Jesus Cared Little for Casual Dining

What Did Jesus Do?

“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—
for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Luke 7:47

I bet you never thought of the term “casual dining” as hate speech. But, in a world where 26,000 children die each day from starvation or preventable diseases, there is something hateful in diminishing dining to something merely casual, incidental, or of little significance. Go without any food for a day or two, and you will begin to think of your next meal as very meaningful indeed!

Apparently a certain Simon and his pharisaical colleagues were quite full, of themselves at the very least, and of what else we can only guess. But dining had become so casual that Simon overlooked, intentionally or otherwise, several common courtesies a host would normally extend to his guests, as he reclined at table with Jesus at his house. We have no idea what kind of idle conversation may have been taking place at what up to a point was a fairly meaningless meal. But, when “a woman of the city, who was a sinner” showed up (Luke 7:37), the dining, and the conversation, turned quickly from the casual to the memorable.

For, where Simon had neglected several points of hospitality which one would have expected at a meal, in fact behaving so casually towards his guest as to be suspected of being intentionally rude, the uninvited woman of easy virtue lavished upon the Lord such attention and devotion that we still remember her demonstrative discipleship after two thousand years. Actually, the turn in the conversation began with Simon talking to himself (Luke 7:39), making a remark which Jesus simply could not allow to pass, for it supplied a timeless teaching moment.

You see, Simon knew all about Jesus, or at least his reputation. That’s why the Pharisee had invited the itinerant rabbi to his home for dinner. Jesus was something of a celebrity at the time, something of a prophet, to say the least. But what kind of prophet would sit still with a prostitute washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair? No kind of prophet that Simon could imagine. And certainly no kind of Messiah! Yet here was this woman carrying on so. Why? Because she got it/Him, where Simon and the other Pharisees did not. Jesus was, and is, the kind of Messiah Pharisees could not recognize, much less take seriously, so dinner with him was strictly casual. But, for sinners like the woman who could not stop kissing the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:45), Jesus was and is the Savior we can not do enough for, and dinner with Him is never anything less than a feast, a love feast.

Here’s the thing, in our microwave, meals “to go” culture, where “casual dining” is a major industry, too many of us give far too little thought to the meaning of our meals. I think that’s one of the objects of observing a fast, to heighten our appreciation of the blessing of food for our belly, because we don’t know what we’ve got until, well, it’s gone. And what we, who have been forgiven much, have, and what we should celebrate, and what we should share every time we eat, whether in the company of family, friends, or strangers, is the very real love of the Father in and through the Son. I believe we need to recover the “love feast” attitude of the First Century believers who always received their food “with glad and generous hearts.” Glad to know the love of God thorugh our daily bread. Generous in making every meal an opportunity to love God back by sharing our bread with others. Meals like this are congenial, intimate, warm, but never casual or thoughtless. Meals like this are ones where Jesus is truly welcomed, and where Jesus truly welcomes. Meals like this are ones where those who have been forgiven much love much.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37:4