A Feast of Grace

Thanksgiving has always been my Father-in-law’s favorite holiday.  I think it has to do with the fact that all of his kids make an attempt to get together and share a common table full of memories, laughter, and smiles.  It’s not a perfect table though because no one around the table has a perfect record.  We all have our handcrafted baggies and personalized issues.  But one almost imperceptible truth is understood:  the Thanksgiving table is a table of grace that forgives failures and shortcomings.

I wonder if that’s the same truth that eventually soaked into the heart of the critical Pharisees who complained about Jesus’ table guests?  As religious leaders watched Him dine with the despised they jabbed, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them!” The generosity of the Lord is often an offense to human pride and over-inflated views of self-worth.  Jesus’ time and attention was generously shared with those deemed less than  deserving and we would do well this Thanksgiving to recall the story of The Prodigal Son in Luke 15 — the young man who was determined to leave home with his inheritance to pursue a ‘successful’ life on his own.

The word “prodigal” means “wasteful,” and that is how Jesus unfolds this young man’s pursuit of individualism and pleasure … so much potential … so wasteful.  Who could blame the boy’s father for being harsh or judgmental of his son’s reckless expenditure or misspent potential?  Yet Jesus speaks in Luke 15 in the hearing of the Pharisees who were more than ready to offer such an earth-bound criticism.  Yet Jesus tells the story of The Prodigal Son precisely to reveal our Heavenly Father’s heart towards us when we may have wasted resources or opportunities.  As the young man hits rock bottom, he realizes his mistake and goes back, prepared to accept the consequences. But instead of condemnation, his repentant return is met with compassion, love, and grace from his father who orders a feast to welcome him home.

As we come to Thanksgiving, this is such an appropriate text because it resonates with the tremendous heart of God-the largeness of His embrace that receives us. Open your Bible to Luke 15 and read the entire chapter. Then look with me at these specific verses, and let’s be renewed this Thanksgiving in His magnificent grace.

Thanksgiving is a time to confess any pursuit of life without bothering to consult God as to why He gave you the ability and potential you have.  Are you prepares to offer God a table of honor and true Thanksgiving for His wholehearted embrace with a grace that forties all failures?  Or is your view of God still from a distance as He looks on the horizon for your return to Him?  Your Heavenly Father waits as the father of the prodigal son - prepared to call out,  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.   For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”  Luke 15:22-24  The full-length robe is the special robe worn by the head of the household. This is no slave who just came back; the prodigal son is going to be fully restored to the family.   The ring is given for the sealing or certifying of documents; a symbol of the father’s authority. The shoes are not put on him because he has none. In Scripture, shoes taken off are a sign of mourning, weeping, lamenting. By putting shoes on his son, the father is declaring, “We’re not mourning any longer!”   

Let your Thanksgiving be a feast of grace that insists on celebration!