We've had our big Thanksgiving feast, the table is clear and leftovers are still in the fridge. Now it's time to downshift into Christmas, right? Not so fast! This post-feast time is a great time to reflect on the table. Specifically let's think about the table of Jesus and how His table might fit in the tech booth. Jesus set a table 2000 years ago and He wants us to get some guests.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of what is recorded in scripture revolves around food? It seems that Jesus was always dining with someone. Luke's Gospel begins with Jesus being born and laid in an animal feeding trough. Luke then lists nine times that Jesus was eating (Luke Chapters 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 22 and 24) Sometimes it was as an invited guest at a fancy dinner party with a leader or maybe it's just outside eating bread and fish with a crowd. I don't think that it's too much of a stretch to say that Jesus genuinely enjoyed this kind of gathering. I have this picture of Jesus and the disciples sitting around laughing and eating, much like we may have done, at some point over the past weekend.
However there were a number of people who didn't like Jesus' guest list. It's Jesus' eating companions that are really the focus. Do you remember this line?
"And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” - Luke 5:30
What was the problem with those guys? Why did they care who Jesus ate with? Wasn't Jesus just trying to reach people? The Pharisees in Jesus' day were concerned with every aspect of life and culture. Not just with Jesus, they would have cared about who we associated with too. Most of us would have been grouped into their “sinner” category. To a Pharisee, everyone who didn't keep the strict adherence to the Jewish law was a “sinner” or a pagan.
The tax collectors were particularly low on the scale. Most tax collectors would have gotten their position with money or influence. They collected taxes for the Romans. The devout Pharisees would see these men as sell outs and thieves. After all, according to the Hebrew Law, this was their land. Why pay taxes to a foreign, pagan King? To make matters worse, some of these “sell outs” came from good, Jewish families.
Maybe these religious zealots had a point. Why would Jesus want to hang out with those kinds of people? Read carefully Jesus' response:
And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” - Luke 5:31-32
Jesus sat at the table with people who really needed him. Not that the Pharisees didn't need Jesus, but they were so blinded by their ritual, that they felt they didn't need him. Don't we all know people like that? The people Jesus was eating with where people who were tossed aside by their faith. Don't we know people like that too? The group in Luke 5 were all friends of another tax collector named Levi. Levi had just surrendered his life and future to Jesus and he brought some friends over so they could meet Jesus too.
You can also read this story in Matthew 9:9-17, where the tax collector goes by another name: Matthew. Yes. It's the same Matthew who wrote the Gospel. This guy is just sitting at his booth collecting taxes, just like any other day. Suddenly this new, controversial Rabbi comes up and says “follow me”. Levi (Matthew) drops his whole life and says, “Yes”. We have no idea what his mindset was but we have to know that Jesus struck a nerve. You don't just leave a lucrative career, unless something is missing. Then he feels something new from this call and he invites everyone he knows to the table. Matthew's story is a truly beautiful picture of a changed heart.
Now fast forward the story back to the tech booth here in the 21st century. Our table is not a table for dining on food but for feasting on the Word. Certainly we have a job to do, but the most important task of the tech team is that the Word of God is presented clearly, right? So let's think about who we have with us at the table. Are there other people in the booth who may be new to the faith? It's possible. Or maybe there's someone out there in the congregation who has some skills and is a new believer. Have you invited them in?
I believe that the table of technology can be very inviting to some people who may have been, like Matthew's friends --- those who were rejected by the church. Perhaps there are people that we know, people who are gifted in a certain area, people who are not involved in a church. Is it possible that they simply need an invitation to the table to meet Jesus? Maybe they are complete unbelievers? It may surprise you to find out that they would accept the invitation?
I understand that your church may have rules about who is serving, but explain to that this is about evangelism. It's media as ministry. Tell your leaders that you will sit with the person and be a witness to them. It's really not that difficult. Take your friend out to lunch after church and ask them if they understood what they've heard. That is exactly the way it happened to me. I was invited to the audio booth, listened to the message for a few weeks, and then I was asked if I understood what the Gospel was about. I had that Matthew moment, and said, “Yes”.
Consider it today. Who could you invite to the table? Get your guest list together, pray for them, and invite them to join you in the booth. You may get accused of working with “sinners”. It's OK. Just tell them that you are just introducing sick people to the Great Physician.
