Luke opens the fourteenth chapter by telling us that Jesus "was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath," and that "they were watching him closely." Notice four important details in this one verse. 

First, notice that Jesus is a guest at a dinner party. Important things happen when people gather for dinner. Table talk provides a forum for friends and families to catch up on the events in the lives of one another. At the dinner table, we teach our children manners. At the table we hear the stories that bind us together as immediate family, larger community, even as a nation. We are told what is expected of us. We learn the family secrets that are to be shared with no one outside our circle. Table conversation has a long history laden with religious, soc…