Tables of Healing

When do we fail to offer Jesus hospitality?

Jesus, the great physician, brings healing to the broken lives of people. Those who approach his table do so, in part, out of the need for his healing touch. The sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 experiences such healing. She comes to a table where the Messiah is seated and offers him the kind of hospitality that the Pharisee host should have provided but pridefully neglected. The point of this story is there is no sin that is too destructive for the healing touch of Christ. Even those who have lived lives of consistent and willful sin, upon confession and repentance, can receive healing from the Savior and may “go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

In fact, those who have been plagued by “many sins” (7:47) receive the most healing and experience the most peace. You cannot appreciate the grace of God unless you first recognize the disastrous effects of sin. Jesus’ table is one of forgiveness and restoration. It is at the table of the Lord where we, as sinners, receive reconciliation and a renewed sense of peace. May we be comforted in the knowledge that Jesus has forgiven our many sins and calls us to his table to celebrate!