Matthew 4:1-11 Christ’s Crowded Table: An Invitation

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I didn’t grow up in a denomination that observed Lent, so when I first experienced this mysterious season of the church in college, it took me awhile to learn what it’s all about. Turns out, Lent isn’t in the Bible- it’s something the church has created to remind us of living in a sacrificial way. But we don’t sacrifice just for the heck of it- it’s purposeful, drawing us back to Christ’s table, where we are nourished for the sake of serving others.

Barbara Brown Taylor describes this return to sacrificial living for the sake of building a Christ-centered community: “The church dug deep into its faith story, recalling the time (always with the number forty involved) that Israel, Elijah, and Jesus each spent in the desert, wandering and suffering, longing and learning: hungry. In response to this hunger, this emptiness, this longing, the church, Taylor says, created Lent as "a springtime of the soul." (In fact, the English word "Lent" comes from the word for "spring.") Like our own urge to clean house in the spring, the church recognized the need for a spiritual spring cleaning as well and offers us "[f]orty days to cleanse the system and open ours eyes to what remains when all comfort is gone…to live by the grace of God alone and not by what we can supply ourselves. I invite you into Lent today with…

Matthew 4:1-11 Christ’s Crowded Table: An Invitation

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Jesus has the opportunity to elevate himself, forsaking others in the pursuit of power, control, and dominion over the earth. And he doesn’t, that’s why this story begins our Lenten journey each year. Because Jesus doesn’t give in to evil’s temptation to take more than he needs. Instead, he chooses what? To take the harder, self-sacrificial road to a type of power that liberates others. In our newsletter this month, I offer why the wilderness is important for Jesus to understand human suffering. But he doesn’t just understand suffering, he redeems it, beginning with his own.

And all that desert work of the soul leads Jesus to table with his friends, the night before he dies. The course of history is altered that night. Billions of people today recognize the significance of that moment Jesus pours himself out for the sake of others. We call it a sacrament. In Jesus’ final meal with his disciples, he makes a new covenant that expands God’s community. Christ wants a house with a crowded table. A welcome for ALL who are hungry for purpose. All who thirst for a Springtime of the soul. Everyone who is looking to commit to a life-force more powerful than we can imagine. Christ does the hard work of making self-sacrifice an eternally-fulfilling way forward.

That’s what Jesus is doing in the wilderness- preparing for us a place at a table where we are all wanted, no need goes unmet, and self-sacrifice guides us to holy community. It’s this holy community that I hear reflected in the Highwomen’s new song Crowded Table:

You can hold my hand, When you need to let go
I can be your mountain, When you're feeling valley-low
I can be your streetlight, Showing you the way home
You can hold my hand, When you need to let go

I want a house with a crowded table, And a place by the fire for everyone.

Jesus could accomplish his new covenant on his own. He’s that powerful. Instead, he chooses to invite us on the journey, knowing that in our attempt to create beloved community, we too will be transformed. 

In our call to worship today, Teddie reminded us of this invitation: “Beloved of God, let us drink deeply from the wellspring of God’s Spirit, which has all we need to live fully, love deeply, and serve faithfully.” That’s what Christ’s Crowded Table is all about. You are welcome here. We are all welcome here. And it is my deep delight that we witnessed another sacrament today affirming our beloved invitation to Christ’s table. Baptism- what a deep privilege we have in teaching Theodore (and continue learning for ourselves) why Christ’s table is so darn crowded: Because doing life together transforms us and the world we live in. Amen!