And He Came Seeking Fruit

Psalm 23:5-6 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I remember in the 1990 a phenomena on the Nickelodeon channel with a substance called Gak. Gak is a fluorescent green colored slimy substance that was poured onto a person’s head as a gag or prank. The victim was not honored by this anointing, rather they were ridiculed. I guess I never really understood this phenomenon. But then again my generation had comedians that threw cream pies at people. Now, I totally got that concept.

I seem to be on a trend with this set of Lenten devotionals in talking about two elements of a referenced verse or set of verses. This one is not much different. There are two things I want to work through with the Psalm 23 verses above. 1.) He anoints our heads with oil, 2.) The Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Christians have this wonderful condition of being honored guests at the Lord’s Table. In biblical times honored guests had their heads anointed with oil to show them, and others that they were truly honored by the host. Jesus rebukes the Pharisee who had invited Jesus into his house for not having anointed him as was the custom (see Luke 7:36-50). We are honored because our Lord has told us we are honored. We do not have to worry about having Gak poured on our heads.

We also have the opportunity to sit, and be fed by our Lord. We can rely on the Lord to give us our daily bread, because that is what we need, and what we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer. We have the tremendous blessing of the body and blood of Christ in, with and under the bread and the wine when we participate in Holy Communion. We also enjoy the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation given to us. We are reminded of that fact in the words of institution drawn directly from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke, and from the Apostle Paul. The table prepared in the presence of our enemies is the Lord’s Table. He prepares it so that we are reminded of what we have been given and to send a very BIG message to our enemies. That message is “hands off these people, they are My chosen and honored guests at My table. They will dwell in My house forever.” That message gives me a great deal of comfort, how about you?

Prayer: Lord and Creator of all things, we have been given so many blessings. You have set a table for us as honored guests. We are invited to partake in Holy Communion and receive the gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation with this meal. Your Son has given the last full measure in His sacrifice on the cross just for us. For all these blessings and many more we offer our heartfelt thanks. Amen.