When the Kingdom Comes to Your Table

 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10-13, ESV)

I’ve been thinking about the faces of those who have sat at my table. After reading this passage, a few questions settled in my heart: What do they look like? What’s their story? What questions of faith are they asking? Do they know Jesus? 

As a member of a campus ministry in a city that is primarily not Christian, I’ve found these questions quite humbling and inspiring. I’ve had more cultures and denominations (or lack thereof) sit at my table than at any other time in my life. Part of this is my context, but another leading factor is the way I’ve been challenged to press into Matthew 9 discipleship. 

Early in ministry, I learned to create safe, like-minded gatherings. I was quick to build up those who were like me. Part of this was my context, but another leading factor was being raised in a place where “birds of a feather flock together.” People similar to me, especially in faith, were “safe” to learn with and teach, but those who were different were “dangerous.” 

I believe this came from the idea that we could be tainted by the thoughts or might automatically conform to the culture of someone who doesn’t share our own worldview. Paul’s warning that “bad company corrupts good character” scared us into building boundaries for fear of losing one’s reputation with God or with those around us. This idea wasn’t explicitly taught, but it was trending. We discipled those who looked like us, thought like us, and talked like us, but there was no space at our table for those whose stories were too heavy to hold or so different that they could “derail” one’s faith. As an innocent attempt at preserving righteousness, we discipled those who were well, and we left the spiritually sick to get sicker. 

Protecting the flock and going after “the one” felt conflicting. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine myself as the one to ask Jesus why He was surrounded by those who could “taint” His witness or threaten His ways, and Jesus might have said, “Woe to you, hypocrite! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

I am thankful for God’s gentle and compelling grace with me early in ministry, and even more grateful for the changes the Spirit has made in my heart. When I think about my table now, I think about an international student who speaks in tongues and teaches me about the spiritual realms. I think of my neighbors who have much different worldviews and relationships than myself but who share core interests with me. I think about a freshman who has no idea what a denomination is but knows he loves Jesus and that’s about it. I think of a local who helped us make Tucson our home. Though she walked away from faith, she embodies the Sermon on the Mount better than anyone I know. I think about our first friend here, who has trusted us with his story, a story that in some church circles would be met with condemnation.

Years ago, there was no reality where these friends would be at my table, but because they are now, I’ve learned more about my own journey with Jesus and His kingdom than ever before. It’s uncommon for me to go a day without hearing something starkly different from my own beliefs. In fact, I feel more different than similar to people here. But what’s beautiful about this experience is that I’m learning what it’s like for Jesus to fulfill Paul’s Ephesians 3 prayer in my heart and community. 

Investing in a kind of intentional community that gathers the “tax collectors and sinners,” of which I am a part, has made the mission and heart of God much clearer. I pray more earnestly that God will keep me from being a reason His Kingdom doesn’t shed light on my brothers and sisters around me. I ask God to show me the people who have not been given a seat at the table, and I pray the Spirit leads me in discipleship that reflects the diversity of the Kingdom He is building. 

While there is nothing “wrong” with discipling those who are already walking with Jesus, I encourage you to join me in considering at least one person in your community who is different from you, and to then invite them to your table. Hear their story. Allow them to challenge you. Refrain from trying to change their mind about anything and instead just hold their experience. Let it take root in your heart and seek to understand it. Every time I put this into practice, not only do I learn something new about God’s kingdom, but I also learn that this person is actually more like me than I thought.

“Should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.” (Romans 3:9)

To live into the Gospel is to admit that all of our stories need redemption, and that God sent His Son to personally deliver each of us from our chains and into His kingdom. This is your neighbor’s story; this is your story,  

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from our sins.” (Romans 3:23-24)

Inviting the spiritually sick to your table won’t make you more sinful or less righteous, but it will allow a part of God’s kingdom to break in and take root in your community—and in your own heart too. As spiritual leaders in our communities, we have a responsibility to bear the image of Jesus. I pray mine looks like this: And as Courtney reclined at her table, behold, people of all kinds came and were reclining with her, and the Kingdom of Heaven was among them.