Jesus was a bit of a party animal.  

Well, that’s what the religious establishment of his day thought about him, and they had no qualms when it came to expressing their opinions about him. When Jesus responded to the criticism that he was a bit of party animal, he said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Luke 7:34). What can we say? The man loved a good dinner with people who needed him. 

Jesus’ penchant for meals has caused some commentators to remark that in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is either going to a meal, eating a meal, or leaving a meal.  

The verse above (Luke 7:34) is one of two “The Son of Man came…” statements in the Gospels. We don’t often quote Luke 7:34 as a verse of spiritual significance, but we quote the other statement frequently. 

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). 

In his book A Meal with Jesus, author Tim Chester states that Luke 19:10 is a statement of purpose – it’s what Jesus came to do. Luke 7:34 is a statement of method. It’s how Jesus went about seeking and saving the lost – around tables laden with food and drink, seated with sinners and outcasts. 

Meals aren’t magic, but they’re a potent vehicle for Gospel ministry and encountering people with the love and hospitality of Christ. Meals launch conversations. When we sit around tables with people, we talk, we listen, we learn. We discuss what matters most to us and to those around our tables. When we break bread, life opens up. 

Who can you invite to join you around your table? Is there someone whose invitation to dinner you’ve been putting off?  

Assuming you eat three meals a day, seven days a week, you have twenty-one opportunities a week to share a table with someone. The options expand if you’re inclined to sit at a coffee shop with someone and share conversation with them. 

Some of our church members have taken to hosting monthly potlucks in their neighborhoods, and have found those times to be powerful ways of connecting with their neighbors. They’ve seen God use their potluck meals as answers to loneliness in their neighborhoods, and have connected with neighbors they’d never gotten to know before.  

If you’re willing to use your table for mission, whether it’s a picnic table in your yard, your battered Facebook marketplace dining set, or a table at your local coffee shop, you’ll see God work. 

Read Luke 19

Serve 

I grew up in the Midwest, and I remember the first snow day when I was old enough to go shovel the drive. I layered up, put on some boots, and trudged outside to grabbed a snow shovel. In Texas, we don’t often shovel our driveways, but as a native Midwesterner, rest assured that even in frigid temperatures, it’s hard work that works up a sweat. 

As soon as we finished ours, my dad looked at our elderly neighbor’s drive, and told me that we were doing that one next.   

It wasn’t the first time that my parents modeled service for others, but the times I was roped into shoveling someone else’s driveway have stayed with me as an important reminder of what it means to serve my neighbors. 

Galatians 6 reminds us: 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Gal. 6:9-10). 

Service isn’t just something we do to rack up service hours for membership in an organization. We do it because it’s a vital part of how we’re called to live as people who follow the Jesus way. Paul exhorts us to do good to all people at every opportunity. When should you do good? As often as you can. Who should you be good to? Everyone, but especially your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

As we think about what it means to live as neighborhood chaplains, we commit to serving our neighbors. We look for opportunities to do good to them. Maybe there aren’t driveways to snow shovel, but there are so many ways to lend a helping and encouraging hand. It could be mowing a neighbor’s lawn while they’re fasting for Ramadan, or it could be as simple as writing a note of encouragement and sending it their way. 

We don’t serve others to force an opportunity to share the Gospel. We do it whether the opportunity comes because it’s how God calls us to live. We do it gladly. We do it generously. We do it with no strings attached. We do it tirelessly, knowing that when the time is right, we’ll reap a harvest if we don’t give up.