Have you ever been told, “This is not your table.” It’s an awkward and humiliating experience. You saw a table at a banquet, and you sat down. Then someone with “authority” came and said to you, “These seats are reserved for the VIPs.”
It happened to me one time at a Winnipeg Pastor’s meeting. I had mistakenly sat at the table for the plenary speakers. Since I was there for business, I naturally sat with my boss. But I was quickly downgraded to sit at a less prestigious table. It doesn’t feel nice at all.
As we come to the communion table this morning, we may feel out-of-place. Are you asking yourself, “Do I belong at the King’s table?” You feel unworthy. You have struggled with your temptations and failed. You have battled your sins and lost. Perhaps you even fear that someone may come and tell you, “You’re at the wrong table.”
Communion, the sharing of bread and juice in memory of the cross of Christ, is not a reward for the strong but an invitation for the undeserving.
To illustrate this, I want to share an unusual story with you from the OT. I believe you will see the parallels quickly as we reflect on the story of Mephibosheth at the King’s table in 2 Samuel 9. The overarching question for all of us is, “Who belongs at the King’s Table?”
1. The King Searches for the Forgotten (1-5)
David has established his kingdom at this point in the story. His enemies are defeated; he is crowned king over all Israel; and he has brought the ark of the LORD home to Jerusalem. This is the high point of David’s reign as king of Israel.
At this time, David remembers a promise he made long ago. He asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” After some searching, David’s people find one: Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. But there are some irregularities concerning the search and discovery of this sole surviving member of Saul’s house…
The fact that he IS Saul’s grandson and heir to the kingdom of Israel. In many ancient kingdoms it was common practice to eliminate potential threats to the throne. Saul’s house is out and David’s house is in. Therefore, Mephibosheth is in hiding. He’s not wanting to be found. He thinks his life is in danger. Imagine the day David’s messengers arrived. There is a knock at the door. The king’s men stand outside. “The king wants to see you.” Is this an invitation or a death sentence?
Then there’s his name. Mephibosheth means “scatters shame.” Not exactly a name of honor. It may have even been derived from the pagan god, Baal.
Those who searched for Mephibosheth found him living in a place called Lo Debar. Again, names have meaning. Or in this case, they have no meaning. Lo Debar means “no pasture” or “no word.” So basically, he was living in what we would call “nowheresville.”
Do you notice the downward trend of these details? Add one more: Mephibosheth was living with a man named Machir, the son of Ammiel. This means that he was at the mercy of another; Mephibosheth could not earn his own living; he was destitute; he was on welfare.
Add it all up and you see that he was nobody from nowhere. At the end of this narrative (13), the reader discovers that Mephibosheth is lame in both his feet. A small detail, but an important one. Back in 2 Sam. 4:4, after Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle, a regime change is feared and the nurse looking after Saul’s five-year-old heir panics and she drops the boy on his feet, crippling him. His name is Mephibosheth.
He is nobody from nowhere important, the grandson of a rejected king, the son of a dead father, physically disabled, politically dangerous, and largely forgotten. Yet the king is looking for him; he wants to bless him.
This reminds of me Paul’s words, “…while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…” (Rom. 5:10). Jesus came searching for us while we were in the same condition as Mephibosheth. I was not worthy of the king’s attention, but he came looking for me.
This is the heart of our communion celebration. We celebrate like Mephibosheth not just being spared but being seated at the table.
2. The King Shows Kindness to the Underserving (6-7)
But why? Why would a king search for a forgotten enemy hiding in Lo Debar?
David’s motivation for finding Mephibosheth was not any merit or special skills the young man might add to the king’s court. No, his motivation was something called “chesed.”
It’s hard to translate to English. It shows up in our text three times as “kindness.” However, “chesed” shows up as “loving kindness” or “grace” in the OT. It is often used of God as we read in Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love (chesed) shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the LORD who has compassion on you.” What is David wanting to demonstrate to Mephibosheth? There are three dimensions of “chesed.”
First, it is “love in action.” It is not just a feeling or some compulsion; it requires a deed. It is love that acts and meets a need. This is so clearly expressed in the cross of Christ.
Second, it has to do with covenant loyalty. It has nothing to do with Mephibosheth’s circumstances or failings. David made a covenant with his good friend Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20:14-17. Out of love and loyalty to Jonathan, David seeks to bless Mephibosheth. The same is true of our salvation. God does not seek us out because we are lovely or good. He seeks us out because of the eternal covenant made through Jesus Christ. He is the emblem of that promise.
And third, “chesed” goes beyond the expected. As we see in the text, David does more than is required or deserved. One scholar described it as, “When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.”
I believe this is the kindness Paul had in mind when he wrote to his protégé Titus, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:4-6).
A Sunday School teacher asked her class if they knew the difference between kindness and lovingkindness. One little girl said she did. She said that kindness is when your ask your mom for some toast and she gives it to you. Lovingkindness is when you ask your mom for some toast and she gives it to you with butter and jelly on it.
David reflected the loving kindness of God by going beyond expectations.
3. The King goes Beyond what is Expected (6-12)
David sparing Mephibosheth’s life was a great mercy in itself. That would have been enough. No one expected more of David. But David goes further than expected.
David does three things for the young man. First, he says, “Do not fear.” He removes all fear from Mephibosheth’s racing mind as he thinks, “What is he going to do to me?” There’s nothing to fear.
Then, David gives Mephibosheth all of his family’s land. He even makes sure there are servants to tend the land and provide for him. In an instant, Mephibosheth’s inheritance was restored.
But this third action is repeated for emphasis throughout the narrative. Four times we read that David granted him to sit at the King’s table “always.” Three of them are direct, “always…always...always” (7, 10, 13) and the fourth says it like this, “So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons,” (11). He was essentially adopted into David’s family with the full rights to “always” sit at the king’s table. No one, I mean, no one, was going to come to Mephibosheth and say, “I think you’re at the wrong table.” Honor and respect were given to one who felt like a “dead dog” before the king. No, Mephibosheth, you are not a dead dog, you are a son of the king now. And you and I have a seat at the table always, just like he did.
Paul tells us, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Rom. 8:15-16).
Beyond survival, the gospel is about giving us a place of belonging at the table of the King.
So, as we come to the table today, we come to a token of the future banquet. We will sit at the king’s table in eternity. For now, we come to the table just as we are. We come from nowhere with no name and crippled by our sin. But sitting at the table, the tablecloth covers our broken feet as if to cover all our shame.
The Lord’s table reminds us that God has done more than forgive us our sins. He has welcomed us his sons and daughters and given us a place at his table “always.”
Mephibosheth came from Lo Debar expecting judgment and found a seat at the king’s table. We come today from our own places of failure, weakness, and need. And through Jesus, the King, God says, “There is a place for you here.”
If you feel unworthy, like a dead dog, then you are exactly the kind of person this table was prepared for. This table is for you. Don’t hold back. Come to the table.
AMEN
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