Wednesday, March 15, 2023 – Lent Four, Bystanders on the Way to the Cross

“Keep your eyes open as you enter the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him home. Then speak with the owner of the house: The Teacher wants to know, ‘Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare the meal there.” (Luke 22: 7 -13, The Message Bible)

             Company’s coming for supper.

We should vacuum the house, clean the bathroom,  get out the good china and silverware while we figure out what to have for our friends to eat – something extra special. Don’t forget to put the fresh, clean, linen tablecloth on the table first. Maybe, some fresh flowers in the middle of the table would be nice or perhaps a fancy candle. An old fashion oil lantern could really set the mood, too. Let’s make this visit special, inviting, welcoming, personal …

There are some clandestine movements to get to the house where Jesus and his disciples are going to hold the Passover meal, the Seder. It may be that Jesus wanted to ensure that he wasn’t arrested before he had this ‘’last supper” with his friends.

A man with a jug, seemingly quite inconspicuous, makes sure the coast is clear and leads the disciples to a home where the owner has prepared an upper room for the traditional Passover meal, It commemorates the ancient time in which the plague passed-over the Hebrews’ homes who were enslaved in Egypt, leading to their exodus from there. Friends of Jesus have gone to some lengths to ensure that he and his disciples have this memorable meal together in private. Perhaps, none of them really understood that this Passover would be their last meal together.

The story tells us that the homeowner had prepared the room. No name, perhaps it might even have been a woman. He or she has set out a low table, the reclining mats, cooked the lamb, poured four cups of wine and the unleavened bread, cut up the veggies to be dipped in saltwater, set out the bitter herbs, and made sure everything was just right for Jesus and his companions. Attention to details is important when it comes to the Seder meal.

But that is what a good host does. He or she pays attention to the details.  Hospitality was a very important factor in the ancient Middle East. According to John’s Gospel, the host probably had also put a basin of clean water so that the guests could wash the road dust off their feet before sitting down to the meal. I can see Jesus shooing a servant away so that he, himself, could stoop to do this chore.

The homeowner had thought of everything.

Perhaps, it sounds almost trite, but what would we do if Jesus was planning to come to our house for a meal? The Gospels make it very clear that Jesus enjoyed having dinner with those he met. He loved a good meal. He loved the conservation around the table. He loved banquets, weddings, parties and even invited himself sometimes to someone’s home, e.g. Zacchaeus. We find him at friends like Mary and Martha. But we also find him at his critics’ homes, like the Pharisees. Or someone he probably cured, like Simon the Leper. He ate with the outcasts, tax collectors, even prostitutes. He often acted as the host himself.  I get the feeling that if someone said “Dinner?” that Jesus would say “When and where,” without thinking twice. Jesus was a bit of a mooch!

So, what we do if Jesus came to dinner? We might be like Martha who was “distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.” (Luke 10:40 New living Translation) We would make sure that everything would be tip-top, put on our best bib and tucker. Make sure Jesus sat at the head of the table. Probably say grace to start, even if it is not one’s usual custom.  Pour him a glass of the good wine, not the cheap stuff we normally drink. Serve him the first cut of meat, pass him first the vegetables.

My point is that like the disciples we need to keep our eyes open for ways to prepare our fellowship with Jesus. Jesus prized preparation and readiness in many of his parables. He valued the servant’s role at meal occasions. He practiced inclusion and acceptance in his table fellowship. We need to prepare environments in which Jesus can exercise his table manners, so to speak. We need to create surroundings and settings where the Love of Jesus is served in heaping measures. We need to offer gracious, open-hearted hospitality by the generous plateful. “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:2, NLT)

Treat everyone as if Jesus is there at our table.

I wonder how Jesus likes his lamb…

Dale