How The Law Became A Burden

Have you ever wondered how the Jewish Law became such a burden? 

"And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."  I have wondered how this burden came to be and God showed me a picture of a beautifully set table. I have been very intimidated by a beautifully and correctly laid table because I was not familiar with what utensil to use when or what food was to be placed on which plate. The beautifully set tables at which I have been seated were always filled with others who knew the ropes whle I hesitated, watched and tried to follow their lead.  Most Jews in Jesus' day were in exactly the same confusing place when it came to figuring out what God wanted from them, endeavoring to follow those who knew the deal without understanding the why or the wherefore.

Suppose The Lord God saw those He loved eating off of a dirt floor and decided to tell them to stop eating off of the dirt like animals. Suppose He told them how special they were and how important it was to their wellbeing to eat their meals from a table, raised off the floor, away from the filth.  Good idea, right? God's people felt special because of His care for them and His elevation of their status from dirt-sittin'-eaters to  wonderful elevated table-and-chairs-eaters!  How special they were. How proud of their tables they became!

Over time, God's people began to feel very burdened that they were not showing gratitude by revering their tables in some way, so with respect and honor they began to cover the tables with lovely cloths to show how special they were. You get the picture, I can tell.  Yes, eventually God's people became  obsessed with the specialness of their tables and in addition to covering them with a special cloth to protect them, they began to envision placemats to keep the special cloth clean, then platters to protect the placemats, followed by chargers, cups, saucers. As they embellished their tables instruction was necessary for proper display and utensils for special uses deserving special placement on the table came about-all in an effort to display.....well to display they understood God and knew how to please Him. They began to teach others how to come and eat at God's Table.

By the time Jesus came to earth and was trained in God's Law He had His work cut out for him trying to get anyone to see the Gift of God-The Table!!!   No one enjoyed hearing that all the wonderful things they had used to adorn the table were useless!  The hungry, poor and slow learners were utterly relieved to hear Jesus talk, well, first to be fed as you can imagine, but then to hear its not about all that learning and doing all that how-to-eat stuff.  "It's about the Table!!"  Jesus, cried out to His people, "Come to me!!   All you who are weary of rules and burdened with the reasonings of your eating leaders and instructors, and I will give you rest. Hook up with me, and learn from me. I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Yeah, some heard. Jesus was The Table come to them, laden with food and rest for all.

God did not intend to be a burden. God intended to take away our burdens!  Belief systems that have adorned Jesus' simple Good News table with covers and finery, layers of reasonings constructed by men, added burdens of living and giving, of judging and measuring, of doing and pleasing  are still in business. They have separated from the uninstructed and the slow learners in their hearts but long for them to come to their beautiful table and get it right so they could share a meal.  Yet some are preparing a place where all of God's people can "taste and see that The Lord is good". There is nothing wrong with your table. It's beautiful as a table. There is just so little room, and it is difficult to concentrate when you are starving.  Some of us must not forget, as the Jews did, that there is room at God's Table for all and it is perfectly all right to show up with nothing.

Every time we as God's people tell hungry burdened people that they can't taste God's love for them and His tangible provision for them through us or our organizations, unless they understand the sanctity and trappings of the table, we are Pharisees, white washed tombs, blinded to Who our God is by our sparkling china. We are enamored of our gorgeous tables, our special tables and blind to the barriers we've created for those who are starving. We, and not this world,  have made their burden of hunger much more difficult to bear.

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