Jesus Died For Who He Ate With; Luke 7:18-35

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 16, 2025

Luke 7:18-35

 

Last week we moved forward with Jesus, beyond the grainfields and into the fishing town of Capernaum. 

 

We met a powerful man and a vulnerable woman, hearing how Jesus saw them and was moved with womb-love.

 

We said that when we read a story about Jesus we can think “THAT’S another hammer into his hands.”

 

Today is another theology- that Jesus was killed for the people he ate with.

 

But first- a story:  Last Friday I met friends at San Jose and was greeted by the owner Fernando.  He asked how the week went, taking time to listen and respond with care.

 

When I sat down, he came over with a complimentary plate of ceviche with the most delicious avocado.

 

As Fernando put the plate down, he said in a compassionate, fatherly way- “Here you go my boy.”

 

He must’ve known that I needed to hear those words.  Not “my friend” or “pal,” but a term of kinship.  At that moment he was being “Dad.”

 

No matter how old we get or how our relationship with our father is or is not, many of us have those moments where we just need “Daddy.”

 

Someone to care for us, watch over us, let us know it will be alright.

 

That Friday night, bustling with sizzling fajitas and festive music, the owner of San Jose took the time to see me, hear me, and show true care.

 

Food is a way we show someone what we think of them and where they belong.

 

Back in July, the Council filled my house with groceries and gift cards.

 

Council did not have to do this.  But they did, and I am so thankful.  What a way to say “Welcome to St. Lucas” and introduce me to local foods, like gooey butter cake, toasted ravioli, Straub’s infamous chicken salad that Viktor and Louis still talk about.

 

The food we eat tells a lot about who we are, where our family is from.  Who we eat with and where we eat says a lot about our place in life.

 

Jesus understood this.  Food was a huge part of his ministry.  In Luke we see more instances of Jesus talking about food, eating food, or on his way to eat than any Gospel.

 

Jesus knew that seeing folk, hearing folk, having compassion for them was one thing.

 

BUT- to sit down and eat with them- that’s another.  It’s easy to offer healing and wellness to someone you may never see again.

 

When we take time to stop, sit down, eat beside another- that takes time, attention, vulnerability, and bravery.

 

This is what Jesus offered everyone he dined with.

 

Jesus lived in a culture in which you only ate with those who were “in,” with those who were “just like you.”

 

You only ate the proper foods with proper utensils, in the proper manner.

 

As a proper rabi, you were expected to do as the other proper rabi’s did. 

 

But Jesus was not known for being proper, nor was he like anyone else.

 

Walk through a field on a Sabbath and your Disciples are hungry- let them pluck the grain and eat it!

 

Spend the day teaching about Heaven and cleansing folk- go ahead, relax with Ted Drewes and a Budweiser.

 

Huge crowd follows you and they’re hungry?  Don’t send them away or worry if they are Jew or Gentile, citizen or refugee, LGBTQ or ally.

 

You say “Sit, eat,” and trust in God that the 5 loaves and 2 fish that you have will suffice.

 

Even when you are invited to the home of a known enemy of the state or a person who survives by sharing their body- you join them at table, break bread, have a drink, and say “See how good and pleasant it is when we eat together in harmony.”

 

To sit at the table with a peer, an outsider, a saint, or a sinner is to say “I see you, I care: we are part of the same family,” even as naysayers, conflict-mongers, and bullies watch.

 

That’s what Jesus did.  That’s who Jesus was.  THAT’S the Heavenly Kingdom of God he embodied.

 

Yes- there were a few people who did not like or approve of his eating style.  Instead of saying “See how the Lord welcomes all!”-

 

They said “Look at him.  How much he eats, how much he drinks, who he sits with.  Shameful!  Sinful!  Jesus is a slob, a drunk who welcomes trash.”

 

Jesus dined with everybody, everywhere.  This did not make society’s gate keepers happy.  So “Bam!”, another hammer into his hands and feet.

 

Thank God we do not think like that.  Thank God we are blessed.

 

This month we’re discussing how “Love Grows Here.”  One of those ways is with Michele who created today’s event “Sox, Crocs & Cocoa.”

 

Just as “Love Grows Here” has proven to be prophetic, so is Michele’s choice of fun for today.

 

The idea of wearing wild socks on a Sunday!  Would Rev. Kruse have approved?

 

Crocs- maybe in Florida! What would our founding Church Fathers think?

 

And a hot cocoa buffet?  Well, let’s be honest…who’s going to complain about that?

 

How wonderful it is that we get to gather in the Hall, to sip, enjoy, be warm, and welcome one another.

 

It may not be bread that is broken or wine that is poured, but it is certainly a form of Communion in which we get to smell and taste just how good Heaven on Earth can be.

 

As we continue through today and this week, let us be glad that not only do we worship a Lord who sees, hears, and has compassion for us-

 

We also worship a Lord who will gladly sit, eat, and drink with us.

 

No matter who we are; what we do.  If we are powerful or powerless.  Jesus is right there at table, ready to have hot cocoa with us all.

 

Let us say “Amen.”