Peace be with you. I’m Danny Bradfield - my pronouns are he/him/his - and I’m pastor of Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
Every week that goes by, I realize just how much it means to me to be here with you, in whatever way we're able to do it...to worship God with you, to pray with you, and to gather with you at the Lord's Table.
This table is a table of friendship, a table of love, a table of genuine welcome. This table is a safe place.
If ever a person is made to feel less than wholly welcome, or is made to feel unsafe in this space, that is not God’s intention, but a reflection of our shortcomings - we who have set this table; we who are charged with extending God’s extravagant welcome to all. We humbly stand in God’s grace with the hope that God will continue to teach us and guide us in the ways of love.
This table reminds me not only of the table at which Jesus gathered with his disciples for the Last Supper; it also reminds me of all the other tables around which Jesus gathered, and the many stories and parables that involved feasting, dining, and banquets.
In the stories we have about Jesus, and in the stories Jesus himself told, a table was always more than just a table. For Jesus, a table was a sign of community; of fellowship; of welcome. To gather with others, and break bread together, and raise a glass … was the absolute best sign of friendship.
More often than not, Jesus was a guest, rather than a host. Prominent community and religious leaders would invite Jesus to join them for a banquet, to be the guest of honor, to speak and answer questions during the post-meal symposium.
These hosts didn’t always honor, fully, the hospitality of the table. They didn’t always see the table the same way Jesus saw the table.
Jesus always called out his hosts when they neglected to show hospitality or welcome; and he chastised other invited guests who accepted banquet invitations only because they thought doing so could help them fight their way up the social ladder.
Sometimes, Jesus welcomed others to the table who weren’t even on the hosts’ guest lists.
All the gospels describe a time when Jesus was at a table, dining in someone’s house, when a woman comes in and anoints Jesus with oil.
In some versions, the woman is Mary, the sister of Martha, and someone gets upset at what they consider to be an extravagant, wasteful use of valuable ointment.
In Luke’s version, the woman is unnamed, but the host and other guests refer to her as a sinner, and they wonder why on earth Jesus would welcome and allow a sinful woman like her to touch him and anoint him...
In every case, eyebrows were certainly raised. This woman, whoever she was, shouldn’t have been there. The table wasn’t for her; at least, that’s what some of those who were present thought.
But Jesus welcomed her. Jesus always welcomed every person to the table.
On other occasions, Jesus was accused of dining with people who the authorities had labelled “sinners.” It was said that Jesus was a great rabbi, a prophet - some even were calling him a messiah - so what was he doing, engaging in table fellowship with the likes of them?
But what Jesus was doing was creating a safe, welcoming space for all. At every table he dined at, Jesus created a safe, welcoming space, a space where any person would feel comfortable and safe in his presence.
Like I said: not everyone thought the same way Jesus did. Some wanted to restrict access to the table. Some wanted to close off the table of fellowship. They had a very different idea about what the table represents than Jesus did.
In the book of Mark, there is a rather long story about two different tables, two different banquets...
The first banquet we hear about in this story is Herod’s banquet. It’s Herod’s birthday banquet, in fact. And can’t you just imagine what Herod’s birthday banquet table looks like? It’s probably the most beautiful, most ornate, most fanciful table in the entire gospel!
The second banquet we hear about in this story is a banquet hosted by Jesus. It is very different from Herod’s banquet.
Jesus doesn’t have a big, fancy, ornate table. In fact, Jesus’ “table” is actually just a patch of grass, because Jesus’ banquet doesn’t even take place in a building. It takes place in some remote wilderness, with thousands of mostly poor, tired people who had followed him there.
Certainly, one would think that of these two banquets, the one hosted by Herod is the one that everyone would want to be at… and naturally, it is the more exclusive banquet. It was not easy to get on Herod’s guest list.
But if you know the story, you know how it ends: Herod’s banquet ends with shock, horror, and death. Game of Thrones had the red wedding, and Herod had the red birthday banquet.
Jesus’ banquet, meanwhile, ends with miraculous signs of abundant life. And everyone at Jesus’ banquet is fed, everyone is satisfied, and everyone goes home happy and content.
Because at Jesus’ banquet table - even when you’re out in the wilderness, and there is no actual table - everyone is welcome, everyone is loved, everyone is affirmed, everyone is safe, and everyone is fed.
There are tables in today’s scripture story. Can you see them? They’re set up in the outer courtyard of the temple, a very busy, crowded, bustling place.
Imagine that you were a first-century Jew, coming to the temple, coming to offer a sacrifice so that you could go in and be accepted into the presence of God.
You may have travelled a long distance to get here - like Mary and Joseph, who brought Jesus to the temple from Nazareth when Jesus was a boy.
Or, you may have come from even farther, like that Ethiopian eunuch described in Acts 8, who came all the way from Africa.
