Is life a comedy or a tragedy? Are we the hero or the victim? Or maybe the villain? Is the world descending into chaos and dystopia or are we on a path of ever-increasing prosperity and progress? The stories we tell orient us to our place in the world and our role in the story.
The Bible tells the story of a loving God and a messy people. There is a beginning and an end. Major themes of creation, redemption, and sanctification trace the arc of this grand narrative. And Jesus Christ is the center of it all – the great hero of the story who comes incognito to rescue and redeem his broken creation.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Risen Christ, by your death and resurrection you brought dawn to darkness. You have made a new way, from death to life, cross to crown, grave to glory. We are frail creatures in a world of change and decay. Rule over us in your resurrection power. Subdue sin and evil, disease and destruction. We have nothing apart from you, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.
Confession
O Lord, I live a world of dead ends. There is always an end. An end to my energy. My time. My love. My patience. My money. My very life. I am trapped by limits. I am burdened by my frail, finite limits. I have exhausted all other options. Nothing else satisfies. You burst forth from the grave to give me life beyond the horizon. You are my singular hope, my only prayer. Risen Savior, have mercy on my dead ends.
Word: 2 Samuel 9:7
“I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
Meditation: Come to the Table by Susan Senechal
I grew up going to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving. They lived in a small town in Michigan, farmers along with most of the rest of my aunts, uncles and cousins; but my dad had gone off to college and then moved to Ohio. But every year for Thanksgiving, we piled into the station wagon and drove up to the family farm. Thanksgiving dinner was a huge spread in my grandma’s basement. Everyone who came brought a little something. We ate, talked, and played for hours, and celebrated being a family.
In the ancient Middle East, covenants were often concluded with a shared meal, which expressed a bond of friendship. When he calls his friend’s son to his home, David is putting the finishing touches on the covenant he made so many years ago with Bo’s dad. It’s more than just friendship…David is welcoming his former would-be enemy into his household and declaring him family.
The words of a much beloved Psalm, by David, come to my mind when I read this part of the story. Psalm 23:5. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” These could be Bo’s words to David, but they are not; they’re David’s words to God.
And it’s not just about what David did for Bo, or what God did for David. It’s about what God does for us as well. He invites us into his presence and prepares a table for us.
The story of Mephibosheth also reminds me of the lyrics from a Contemporary Christian song that’s popular right now, by a group called We the Kingdom. The lyrics from “God So Loved” go like this:
Come all you sinners,
Come find his mercy
Come to the table
He will satisfy
Taste of his goodness
Find what you’re looking for.
For God so loved
The world that he gave us
His one and only son to save us
Whoever believes in Him
Will live forever.
Bring all your failures
Bring your addictions
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross.
Jesus is waiting there
With open arms.
We, like Bo, have nothing to offer the king. Yet we come into his presence, and he lavishes goodness and mercy on us. A Thanksgiving Day feast has nothing on this feast God has prepared for us, because his feast means we will hunger and thirst no more.
Thank you, God, that you have prepared a place for us, a feast of love and forgiveness. Thank you that even when we have nothing to bring to the table, your love for us overflows with goodness and mercy. Help us to accept this love. Amen.
Benediction
The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (I Pet. 5:10-11)