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Jesus' critics complained that "this fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). They were upset because this motley crew who did not keep the law and never darkened the door of the synagogue became Jesus' friends. They felt that it was repulsive and repugnant that a man of his stature who claimed to be the Son of God welcomed these sinners and ate with them. These critics were convinced that it was a violation of the nature and purpose of true religion. That begs the question -- what is true religion? Here is the message that the church must never forget -- that Jesus welcomed sinners and not only welcomed them but also ate with them.

Jesus Is Our Friend

On this Maundy Thursday we are all invited to the table of the Lord. All that Jesus asks of us in coming is that we do this in remembrance of him. What is it that we are to remember? That Jesus is our friend. He promises to come to us as we come to the Lord's table. Do you sometimes feel that you have no right to come because your faith is not strong enough or sure enough? Do you feel you have the right to come because you talk about feeding the hungry, caring for the homeless, defending the cause of the poor and oppressed, but you don't do very much?

Sometimes during the celebration of communion do you feel only the absence, when you know it is here, above all places, that you are supposed to feel the presence of God? Do you feel somewhat like an outsider because you do not feel much of anything -- neither an overwhelming feeling of the sense of sinfulness or a spiritual high? Does your mind sometimes wander when you are supposed to be in an attitude of prayer? Do you find yourself looking at your watch and wondering how long it will take to get everyone served so that you can get out in time to beat the Baptists and the Presbyterians to the cafeteria? Then hear this: the Lord's table is for people just like you. You do not have to do anything, be anything, or feel anything to make yourself spiritually, psychologically, or morally worthy to come to the Lord's table. You do not even need to make yourself worthy by telling yourself how unworthy you are.

The host who invites you today to his table is not the friend of only those who are faithful, pious, and good. He is the friend of such sinners and outsiders that you know yourself to be. So if your faith is weak and your doubts are strong, if your motives are questionable and your spirituality leaves something to be desired, if your life will not stand up to careful examination, then you are invited to the Lord's table. You may be surprised to discover as you eat and drink that it is not so much how we come to Christ as how Christ comes to us which makes the reconciling and renewing presence of God real in our lives. On this Maundy Thursday in our Holy Week pilgrimage it is not so much that we reach up from the midst of our despair to where Christ is, but that God through Christ comes to us where we are. Here at the Lord's table we meet Christ at the level of our need. God comes to us where we are, in the eating from a common loaf and drinking from a common cup.

Jesus Is The Friend Of All

Not only is Jesus my friend, but also I need to remember that he is the friend of all those other sinners who come to the Lord's table with me. He is the friend of fellow Christians whose theology is too liberal or too conservative for me. He is the friend of those Christians whose religious experience and faith and life are so different from mine that I wonder if they are Christian at all. He is the friend of those who offend me because they are too pious or not pious enough. He is the friend of those who are too right or too left in their political views or too sexist or racist. He is the friend of all of those around me that I just plain don't like. He is the friend of people I would not invite to dinner at my house, but they are invited to Jesus' table. The fact is, Jesus is their friend also. How can I eat and drink in his company without eating and drinking in their company? If Jesus is not too good to associate with them, how could I ever consider myself as being too good to associate with them? This does not mean that I agree with everything they say or approve of everything they do, but if Jesus is their friend, ought they not also to be my friends? It is possible that we can be reconciled to one another as we eat and drink in the company of one who is the friend of all of us sinners.

Jesus Is The Friend Of Sinners Everywhere

Not only is Jesus my friend, and our friend, but he is everybody's friend. He is the friend of sinners and outsiders everywhere. He is the friend of sinners who are believers and sinners who are unbelievers, right-wing sinners and left-wing sinners, sinners who are oppressed, and sinners who are oppressors. He is the friend of red, yellow, black, and white sinners. We cannot eat or drink with Christ if we do not eat and drink in eager anticipation of the great feast when "Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet," when all kinds of sinners from the east, west, north, and south will sit together at the table of the Lord.

As we come to God's table we do not need to be afraid of differences anymore, because as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2, "For Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us " (2:14).

The best news we can hear today is this: "Jesus welcomes sinners." There is hope for you and me. We can come to the Lord's table because we have a friend in Jesus.