Meals play a central role in Scripture. The crucial holiday in Israel’s calendar was a meal that commemorated their deliverance from captivity, and the central commemoration of Christians is a weekly meal that reflects on God’s ultimate deliverance from bondage.
Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s preparing a table in the presence of our enemies.
It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus made meals an important part of his ministry, and of all the gospel writers Luke emphasizes them the most. Some of Jesus’ most important work and teachings happen around the dinner table, and tomorrow I plan to begin a sermon series on meals in Luke’s gospel.
One of those, presumably, is at Mary and Martha’s house when Martha stayed busy serving while Mary sat quietly at Jesus’ feet, and this will be our focus tomorrow. This short story has captured so many hearts over the years, probably because most of us can relate to Martha’s experience. Who among us hasn’t found ourselves so busy with life’s daily demands that we allowed time with Jesus to be squeezed out?
Each of us knows how important it is to spend time at Jesus’ feet–adoring him, talking to him, listening to him.
But do we? Why not? And how could we do better?
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