Most likely - because he was a foreigner, and because he was gender queer (because they were gender queer) - that Ethiopian eunuch would have been turned away at the gate…
But if they, or you, or anyone else did come onto the temple grounds, and if you wanted to offer a sacrifice that would allow you to enter all the way into God’s presence, you probably didn’t bring the sacrifice with you. It’s hard enough just to make the journey yourself; imagine if you also had to bring along on your journey a cow, a sheep, or a pair of doves!
So that’s why there were sellers in the temple: to sell you the cow, sheep, or doves you needed for the offering.
But because these sellers were in the temple, they only accepted Jewish currency - temple currency… and everywhere outside of the temple only used Roman currency. So before you could buy your cow, your sheep, or your doves, you first needed to exchange your Roman coin for temple coin.
That’s why there were moneychangers in the temple.
Of course, each transaction in this process involved a service fee. A percentage for the moneychanger. A percentage for the seller. And there were taxes on each transaction - a tax that went to the temple, and a tax that went to Rome.
Could they make it any harder?
Imagine if it were modern times, and all these transactions took place by phone...
Trying to reach God in the temple was like trying to get through to a live person in an automated telephone system.
Welcome to the temple of God. Para español, oprima el número ocho… To purchase an offering, press 1...
To purchase a cow, press 1. To purchase a sheep, press 2. To purchase a pair of doves, press 3...
Please enter your payment information, then press pound...
Are you trying to pay with Roman currency? Only temple currency is allowed. To exchange your Roman currency for temple currency, press 1...
Please enter the amount of currency you would like to exchange, then press pound...
You will be charged a moneychanger’s fee for this transaction; to accept, press 1...
You will be charged a temple tax for this transaction; to accept, press 1...
You will be charged a government tax for this transaction; to accept, press 1...
You have now exchanged your Roman currency for temple currency. To return to the main menu, press 1...
Welcome to the temple of God. Para español, oprima el número ocho…To purchase an offering, press 1...
To purchase a cow, press 1. To purchase a sheep, press 2. To purchase a pair of doves, press 3...
Please enter your payment information, followed by the pound sign...
You will be charged a seller’s fee for this transaction. To accept, press 1...
You will be charged a temple tax for this transaction; to accept, press 1...
You will be charged a government tax for this transaction; to accept, press 1...
Congratulations. Your purchase of two doves is now ready for pickup…
Does this sound like a system that is welcoming? Does all this help your effort to come into the presence of God? Do all the hoops you have to jump through, and all the money you are charged, make you feel safe, welcomed, loved, and affirmed?
Does it all help ease the burden you bear as someone living under an oppressively unjust regime?
No. It doesn’t. It makes things harder. It adds to your burden. It makes you feel unwelcome and unwanted, that you are a bother and an annoyance to the system and to God.
At the very least, it makes you wonder if all your efforts are good enough - despite the fact that it took such great effort for you to travel to the temple, and required of you a great sacrifice.
These tables are not the kind of table Jesus wants in the temple. They are not tables of welcome. They are not tables of love. They are not tables of affirmation. They are not tables that make you feel safe or worthy.
And therefore, these tables deserve to be flipped.
Someone on twitter last week wondered if, sometimes, we try to take a seat at tables Jesus would have flipped. Tables of power. Tables of oppression. Tables that are not safe.
And maybe we get upset when someone comes along and flips those tables. After all, we’ve grown quite comfortable sitting at those tables… Those tables of white supremacy… those tables of capitalism… those tables of heteronormativity…
I’m pretty sure that those who get upset by Black Lives Matter marches, or upset by athletes kneeling during the anthem, would also be upset at Jesus if they had seen him come into the temple and start flipping tables.
But tables of injustice and oppression need to be flipped.
In case it’s still not clear, here’s a statement that explains the difference between the two types of tables. (I can’t remember where I came across it, but it explains it really well.) “When Jesus sat at a table, he upset the authorities because of who he included. When the authorities set up their tables, it upset Jesus because of who they excluded.”
Before I end, I want to go back to that Ethiopian eunuch I mentioned. Some of you might not have ever heard this story, which - as I said - is found in the eighth chapter of Acts.
What happened to that Ethiopian eunuch? What happened to that gender-noncomforming black man from Africa, who was (probably) turned away at the temple gates?
Not long after starting the long journey home, this Ethiopian met Philip. Philip had been one of Jesus's followers.
The Ethiopian asked Philip: “Can I be baptized? What is to prevent me? Can I be a follower of Jesus?”
Many would have said no. Many today would say no. But Philip said yes. And he baptized the Ethiopian.
What led Philip to this decision?
I think it was because Philip had seen Jesus flip over the tables of injustice and exclusion and oppression; and Philip knew that, as a follower of Jesus, he was called to do the same.
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