Jesus, Paul and Table Fellowship

I often hear from those in academia and would-like-to-be theologians, how Jesus and Paul preached two different gospels. These days we are seeing quite a momentum to swing toward the words, deeds and example of Jesus for patterning our life and mission as Christ-followers. It seems lately that Paul gets the blame for all the apparent inconsistencies in the New Testament (or Second Testament, as my professor Leonard Sweet likes to say).

Although one can make a case for some differences in their approach to mercy and grace, one of the most striking similarities is their teaching and exemplary living regarding “table fellowship.” The concept of eating together was deeply ingrained in the culture of Jesus’ Palestine. One of Jesus’ major religious faux pas, as least as far as the Pharisees was concerned, was His table fellowship with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners. His willingness, even intentionality about inviting everyone to the table speaks volumes about how He interpreted the levelness of the playing field when it came to grace.

One of the important teachings of Paul that can be overlooked, if the culture in which Paul speaks is ignored, is his teaching about table fellowship and the Corinthian church. In his instructions concerning the meal served before the observance of the Lord’s Supper, he speaks directly to the class warfare and segregation that had made its way from the Roman dinner and drinking parties to the Lord’s Table. The issue was the preferential treatment of the rich, allowing them to eat and drink before the poor. This segregation into lesser areas of the house meant they ate much later, were served poorer quality food and drink and were separated for obvious reasons from the rich host and his cronies. This teaching in I Corinthians 11 begins with a discussion about divisions in the church, moves on in chapter 12 to talk about the body, the more presentable and less presentable parts and the need to treat all parts, especially the less presentable ones with special care. The discussion then moves to Paul’s most excellent treatise on love (charity) in chapter 13. Of course, knowing that there were no chapter divisions in Paul’s letter, we must assume that this long discourse on non-preferential treatment, honoring all parts of Christ’s body and allowing agápē love to be the guiding force in our actions, is a written reiteration of Christ’s living example of table fellowship. I can just imagine Paul recalling the stories of Jesus and His controversial meals as he sent his message to Corinth: “The table of grace is for everyone!”

Seeing this consistency between Paul and Jesus ought to speak to those of us who claim to be following Christ in the twenty-first century. There is no room in the house for classification, segregation, or prejudicial treatment toward any who would desire to sit at His table and “dine with Him.” Ain’t nobody got time for that!