If Jesus made room at His table for people who were messy, broken, different, and rejected, what might our tables—and our lives—look like if we did the same?
Who are you inviting to your table? As Thanksgiving approaches, Willow Weston takes a closer look at the people Jesus chose to eat with—and challenges us to consider whether our own relationships reflect His example. It’s easy to surround ourselves with people who think like us, believe like us, vote like us, worship like us, and generally make us comfortable. But Jesus lived differently.
Growing up above the Roslyn Cafe, Willow’s childhood table was surrounded by all kinds of characters. Looking back, she wonders whether that eclectic gathering place filled with people from every walk of life might be exactly the kind of place Jesus would have chosen to eat.
Throughout Scripture, Jesus repeatedly shared meals with people others avoided. In Mark 2, He calls Levi—a despised tax collector—to follow Him, and the very next scene finds Jesus at a dinner party surrounded by tax collectors and sinners. In a culture where sharing a meal was a declaration of friendship, Jesus was making a powerful statement about who was welcome at His table.
Willow challenges us to recognize the ways we can develop what she calls “spiritual eating disorders”—drawing lines around who we will and won’t befriend. We may avoid people who make us uncomfortable, disagree with us, bring us down, or don’t appear to be changing fast enough. Without realizing it, our faith can become insulated from the very people Jesus continually moved toward.
But Jesus didn’t come to escape messy humanity. He entered into it. He sat at tables, shared meals, and called unlikely people His friends. And He invites us to follow Him into that same kind of life.
This Thanksgiving—and beyond—Willow challenges us to look around our tables and ask: Does the way I live and love look like Jesus?
Key Takeaways
- Look at who’s around your table: Our relationships can reveal something about the way we’re living out our faith. Are we only surrounding ourselves with people who are like us?
- Remember how Jesus ate: Sharing a meal was an intimate declaration of friendship in Jesus’ culture—and He intentionally ate with people society and religious leaders rejected.
- Stop treating people like projects: Jesus didn’t build relationships only with people who appeared spiritually promising. People aren’t projects to fix; they’re people to know and love.
- Practice hospitality that looks like Jesus: Sometimes an invitation into your home, a seat at your table, or a shared meal can communicate God’s love more powerfully than words.
- Make room for someone new: Don’t let Thanksgiving be the only time you consider who is welcome at your table. Let your everyday life tell a story of radical hospitality and friendship.
How This Episode Will Encourage You
Following Jesus isn’t an invitation to escape the messiness of humanity. It’s an invitation to enter into it with Him.
Willow reminds us that Jesus was willing to sit across the table from people who were rejected, misunderstood, hurting, and far from perfect. Through something as ordinary as eating together, He communicated something extraordinary: I see you. I am with you. I call you friend.
As you gather around the table this Thanksgiving, consider who might be missing. Who needs an invitation? Who have you kept at a comfortable distance? Who might experience the love of Jesus simply because you made room?
May our tables—and ultimately our lives—look a little more like His.
