Growing up in the eighties, living in a low to modest income household, we rarely ate out. This is before McDonalds was more expensive than some sit-down restaurants and before it was condemned as highly unhealthy, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the quality of the toys and merchandise. Remember Hardee’s with the California Raisins? From the Peanuts gang to Garfield, and the Muppets to the classic Mayor McCheese, collector glasses were considered cool, and the model characters were often accrued after begging the workers to trade out a duplicate. Eating out, because of the rarity, was exciting! Being able to sit in the restaurant, eating a kid’s meal, opening the toy and doing the games printed on the carton… all of it held a special appeal.
I would sit in the restaurant and methodically eat my meal: first the fires, then the cheeseburger (ketchup only). I would play with the toy, ready to add it to my meager collection waiting at home. I was never one to ball up my trash on the tray and dump it in the bins. I would fold all of the wrappings, and tuck them into the empty fry container. What had once wrapped my burger would become a tightly folded square; a personal challenge to fold it smaller and smaller. Maybe I was a tad OCD. Maybe I was just making memories by prolonging the inevitable end to our dining experience.
I found that I viewed the wadded up wrappers as an expression of laziness and lack of gratitude. We had just experienced a meal that we didn’t have to cook. We had such variety with the menu that everyone got something they wanted. And to top it all off, all we had to do was dump our trash in the trash can by the door. We would joke about whose turn it was to “do the dishes.” In my mindset, I thought the least we could do was make our trash look neat and not so bulky. If wrappers are not wadded up, they won’t take up as much room, right? Then the trash wouldn’t have to be emptied so often – It’s about being considerate, right?
A simple napkin can have me labeled as OCD. A simple napkin can give the impression of sloppiness or tidiness. A simple napkin can speak volumes. There are a several “simple napkin” illustrations in regards to scripture that float around the internet and are printed in books; it’s difficult to decipher which is accurate and which we need to toss in the bin without a second thought. Two of my favorites only add to how good God is and adds new depths to be explored in the oceans of His grace – whether accurate or not.
- The Master and the Servant: The servant would set the table for his master. If the master needed to leave the table for any reason, the servant would observe the napkin to determine the next course of action. If the napkin was used but folded and set beside the place setting, the master was coming back – do not clear the plates. If the napkin was used but wadded up, it meant, “I’m done,” and the servant knew to clear the dishes. The napkin was code for the master’s intention of returning or not.
- Biblical Customs when visiting a Jewish Home: In Barbara Richmond’s book “Jewish Insights into the New Testament,” we unpack the proper etiquette in expressing gratitude after a meal in a Jewish home during biblical times. If the fellowship and food was enjoyable and pleasant, one would casually wad up their napkin (or crumple it). If a clear message wanted to be sent expressing displeasure and the intention of never doing it again, one would simply have to fold the napkin and leave it as you found it. Folding the napkin was a slap in the face for the host.
One means that folding is good and the other that folding is bad… or is that really all we can take away from it? Books I’ve read, sermons I’ve listened to, one of the common take-aways is that the Bible doesn’t contain any useless information. Every word, every detail, has a purpose – something we can learn from and about.
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
When this became a revelation for me – that there was nothing in the Bible on accident and the smallest and most seemingly absurd detail was all purposefully placed – connections started leaping off the page! Veils torn, tribes and blessings – even the Passover. All have so many details that add depths to just how intricately we are loved by our Creator, Savior, and Lord.
John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. If you missed my post on John, it’s one of my favorites. John was a very detailed individual. In his accounts, there always seems to be a bit of a different perspective than that which is found in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John is the only one to mention a particular piece of cloth, and it’s not there by accident. Mary Magdalene has come with news of the stone being rolled away from the tomb where Jesus was buried. Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved (John) rush off to see it for themselves.
“Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.” John 20:4-7 (NIV)
So the cloth that had been over Jesus’ head was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. It was folded. If we were to go off of the first illustration, the Master was sending a clear message to the disciples: He’s coming back! Jesus folded the napkin.
“…Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” John 14:27-29 abridged (NIV)
In our second illustration, this is a pretty clear slap to the face of death. I can almost picture Jesus telling the devil that He’s not pleased with death, He didn’t enjoy Himself, and that He’s never going to experience death again. Death offends Him. Whether it’s recorded as a slap in the face or completely crushing the devil, Jesus folded the napkin.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)
Jesus made a public spectacle of all that stood against us. Jesus folded the napkin. Talk about packing a punch! Symbols of what Christ did for us are everywhere. It’s not just in the cross we see adorning church steeples and walls, the cross necklaces we wear, the sign of the fish, rainbows (God claimed it first – and He’s the first and the last)… you get the picture (pun intended). Now when you see your place setting when it comes to meal time, or you take a napkin from a restaurant dispenser, remember what Jesus did with His napkin. He folded it!