In the 1st Century there were deeply ingrained social rules about who could eat whom. Those who belonged would make sure that those who didn’t belong were excluded from the table.
Then came Jesus. He broke all the rules. He could eat with the hoity toity as well as the hoi polloi. It was the common folk though that wanted to eat with Jesus. Those with bad backgrounds and questionable reputations were drawn to Jesus, and, shockingly, he welcomed them.
This did not sit well with the proper and the elite. They had worked hard to keep these people from the table, but Jesus welcomed them.
As we begin our new series, Loving Like Jesus, we will ask the question- who will we welcome at our table?