Lenten Devotion

March 27, 2010

No Reservations Required

Excerpt from Luke 22:1-13

"The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there. They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. (NIV)

Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel

In January 2009, I had the honor of receiving tickets from my U.S. Congressional Representative to attend the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Upon my arrival, I found the nation's capital in total gridlock. Streets were closed, traffic was at a standstill, hotels were booked to capacity and every restaurant in the city had a long waiting list.

On the great day of the Inauguration, after standing outside freezing at the Mall for five hours, a fraternity brother and I went on a quest to find a restaurant with less than an hour's wait time. We stumbled across an Italian bistro that would never have gotten my attention had I not been desperate. In that dark, obscure restaurant, over wine and pasta, we talked about what Obama's election meant for race relations in America, about the hope and possibilities of this American experiment in democracy. And we talked about our own personal dreams and professional ambitions. Neither our prized places at the Inauguration nor our invites to VIP functions around the city could match the special pride we felt and the powerful emotions we shared in that out-of-the-way restaurant. It was just about the only thing I did during that time that did not require a reservation, yet it was, for me, the most impactful.

In the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem's Passover Feast, Jesus directed Peter and John to prepare a place where Jesus could share the Passover meal with his disciples. Just Jesus and the disciples. Just the Master teaching his disciples how to serve and sacrifice in an intimate setting. Just an inter-personal communion with eternal consequences.

The disciples knew that the city of Jerusalem would not accommodate such a gathering, but they soon discovered that God had already prepared a host and a space and a table for them. No reservations required.

Prayer

Lord, we often worry about the many ways in which we are pushed out and pushed aside by the bustling busy-ness of life. Help us today to rest in the confidence that you will always open a door and provide space for us in the places where we really need to be. Amen.