Hesed at Our Tables

Throughout the history of Jewish culture, the table where the families came together for meals were considered “holy”, so much so that some ancient teachings considered the table an altar to God. In the days of David, and even still today, it is common practice that at the table during the Friday night meal before Sabbath, Words of Torah are recited and Songs of Praise are sung.

In the Old Testament, we are invited into a story where we can see how King David’s table was used to show hesed to Miphibosheth, who by custom should have been killed instead of shown the grace and compassion of God by enjoying a meal at the King’s table.

Each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we join in experiencing for ourselves one of the greatest examples of hesed the world has ever known, when we joined Jesus at the communion table to share in that meal.

But I also want to share with you a way that you and I can become ones who extend hesed – the grace and compassion of God – to those around us.

Back on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we had no big family cookout plans or anything, so we called up our friends Mark and Steph Hardman and their boys, who are used to our last second, spur of the moment invitations. Before long, Angela Roach and her kids were throwing in with us, and we gathered at our house for a cookout. It was nothing super fancy – in fact, we laughed about just throwing some food together, and God would make sure it was enough.

But on a typical Sunday evening, something divine unfolded. There was nothing “spiritual” planned, but in the unforced rhythm of that moment, we all became relaxed. We laughed a lot. We breathed a little slower. We had some great old tunes singing to us in the background. We watched our kids play. We ate. And we ate some more. AND IT WAS GOOD. IT WAS ALL GOOD.

Now, I’d been reading through Deuteronomy this spring. On May 31, my reading for the day was Deuteronomy 14, and I came to this passage:

22-26 Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year. Bring this into the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before God, your God, as long as you live . . . You and your family can then feast in the Presence of God, your God, and have a good time.

I was stunned! Learning to live in deep reverence before God should be the goal of each of us, and sounds an awful lot like worship to me. But in the simple sharing of a meal, we all experienced hesed. I can tell you, this single meal has changed me, and I don’t think I’m alone.

Mark Hardman sent me an email the week after our Sunday night gathering, in which he says: “First... what a wonderful day Sunday was. Good friends, kids having fun, GREAT food, lots of laughter... surely God was smiling and laughing along with us... The passage from Deuteronomy was right on target. God never ceases to amaze me when we let Him show up and then the party ensues. (He is always there beside us... just sometimes we fail to realize that) As always thank you for the hospitality.”

Each of you can invite folks to your table and share a meal. In doing so, you’re sharing your life, you’re sharing hesed, and in all of that, you’re sharing Jesus. As we all hopefully set out in the days, weeks and months ahead to rediscover what it means to be a people of God who want to actively join Jesus in changing our world, it is my heartfelt conviction that something as simple as a meal could be a great place to start.