You Will Always Eat At My Table

      I love phrases from scriptures like “Saddle the Donkey!” which means to get ready, I’m about to go somewhere with purpose. And isn’t “resting with the fathers” a beautiful way to say someone has passed on into eternity? The latest phrase I’ve latched onto is “and you will always eat at my table.” 
     Its appeal is not merely because I love to eat, but rather the meaning behind the phrase. In 2 Samuel 9:7 King David comforts his best friend’s son who was lame in both feet. “And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.”  …Protection and provision. David used this phrase again near the end of his life, giving his son Solomon political advice on how to rule the kingdom. He named some people who were to be eliminated, while others were to be shown kindness which he indicated with “…let them be of those who eat at thy table.” (1 Kings 2:7)
     Country folks genuinely appreciate sharing a table. It might be extended family around a giant potluck table 20 feet long. It might be enjoying hotdogs and s’mores around a campfire under the stars, or Sunday dinner when the pastor and family gather together at Nana's farmhouse. And on warm days the table can turn into a picnic blanket in the back yard or a rock down by the river. Recently the Jerry Run Church in Hacker Valley enjoyed a meal together. This time the menu was unique to go along with the sermon topic of “Wild Things” (sermon link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-bJVUPgiaY.) Congregants enjoyed elk burgers, venison, buffalo meatballs, and cornbread made from homegrown and ground corn. More importantly, the table was shared by brothers and sisters in Christ and fellowship fed their souls.
     During one of my treasure hunting adventures at GoodWill, I picked up a book called My Last Supper featuring famous chefs, each one answering the same questions: What would your last meal consist of? Who would you eat it with? Where? Readers instinctively contemplate their own answers.  Some might say $1000 golden tomahawk steak at a ritzy restaurant in Manhattan. Others might choose fried bologna sandwiches, with homegrown green beans and tender new potatoes dug straight out of the dirt a little too early, or Mom’s homemade pies with mile high meringue. No matter what would be on the menu, you can bet we’d be dining with family and friends.
     Leonardo Da Vinci gave us a visual of the most impactful meal ever shared. On a wall in Italy he painted the scene of Jesus’ last supper with the disciples as recorded in all four Gospels. The meal took place in an upper room in the city of Jerusalem during Passover, and the guests were His closest friends. We’re not told what the menu was except for bread and wine, which Jesus shared with instructions to eat and remember His broken body and blood poured out for us. We do this when we take communion (Eucharist) …”and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.”
     As believers we look forward to another epic meal.  In Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:16-24 Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven like a wedding banquet. He is the groom, who in Jewish tradition went away to prepare a home and then returned for his bride. When he returns for us, there will be a celebration like none other. Each and every one of us has received a V.I.P. invitation but only those who are clothed in the symbolic redemptive garment God provides through Jesus to cover our sins will be allowed to enter. Oh how I long to hear those words spoken by The King, “Let them be of those who eat at thy table.”
 

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