At the Table | More Than Furniture

14 When the time came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles joined him. 15 He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 I tell you, I won’t eat it until it is fulfilled in God’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:14-16 (Common English Bible)

Have you ever noticed how some of our most important moments happen around tables? The kitchen table where your family gathers for breakfast. The restaurant table where you celebrated your anniversary. The conference table where you got that promotion. The hospital cafeteria table where you waited for news about a loved one.

Tables are ordinary pieces of furniture – four legs and a top, nothing fancy. But they become more than furniture. They can become something extraordinary when people gather around them. They hold our food, but more than that, they hold our stories. They witness our celebrations and our sorrows, our hellos and our goodbyes.

That's exactly what was happening when Jesus gathered with his disciples for what we now call the Last Supper. It wasn't just another meal around just another table. Jesus knew this would be their final dinner together before his crucifixion, and he had been looking forward to this moment. The Greek word Luke uses here suggests Jesus had been earnestly longing for this time with his closest friends.

Think about that for a minute. On the night before he would face the cross, with all the weight of what was coming, Jesus wanted to be at a table with the people he loved most, sharing an ordinary meal.

Sometimes we make following Jesus too complicated. We think it has to happen in perfect settings with perfect people saying perfect words. But Jesus shows us that the most sacred moments often happen in the most ordinary places...around tables where real people share real life together.

Personal Application: Look around your home and notice the tables in your life. Your kitchen table, coffee table, your desk. These aren't just pieces of furniture. They're potential sacred spaces where you can encounter God and connect with others. What stories do your tables hold? What memories have been made around them?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for showing us that ordinary moments can become extraordinary when we recognize your presence. Help us see the tables in our lives not just as furniture, but as places where we can experience your love and share it with others. Open our eyes to the sacred potential in the everyday moments of our lives. Amen.