Jesus tells parables about how when the lost are found, there is feasting and rejoicing. Jesus dines with tax collectors and sinners as well as with Pharisees and with his disciples. He shares stories of grand banquets where even the poor and the outcasts have a place at the table. Set against a cultural backdrop where strict rules governed who one should and should not eat with, this feast imagery and Jesus’ practice of inclusive table fellowship points toward a radical vision of the reign of God.
In God’s realm, all are welcome, fed, forgiven and found in the embrace of divine mercy.
This message is an excerpt from “Renew, Rejoice, Respond” by Audrey West in the July/August 2011 issue of Lutheran Woman Today, now Gather magazine.
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