There’s a lot of “gathering around the table” in the gospel of Luke and at face value it may make us think that, Jesus and his followers were particularly fond of mealtime and perhaps there’s some truth to that.
But there’s a much deeper dimension to all of this “gathering around the table.”
You see, the table is the place where some of God’s greatest truths are revealed. And I would even go so far to suggest that the table, is a snapshot of the kingdom of God here earth.
And as we enter into this story, Jesus has been invited to share a meal at the home of a prominent Pharisee.
Now let me talk about these guys for a minute. In scripture, there are two types of religious guys, Scribes and Pharisees.
The Scribes were the professional, formerly trained theologians. These are the guys that went to Bible College and Seminary. They have degrees, big libraries, and they publish books. So, these guys are pretty well respected and carried a lot of power.
The Pharisees were the middle class, not formerly educated group of people that would come together in closed communities and live under a scribe, sort of their resident expert theologian.
And the Pharisees then would try to enforce all of the rules and laws that their scribe made they were obedient to their scribe to the point of blindness. So they're primary responsibility was to carry around a pocket full of labels . . . in or out, right or wrong.
So here's the scene, Jesus has been invited to share a meal at the home of a prominent Pharisee, a Sabbath meal to be exact.
Now typically these gatherings were casual and relaxing; hanging out with neighbors and friends, grilling burgers and dogs, the kids are playing man hunt in the front yard . . . everybody’s having a good time. But that’s the furthest thing from what we find in this story!
Listen again to the way Luke sets the stage: One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched
Not exactly an enjoyable start to things, is it?
You’ve got to wonder how this made him feel – walking into the place and immediately feeling the piercing eyes analyzing your every move, just waiting for you slip up so they can pounce.
They smile at you, but you can tell they have an agenda on their minds.
But instead of worrying about what people thought of him, Jesus notices this unnamed man who has dropsy, a physical condition of swelling from abnormal fluid retention.
In addition to being uncomfortable for its victim it’s also unpleasant for everyone else; this is the kind of person that people tend not to see because it’s just easier that way . . . out of sight, out of mind . . . kind of like we do when a homeless person stands on the corner, if we don’t look, he’s not there . . . but on this day, Jesus saw him
And he asks the gathering if it’s wrong to heal someone on the Sabbath.
You see, it wasn’t appropriate to heal someone on the Sabbath; it’s not the right time or the right place. Sabbath is a day that God gave to us to put aside our work and rest but because God wasn’t real clear about what it meant to rest or not to work . . . the religious guys created some very strict rules about the kind of things you could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath.
And although there were very strict rules . . . there were exceptions to the rules
Do you see how complicated life had become? All these rules, all these exceptions and only the local Rabbi knew for sure what was forbidden, and what was allowed . . . making it even more complicated.
Now, for the religious guys . . . keeping the Sabbath according to the rules was a sign of loyalty – to God, to Israel and to national hopes of liberation because they were convinced that what they did determined God’s movement.
And so, they were watchful for anything that trivialized the Sabbath because they posed a threat to their hopes for liberation and the coming kingdom of God.
So this day that had been set aside to rest in the work of God had become a check list of things to do and if they didn’t do it right, it brought another label of bondage . . . guilt!
So when Jesus saw this man with dropsy, he asks, “Is it wrong to heal someone on the Sabbath?”
Apparently his words caught everyone off-guard because they don’t answer him. And Jesus wasn’t going to wait around for one anyway, as he heals the man.
What’s interesting is that up to this point in Jesus’ ministry, when people are suffering; they tend to press through the crowd toward Jesus to touch him, to unleash his healing power.
But this man doesn’t do that. He doesn’t say or do anything. I don’t know why. Maybe because he thought Jesus was too busy or too important and he didn’t want to bother him or perhaps the labels of this disease . . . sinner, broken, deserving . . . had become so familiar that he’d just given up hope altogether.
But Jesus brings hope to the hopeless and he looks at him with love and compassion . . . something that no one had done for a really long time . . . And he heals him and then he sends him on his way.
And what Jesus did was not only free the man from physical bondage but he also freed everyone from the bondage of the law which had been so skewed by the religious leaders. They were so caught up in trying to follow and enforce the rules of the Sabbath so that God’s kingdom would come that they didn’t even see it in their midst.
The kingdom of God is about Jesus, God who became man to make his dwelling among us . . . speaking His truth in love and bringing that truth to life.
And to think – all of this happens long before the meal is served; long before God provides us with nourishment we need to survive.
All of this happens because God’s presence is made known in the fellowship of believers, in the gathering around the table, even when some in that gathering may have different agendas, may have various disagreements, or may just be “watching other’s closely”.
Somehow in the midst of this craziness, God’s kingdom on earth comes to fruition. And maybe that’s the real miracle of the meal.
I wonder if you are sitting here today and you feel like this man, so burdened down, overwhelmed and defeated by life and the labels you carry with you. You have labels that have completely imprisoned you.
And I wonder if the labels have become so familiar to you that you sometimes hardly even notice them and maybe you’ve lost hope altogether but you come to church . . . wondering if Jesus cares enough to notice you.
And I wonder if we don’t sometimes sound like the religious leader; trying to limit and restrict the circumstances for healing.
• Oh, not in my life,
• Not in my family – too dysfunctional.
• Not in my situation – too many problems
• This just isn’t the time. I’m too young or I’m too old.
• That’s for other people. Wait until I get my life straightened out. Maybe when I get a job but healing is not possible for me right now.
• Not here, not now . . . not in this prison.
I want you to hear this . . . Jesus’ love and healing cannot be confined by time or place or law or even circumstances. Liberation and healing can happen at any time for anyone.
And this morning, He wants to do for you, what he has done for this man and for the Sabbath; He wants to offer restoration and wholeness.
God wants us to grow in rest, and love, and relationship with him and his people. And he gives to us, as a gift, Sabbath; a day to stop working, set aside your labels, and just rest in the finished work of Jesus.
And today, we meet Jesus at the altar. This morning, he sees you and he sees me and through the bread and wine; His own body broken and blood poured out for us, he again offers healing and restoration and wholeness.
And as we come forward, Jesus speaks to us, “You are healed . . . you are set free”
This restoration may not happen all at once like it did for this man . . . but Jesus gives to you a community of other broken and labeled people to walk with you, pray with you, and to stand up next to you.