In her book, This is God’s Table, Anna Woodenden describes her experience at Garden Church. Anna felt a calling to feed those who live at the margins of society, so she gathered a group of believers who shared her vision. Together they leased an abandoned lot in San Pedro, California at the bottom of a hill where a large homeless population lived beneath wealthy home owners who lived at the top. They prayed for an opportunity to bring this disjointed community together.
True to its name, Garden Church started with a garden. Once they had cleared the lot and prepared areas to grow food for the hungry, the founders of this church decided to put a table at its center. But it wasn’t just any table. They selected a large cedar stump to represent a place where the community could work to feed others and also come to be fed. They would have worship services around this table followed by meals where people would contribute what they could and take what they needed. Everyone would be welcomed at this table. The first act of this community of believers was to dedicate this table to God.
As Anna explains “I didn’t anoint the cedar stump, our table, with frankincense oil that morning in the empty lot on 6th Street because I thought something magical would happen. I anointed it because we humans need physical things to remind us of what is deeply true… the table would be a place that we would continue to gather around. It would prophesy the deep truth that all are welcome around God’s table”[1]
Anna was dedicated to an idea that Jesus himself practiced during his time on earth — everyone is welcomed to join him at the table. Let’s look at two stories from the Gospels that show this.
[1] Anna Woodenden, This is God’s Table (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2020) 27.
Read
Luke 19:1–10 (NIV)
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 7:36–50 (NIV)
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Do you see God’s peace, provision, and presence in these stories?
Reflect
Those who weren’t used to receiving hospitality in the first century were people Jesus seemed to relish spending time with. They were those on the margins of society like the poor, the sick, and the disabled. They were also those who had been banished from polite society because their sins were deemed worse than everyone else’s. Zacchaeus and the woman who anoints Jesus belong in this category.
By his own admission, Jesus had a reputation among the religious leaders for being “a glutton and a drunkard” (Matthew 11:18–19). One of the most distinctive things about him was that he dined with “notorious sinners.” These were people who’d been written off by the Pharisees as worthless and irredeemable. Jesus knew differently.
Jesus offers Zacchaeus and this unnamed woman something other people didn’t — presence. Zacchaeus was wealthy, but despised because of his profession. Tax collectors were seen as traitors because they aligned themselves with Judea’s Roman oppressors. They were also notoriously dishonest and shifty. Zacchaeus was used to being excluded, but wanted to see Jesus anyway. His community would not welcome him, but Jesus invited the man into his presence. By going to his home, and likely sharing a meal with the tax collector, Jesus was displaying the enormity of God’s grace and welcome. He invited Zacchaeus to the table.
Zacchaeus was hoping only to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but what he got was a full-fledged encounter with the Son of God. His tree-climbing efforts paid off in a big way. Sometimes that happens in our own lives. We timidly take a step, daring to hope for just a small peek at Jesus, and he overwhelms us with the generosity of his welcoming acceptance.
Zacchaeus responds to Jesus’ acceptance with an immediate change of heart, and offers to give up half his wealth and repay everyone he’d cheated four times over. Jesus provides exactly what Zacchaeus needs, the grace that leads to repentance and ultimately peace with God and others.
The unnamed woman in Luke 7 likely longed for the same. She learns that Jesus is nearby and crashes the dinner party he’s attending in the home of Simon, the Pharisee. Hurting, broken, and in need, she seeks out Jesus and is overwhelmed in his presence. She shows her love and devotion to him in ways that shock the other guests. But the effect of Jesus’ presence in the world shakes even the most deeply rooted social conventions.
The Kingdom had come and with it the King’s standards of love and forgiveness. Jesus exposes society’s faulty view of people and invites us to see our fellow image-bearers as he sees them. Jesus turns the table on Simon and calls him out for his lack of hospitality. Then he offers the woman what she truly needs, forgiveness. As with Zacchaeus, forgiveness brings acceptance, peace, and a place at the table.
The Pharisees were sitting across from Jesus, but their pride and rebellion kept them from seeing what he was offering them. Those on the margins, like Zacchaeus and the unnamed woman knew they needed him and responded. They took advantage of the Jesus’ generous provision that transcended even the need for food.
Part of Christ Fellowship’s new vision is to reach out to people with the love of Christ and gather with them around tables. This includes those whom society rejects or sees little value in. It’s also people like Zacchaeus, who because they are wealthy or prosperous may seem to “have it all.” Their needs aren’t so obvious unless we get a glimpse beneath the surface. Those of us who’ve experienced the magnitude of God’s love and forgiveness, and his provision and peace can light a path for others to discover it.
