Posts from August 2022

Posts from August 2022

The Middle of the Action

A discussion of the importance of table fellowship will eventually bring us to the Gospel of Luke. Luke is where all the important stuff seems to be happening during a meal. The table becomes the location of forgiveness and repentance, of preaching and calling. In Luke 6:6-11, amidst several other stories about Jesus creating controversy, comes a story about Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. This happens in a synagogue during Sabbath worship. The scribes and Pharisees present…

The Proclamation of the Water

At the deepest part of our humanity lies the question, “Where do I belong?” Much of our lives are spent finding answers to this question. We want to belong to a family, to friends, to a spouse, to a church, and of course, to God. But we don’t stop there. We find belonging in ideas and the people who share them with us. We find it in the fan base of our favorite sports teams. We experience it when a…

The Water and the Table

The New Testament consistently emphasizes the importance of both baptism and table fellowship. But their importance is not separate from one another. Scripture has a clear trajectory from the waters of baptism to the table. In Acts 2, Peter delivers a masterful sermon in Jerusalem during Pentecost, claiming that the Holy Spirit is pouring itself out on the whole world, claiming that Jesus is in fact everything God has ever wanted for his people and that Jerusalem responded not by…

Steadfast, Enduring

Hunger and thirst are bad enough no matter who or where you are. But on top of that, Psalm 107 places a group of hungry and thirsty characters in the wilderness, in a desert waste. Dirt and dead grass as far as the eye can see. There is no town on the horizon, no refuge. One by one, these weary characters are fainting out of consciousness. The body has no energy left, no more strength to carry on. What is…