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Eating and
Leftovers
Why the connection between Jesus and 'the leftovers'
and why does the modern church not have the same relationships?
by Phil Ware
Beyond Bread and Wine
Scripture:
“Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large
crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi
son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told
him, and Levi got up and followed him.
“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many
tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there
were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw
him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why
does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the
healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners’" (Mark 2:13-17).
Reflection:
Jesus
irritated the religious gatekeepers repeatedly because he fellowshipped (Mark 2:13-17),
ate (Luke 19:1-10), and drank (Matthew
11:18-19) with those they considered
marginal, unworthy, and sinful.
They
were the unwanted and undeserving leftovers of their religious society.
These
leftovers, however, were precious to Jesus.
Jesus
called them the last, the lost, and the least, who in his kingdom are now the
first, the found, and the greatest (Matthew
25:40, 45; Luke 9:48; Luke 19:10).
Let's
take a moment and look around the Lord's Table that we now share.
Do
you see many of the last, the lost, and the least? How many of the leftovers do
you find at your holy meal?
If
you have a few of these precious leftovers, then give thanks.
Many
of our churches, small groups, and missional communities have people that look
like us.
We
don't see many we might call the loose lug nuts and leftovers of society.
Why
not?
Have
you ever wondered why the people who crowded around Jesus in his day are not
the people we generally see in our communion services?
Why
the connection between Jesus and "the leftovers" and the disconnect
between them and our churches?
After
all, when we take The Supper, aren't we recognizing that we are formed by grace
into his bodily presence in the word? Paul said it this way:
“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17 ESV).
When
we read the story of Jesus, he repeatedly placed himself at a meal with these
people. Do we?
Do
we invite our lost friends to share The Table with Jesus like Levi invited his
friends?
As
we share in this bread and wine today, we want them to call us to something
beyond bread and wine.
We
want this meal to call us into the lives of the last, the lost, and the least.
We
want our next celebration of this simple feast to be a celebration of Jesus'
redeeming love for leftovers and loose lugs.
Why?
We
want our next celebration of this simple feast to be a celebration of Jesus' redeeming
love for leftovers and loose lugs.
Because
we've been sent to reach and include the same folks at his Table in our day as
he did in his day (Luke 19:10; John
20:21).
The
Lord wants his eternal banquet to be filled with people such as these:
“When one of those who reclined at table with him
heard these things, he said to him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in
the kingdom of God!’
“But he said to him, ‘A man once gave a great banquet
and invited many. 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.”
“But they all alike began to make excuses. ... 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.'
“And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has
been done, and still there is room.'
“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'" (Luke 14:15-23 ESV).
The
Lord wants his banquet hall to be filled with the last, lost, and least of us
and our friends!
Prayer
for the Bread:
Almighty God who became human flesh in Jesus, we
recognize that as we share this bread, we are Jesus' body — his physical
presence in the world.
We know he gave his body, enduring suffering and death
so that your banquet hall of grace would be filled.
We now ask that you awaken us and convict us of our
need to be your Son's presence in our world so that the last, the least, and
the lost will want to join us at his Table of grace. In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen.
Prayer
for the Cup:
Loving Father, we know that Jesus purchased the church
— all of us, his followers — at the cost of his own blood.
We now stand before you clean and pure at his expense
and because of his gracious love.
Thank you for making such a gift possible for all of
us who in our heart of hearts know that we are part of the last, the least, and
the lost.
Because of his intercession and grace, we pray in
Jesus' name. Amen.
Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals,
including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with
churches in transition with Interim Ministry
Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president
of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God's
Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com.
Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
(Visit the
Author's Website)
Heartlight Provides Positive Resources for Daily Christian
Living.
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