Kingdom, Culture, and Theology

Dinner with the Divine in the company of Pariah and Friends

Rarely would Jesus decline a good meal and flask of wine. It seems to me that Jesus spend a considerable amount of time at the dinner table. Admittedly Jesus did day, “I have come feasting.”[1] It also seems to me the people He dined with accused other guests and hosts of being bad company. The Pharisees pointed out that Jesus should not be “a friend of the riffraff”; [2] and yet, “One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal.”[3] This was not the first time, and it would not be the last. You see, it was quite typical after a Pharisee hosted a meal for Jesus to then plot against him. Was it something Jesus said? I guess accusation of bad company was dependent on how hypocritical or riffraff the accuser was. Either way, Jesus accepted invitations from both and told numerous stories that provoked guests and hosts alike.   

It was at one of these dinners that Jesus told the story of a huge banquet, and at the same time, laid to rest the issue of bad company. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!”[4] If the invited guests in Jesus’ story were considered good company; they seem to have lost that status with the king character by refusing his invitation.

Storytelling while eating and drinking at the table was a means to an end for Jesus. He took the opportunity to teach something - not like teaching a lesson – but enacting what he taught. We see this remarkable way of conveying knowledge and truth in how Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God. He described it like a precious pear, a fisherman’s net, treasure buried in a field, a mustard seed, bakers’ dough, and many agricultural illustrations. Jesus enacted what the Kingdom of God is like. Let’s continue with the story about the huge banquet to find out more.

“Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so, the banquet was on—every place filled.”[5] There you have it. The Kingdom of God is like an inclusive invitation to a great banquet without discrimination. It was not a question of seat-filling, but one of indiscriminate welcome to those who would receive the invitation.

So, if you were eating and drinking with Jesus as a hypocritical Pharisee or one of the riffraff, would you be offended at this story?    

To have a good meal and a flask of wine with Jesus was not to suffer a laborious lecture, political debate on the woes of Rome and Judea, or bias social commentary about the immigrant Gentiles. He literally enacted what he said, especially at the dinner table for guests and hosts alike – local pariah and friends in each other’s eyes – but not in the eyes of Jesus. When he talked about the Kingdom of God it was rarely in a religious context. Rather, he spoke in everyday terms as if the it was not so otherworldly, but very close at hand embedded in day-to-day life. It is easy for you and me to comprehend this, but to the people who heard Jesus tell his stories, it was overtly shocking.

In Jesus’ day, people viewed God as a distant deity, almost impersonal, whose presence was mediated by angels, the Law, and the complexities of religious life. But Jesus called God “Abba”,[6] meaning Father in Aramaic. This one vital phrase contradicted Jesus’ contemporaries, in that, the Kingdom of God had nothing to do with religious policy, apocalyptic preachers, messianists, or with juridical law. It did not point to a certain geographic location. By calling God his Father, Jesus was enacting God’s reign in a father-son relationship. In fact, Jesus said, “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.”[7]

The Kingdom of God was not something separate from God like a benign or spiritual welfare state set up for his menial subjects. Rather, God chose relatedness to us. In doing so, salvation was no longer understood as forgiving a debt or a reward for behaving well, neither was it a supernatural appendix or supplement added to our humanness, much like an ontological higher state of being. Salvation was now a post-religious experience – because God was with us in relatedness to Christ.  

The Book of Revelation captures this God-man relatedness in John’s eschatological vision: “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”[8]

But wait a minute! Unless we missed something very obvious, there is still death, pain, crying, and mourning, right? The words of Jesus – “God’s Kingdom is here” – and John’s words – “he [God] will dwell with them” seem to create a contradiction. Strictly speaking, Jesus did not talk about an age of darkness followed by brighter days. He did not engage in predictions, or the idea of spiritual dualism. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God was not something that was future oriented, or up ahead somewhere. It was now, present, and here – because he was here,

Imagine discussing this with Jesus over a meal and flask of wine. The concept of religion, law, ritualistic cleansing, good company and the pariah of riffraff, and birthrights thank link back to Abraham must have stolen the appetite of many hosts and guests.

Without engaging in a spiritual engineer’s timeline, Jesus announced the Kingdom of God had dawned. It was here because of him. What John did was to announce its culmination. “The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready… ‘Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.’”[9] Now this is a feast with flasks of wine you don’t want to miss, and the stories that Jesus will tell are guaranteed to provoke!

Jesus is still attending dinners where he is invited. Guests and hosts alike still experience him. He is with us by his Spirit. So, this Thanksgiving when we gather together with family and friends, allow someone to say the blessing in whatever tradition fits those around the table. Jesus said, “I still have many things to tell you…”[10] So, welcome him at Thanksgiving even among family members you may consider pariah!

[1] Matthew 11:19a

[2] Ibid., 11:19b.

[3] Luke 7:36.

[4] Matthew 22:2-3.

[5] Ibid., 8-10.

[6] Mark 14:36.

[7] Mark 1:15.

[8] Revelation 21:2-4.

[9] Revelation 19:8-9.

[10] John 16:12.