I knew at that moment in time that this was the way God wanted me to go. Here was the ministry. The fresh expression of church that God wanted me to be a part of and not just any part or helper but an apostolic leader. Took Eric a few more months to see the vision. Now we feel God calling us to help start missional dinner churches all throughout the state of IL. Our first one, hopefully, two will start here in the next few months here in this community.

What is dinner Church? Dinner Church is not just a “ministry” but a fully formed expression of Church. Although it gathers in a different way than most churches, it expresses God’s mission to form communities of people who are just like Jesus.

The early church gathered around a table for a meal, they laughed, had conversation and talked about the mission they were on, ultimately to change the world. They shared their own Jesus Stories and how and encounter with this Carpenter from Nazareth transformed their lives. Doesn’t that sound inviting to you? It does to me. I love to eat and to fellowship. In fact, it brought me great joy to hear of the potluck following this service.

There is a study that suggests that there are still 40% of the world’s people groups who have never heard the Gospels or the name of Jesus. I’m suggesting that we living in a time where there are people who’s only reference to the name Jesus Christ comes through cursing.

At 14, I know God called me to become a missionary. When Eric and I were young, we knew God called us to be missionaries in our own backyard. Now, we feel the apostolic calling for Illinios. We need a revival. We need changed and transformed lives, marriages and communities. How do I see that happening? One meal at a time.

Eric and I have had the honor of going to two dinner churches in the Chicago area. When we were at the one in Pilson, there was a gentleman who is known to be transient and most likely homeless. That night, he stated that he came to this church because when he sits down to eat a meal, people actually sit down next to him and talk with him. He cannot find that anywhere else. Eric and I talked to a family of four. The stated that this was their church. The mom said, “We get good food and The Word here. What more could you want?”

Eat with all the “wrong” people

Our vision for dinner churches is to bring heaven down to earth. We want to give a foretaste of the wonderful Feast that will happen when we are all celebrating in heaven with Jesus. But, we have to invite everyone first. How do we get those who are broken, down caste, unlovable, marginalized, homeless, isolated, lonely, rejected by society into our church to show them the love of Jesus? I believe it consist of two things. Food and us.

On time a person entertained this question to me. What if they are someone who I cannot stand? What if it is someone who has hurt me, ridiculed me for my faith or just comes to the dinner church to be hateful? Here is what my Jesus heart says to that response:

In Psalm 23, my Shepherd prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Since I love my enemies (Jesus instructs us to do this in Matthew 5:43-47), I would not feast upon a delicious meal in their presence and let them stand there hungry. The abundance of God’s provision and safety in my life is so great, I would invite them to enjoy what God has prepared for me.

You might think: Wow! What a noble response to take. However, I’m telling you that it from my Jesus heart that was transformed when He showed me that there was a better life for me. I would have been that “enemy” at one time. God has great plans for me. He has great plans for you. He has great plans for all who will come to the table to eat with me. You may not believe that, but sit with me long enough and I will show you.

Make Time to be with Jesus

Theologian Letty Russell was famous for saying that church should be like a round table, but she explained further that she actually meant it should be like three round tables: The metaphor of the church as a round table speaks of people gathered around the table and in the world in order to connect faith and life in action/reflection (the round table), work for justice in solidarity with those at the margins of society (the kitchen table), and to welcome everyone as partners in God’s world house (the welcome table). Looking around requires us to acknowledge the other and to accept the gifts God brings to us through them.

Every culture knows that the best learning happens over food. We see things and understand things over a meal that a lecture, speech or even a sermon like this one alone cannot quite convey. And we can all relate to the unease of stepping into a traditional church for the first time. We are uncomfortable, not knowing anyone. In a dinner church, we give them a plate. We have them go to the head of the line. We feed them. And when fed, they relax and can open themselves up to what God has in store.

Now I don’t want you to leave thinking that I want to replace traditional churches with dinner churches. That is far from my intention. I became a Christian because I love Jesus. I became a pastor because I love the church. I love going to church. Even during the hardest times of my life, church has been a rock for me and my family. I love that God has designed us to be unique. Not one of us here worship him or relate to him in the same way. Dinner Church provides another place for those who may still love Jesus but have left the traditional church. Verlon Fosner, whom I spoke about before, states that there will always be a third of people who will always need a traditional church to be a part of. There will be a third of people who will not step foot into a traditional church but find community and church in a specific grouping such as Bikers for Jesus. I’ve known people who meet to do a small church service and then go hiking or surfing and even running groups. This church plant focuses on the third of the people who would not be comfortable stepping into a traditional church nor have the time or resources to do the specialized groups. Dinner Church is designed to bring that third to the table, both literally and figuratively.

Conclusion

Are we doing a good job at setting the table for those to come to know Jesus?

Really fast, here are some practical ways that you can use what you’ve heard today.

First, pray for Dinner Church. Pray for those that are already up in running, like the two in Chicago. Pray for the ones that are on the verge of starting here in blo/no. Pray for those that God wants us to plant in the next ten years.

Second, invite someone for coffee, ice cream, or a meal with you. Get to know them. Over time, they will get to know you and know that you are different than other people they know. They will see the Jesus in you.

Third, I challenge you to read The Gospels in a new way. Stop to ponder all the times that Jesus ate with people. Where was he? Who was he with? What did he say during that time? You will find that Jesus did and said a lot during a dinner table. Meditate on that as you read through the Gospels.

If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with them… The people who give you their food give you their heart. If you want to bring someone closer to the heart of Jesus, bring that person to your table, give them your food and show them your heart.

One day all of us in Christ will sit around an enormous table exquisitely set with a feast of rich foods, prepared in divine kitchens. No one will be left out. No one will be alone. No one will be nameless. No one unknown. No one with nowhere to go. We will finally be Home. THAT is a Feast I'm looking forward to. What about you?

If you are here today and saying: Kristina, I’m not sure there is a place for me at that table. I’m here to tell you that there is. All you have to do is say: Yes. Tell Jesus that you have made mistakes in the past. You might not even have had a good morning today. You let Jesus know that you may mess up in the future, but you want him with you from now on. I can guarantee that he will come to you with open arms and say: Welcome to the team. I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve saved this seat just for you.

And at that very moment, a different celebration will take place. My friend, if that is you today, you are awesome. I look forward to seeing you at the table.