The Table Series: Communion in Everyday Life

 

Session 9: The Table of Justice and Mercy

Based on 2 Samuel 9

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I. A Table Set by Covenant

After David became king, he asked a surprising question.

“Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1)

This was not a political move.
It was an act of covenant faithfulness.
Saul had been David’s enemy, yet Jonathan had been his friend.
David chose mercy over memory, grace over revenge.

Justice in God’s kingdom often looks different from justice in the world.
It is shaped by covenant, not calculation.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, and to share in brokenness.”

David went looking for someone who could not help him in return.

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II. The One Who Could Not Walk

Mephibosheth was found in Lo Debar, a place whose name means no pasture.
He was lame in both feet, dropped as a child, and living in obscurity.
He expected judgment when summoned to the king.

“Mephibosheth bowed down and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?’” (2 Samuel 9:8)

Shame had shaped his identity.
Fear had shaped his expectations.
Yet David spoke kindness over him.

Thomas Merton wrote,

“Mercy does not see people as problems to be solved, but as mysteries to be loved.”

The table of justice and mercy begins where dignity is restored.

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III. A Seat at the King’s Table

David did not merely spare Mephibosheth.
He restored his land.
He returned his inheritance.
And most astonishing of all, he invited him to eat at the king’s table.

“Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.” (2 Samuel 9:11)

This is not charity.
This is belonging.

Justice restores what was lost.
Mercy restores relationship.
At the table, both meet.

Dallas Willard wrote,

“Grace is not opposed to justice.
It fulfills justice by restoring people to life with God and one another.”

At David’s table, a broken man was treated like family.

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IV. The Hidden Cracks Beneath the Table

Scripture adds a quiet detail.

“Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both feet.” (2 Samuel 9:13)

The table covered what could not be fixed.
His condition did not change.
His status did.

At the table of mercy, brokenness is not erased.
It is welcomed.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“At the table of God, we are not loved because we are healed.
We are healed because we are loved.”

Justice gives what is right.
Mercy gives what is needed.

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V. The Invitation

The table of justice and mercy invites us to ask different questions.
Not who deserves a seat, but who needs one.
Not who belongs, but who has been excluded.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

God’s table is long.
His mercy is wide.
His justice restores rather than destroys.

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Practicing the Table of Justice and Mercy This Week

1. Notice who is overlooked.
   Pay attention to someone who might feel invisible.

2. Choose kindness over judgment.
   Let mercy interrupt your assumptions.

3. Restore dignity where possible.
   Speak words that affirm worth rather than shame.

4. Examine your own seat.
   Remember that your place at God’s table is grace.

5. Pray for a merciful heart.

   “Lord, teach me to extend justice shaped by love.
   Help me welcome others as You have welcomed me.”