Who’s Seated At Your Table?

“But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.”  Luke 22:26-27

Jesus said this to his disciples after he served His last supper and then overheard them contending who would be greatest among them. At that point, Jesus said that His kingdom wasn’t as it was in the world; where the Gentile kings were lords and then designated benefactors who would exercise authority over the people. No, He asked them “Who is greater? The one who is served or the one who serves?” This He asked after serving them what is known as the first communion.

Now I’m pretty confident that most of my readers would be familiar with this teaching of servanthood, but I must ask, ‘How do we put this into practice?’ Again, as I will often encourage you in my blogs: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. As for our mind, God graciously gave us the capacity to imagine. Not only that, but He gave us the mind of Christ. “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16) If this is so, then close your eyes (after reading what I’m asking you to do of course) and visualize in front of you a simple table; nothing too fancy but a place in your own upper room. As for the menu? It is no different from the same as what our Lord humbly served the disciples and us: His peace, through His broken body and spent blood.

Now imagine, if you will that the Holy Spirit is Maître d. I don’t know if you know this, but the Holy Spirit does work the front of God’s house. He is the One who invites us to our Lord’s table. God the Father prepared the guest list; where He made our reservations before the foundation of the restaurant was even poured. As for us, as Christ’s servers, it is not for us to choose the guests whom the Holy Spirit seats at our table, although I will say that our immediate family is always to be seated there. Otherwise, it is not for us to determine the number that He will seat. It is neither for us to run outside and leave our guests unattended while we look for someone who may more favorably tip us at day’s end. God Himself will reward us according to our works. Of course, there are many servers who look for immediate gratuities, but allow me to say that the quality of their service will measure only an earthly percentage, which by heavenly standards will be abysmally short of the value of the crown of life that those who store their treasures in heaven are promised. At the same time, we ought not to serve better those whom we favor; those who seem more attractive, wealthy or maybe more well-mannered. We serve all equally: Jew, Gentile, Scythian, barbarian (Barbours); men, women; black, white, yellow; young, old…handsome, homely or homeless.      

In summary, it should sadden us to think about those who have been seated and without a server in their lives. I will say that I have regretfully ignored my own family at times, co-workers, and neighbors because I just didn’t see that Christ had prepared a table before me that He intended me to waiter. Why? Because I was looking for a table for me to sit, converse; to be entertained and served. It was all about me. God forgive me, and those who have joined me at the bar of God’s judgment, counsel and instruction.  With that said, let us now lift up our eyes and ask the Lord to show us whom we are to serve, and however few, let us serve them with all vigor and faith. Let us greet each of them with a holy kiss; which metaphorically today is nothing more than demonstrating our affections one to another in Christ through our service. (1 Cor. 16:20)

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Mat. 9:37,38)