Welcome to My Table

Recently, or within the last few months at least, I've gotten hurt by people that I thought would have never hurt me. Sike. Rule number one: quit expecting to find yourself in others. You’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointment if you don’t stop now. Now that we've got that out of the way, while I was coping with the pain, I was guilty of nonchalantly scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram to keep my mind "occupied". Not really, but that's what I told myself. EI oh el. It’s not a good excuse. Quite frankly, it doesn’t work either. Throughout my various media accounts I follow a number of Christian pages, along with self-help & inspirational ones, so I don't remember where I read it. But I stumbled across some posts that really stood out. In fact, l actually felt like they were meant for me at the time. And in a way, they were. I imagine that you've probably seen them yourself once or twice too. The first post said, “Stop watering people who don't want to grow." The other post though? Phew. “Just because you lose me as a friend, doesn’t mean you gained me as an enemy. I’m bigger than that. I still want to see you eat, just not at my table.” When I read it, I couldn't help but think," Say it a little louder for the people in the back”. It hit home. Not to mention, hard. At the time, I thought that by coming to that mindset I was growing. But I was wrong. So that’s where this post originates from. 

One of my favorite scriptures has always been, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."- John 13:7.. Jesus is actually speaking to one of his disciples, Simon Peter - more commonly known as Peter. I get it dude. He probably didn’t like feet to begin with and the King of Kings is like, “Yo, lemme wash your feet bro.”I completely get it. Shoes weren’t as common in those days. Not to mention, often times they traveled the same roads their animals did. I’ll let you imagine how gross their feet were. If I go into detail, I may get sick. 

Annnnnnnywho, prior to this week, I had never really given much thought into John's account of the Passover Feast, or Last Supper as most of you know it. John's version is at the beginning of John 13:1-11.

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Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

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This time when I read this passage, something else stood out. Actually, a few somethings stood out. Keep in mind that Jesus already knew of Judas' betrayal. The first thing? Even though Jesus knew, Judas was still invited to the upper room to eat the last supper with the Son of Man and the other disciples. Jesus still fed Judas, as he did the other disciples. AND Jesus still did slave work and washed the filthy feet of Judas KNOWING that Judas had sold him over to the chief priests. Jasmyne here couldn't help but think, “The heck?!” And that’s when it dawned on me. They hurt me. They hurt me bad. It would have been so easy to withdraw my invitation for them to sit at my table. But, if there is one thing that I know about God, it's that He works outside of things that fit within the boundaries of the social norm. Let’s go back to Mark 14, verse 13: ‘And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him”.’ To us, this seems normal enough. Carrying water is heavy, and genetically, men are physically stronger. But, in the ancient times, fetching water was one of the chores that women tended to. So to see a man carrying a jar of water, it was hard to mess up the instructions because it was so out of the cultural norm. Letting someone not only sit at your table, but to feed them as well, even after they’ve hurt you, is insane. It doesn’t fit the norm of today’s society. Do it anyway. Jesus did. Show them the love of God. The love that so unmistakably comes from the Father. It might seem like a lost cause. But your job is not to change anyone. You wouldn’t expect a plant to grow without watering it, so why do we try to do the same with people? We expect growth, but no longer want to take the time to water. Only God can change someone for the better. You just do the watering. Let them sit at your table and keep feeding them. It’ll be hard. You’ll look a little crazy. Some people may even laugh. In the end though, you will be rewarded. God takes care of His children. That being said, welcome to my table.