Called to the Table

Called to the Table

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church

May 16, 2015, International Sabbath

Imagine I have in my hand an avocado. Your fingers can feel the hint through the skin of just-right ripeness. You take a knife, slice it, then pull apart the halves. It looks as beautiful as it felt. You smell it. Again, perfection. You finish peeling it. You slice it onto a plate, then glance around the kitchen. No one is watching. You pull a fork from the drawer, skewer a slice and then . . .

Then you do something unthinkable. You add an alien chemical to this organic perfection. The chemical itself is a combination of a toxic gas and an explosive metal. NaCl. Salt.

You sprinkle salt across the slice on your fork, then put it in your mouth. It is so yummy, you consider eating the entire half before anyone else comes into the kitchen. It is supreme gustatory bliss.

Curious, the way God made the world. Salt and avocado. Baking soda and chocolate chips. Vinegar and cucumbers. Lemon and sugar.

Perfection is the fruit of combination, the union of stark disparities.

This beauty of combination shows up in theology as well.

The Bible is the story of God's work among the Jewish people. The story of creation leads directly to the story of Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people. The story moves to the establishment of the temple and priesthood among the Jews. We read about the Jewish kings and the grand messages of the Jewish prophets.

The Bible story reaches its grand climax with the stories of Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus was born to a Jewish mother in the quintessential Jewish town of Bethlehem. Christians understand the significance of Jesus through the lenses of the Jewish temple service and the Jewish monarchy and the Jewish prophets.

Those of us who grew up hearing and reading the Bible stories, are used to thinking of the Jews as the good guys and their enemies as the bad guys. When Moses goes to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel from slavery, we know that Moses is the good guy and Pharoah, the king of Egypt is the bad guy. When David goes out to fight Goliath, the Philistine giant, we instinctively cheer for David. When Sennacharib, the king of Assyria, invades Israel and an angel slaughters his army, we—or at least the boys—cheer. Our side, “our team,” is —the Jewish people. That's the natural effect of reading the Bible. The Jews are God's people. Their enemies are the enemies of God.

Then you read more closely and you see another truth. All of the people are God's people. The prophets insist that God's ultimate dream is not the obliteration of the enemies of God's people, but the transformation of all people into the people of God.

Isaiah the prophet describes God's vision of the end of time in these words:

18 In that day five of Egypt's cities will follow the LORD of Heaven's Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. ... 20 It will be a sign and a witness that the LORD of Heaven's Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. 21 The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the LORD and will keep it. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. 23 In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. 24 And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. 25 For the LORD of Heaven's Armies will say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!" [Isa 19:18, 20-25 NLT] Accessed through Blue Letter Bible.com.

God looks toward Egypt, toward the city that is devoted to the worship of the Sun God, and declares that that city of false worship will learn to worship the true Light of the World. Those people, the nation famous for having enslaved the Jewish people will find themselves at home in Jerusalem.

Then God looks north toward Assyria. The Assyrians are the baddest of the bad boys in the Bible. They were ruthless, ferocious. Enemies of Israel and even of Egypt. God looks at Assyria and says, those people, too, will be my people.

And how does God describe Israel's role is this fantastic vision of the end? Israel will become the host. Israel will set the table at which all people from everywhere will discover their shared privilege as children of the Most High God.

Here is a picture of our work. Let's look to the north as far as we can see and invite them to come to the table God has planted among us. Let's look as far to the south and to the east and west. Let's welcome all to the table. Let's make peace.

Democrats and Republicans. Blacks and Asians, Rednecks and intellectuals, devotees of Hillary and fans of Ben Carson, people whose imaginations have been captured by ISIS and people who imagine being born in the Saudi royal family entitles them to power and privilege. Let's scout the world for the unlikeliest guests and extend the welcome.

Come to the table. God invites you. We invite you. Let's sit and feast together, then together seek to live out God's vision of peace and justice.

Some of us may wonder about our own place at the table. We are haunted by guilt or shame. We have done wrong and doubt whether God would actually welcome us. The prophet Isaiah insists that yes, you are welcome. God would be disappointed to look around his table and not see your face.

Some of us may have been told by significant other people—parents, boyfriends, church leaders, teachers—that we don't belong, that we are not right, that there is no place for us in a perfect world. God disagrees with that rejection. God invites you to his table.

We enjoy the sweetest, richest communion with God when we join God in welcoming one another. This is our privilege. This is our glory.