This morning,
our focus shifts to one of Jesus’ parables. This text reminds us of our Christian
calling to humility. We are called to
never consider ourselves and our needs to be more important than anyone else’s.
Humility is perhaps one of the most difficult Christian attributes for us to
embrace; the secular world puts a lot of emphasis on prestige and power, on
fame and infamy. Yet, our calling is to perceive others as our equals, and to
not take actions that take away from our unity and equality with them.
Hear Jesus’ words as they are
recorded in Luke, chapter 14, verses one and seven through fourteen:
Scripture Reading Luke 14: 1, 7-14
One Sabbath,
when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being
carefully watched.
When he
noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told
them this parable:
“When someone
invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person
more distinguished than you may have been invited.
If so, the
host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your
seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
But when you
are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say
to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the
presence of all the other guests.
For all those
who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be
exalted.”
Then Jesus
said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your
friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if
you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will
be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.”
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
O Lord our God, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to
our path. Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love, that we may be
obedient to your will and live always for your glory; though Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
Message Receive the Invitation
Imagine you are at a wedding
reception, perhaps at a country club or a beautiful hotel ballroom overlooking a
river. The bride and groom have spent
months planning the details and preparing for the wedding. The flowers are
colorful and carefully arranged. The bridesmaids are dressed to the nines, all
in silver gowns. The cocktail hour had delicious, dainty hors d'oeuvres. When it is time for the meal, everyone moves
over to the tables where each guests’ name has been carefully printed on a
card, because the bride and groom have spent hours planning out who would sit
with whom, carefully arranging the guests around the room. At the most
prominent place in the space is a long table, where the bride, groom, and their
wedding party are supposed to sit.
Imagine your astonishment when a
guest decides to ignore all of the place setting cards, walks up to the seats
set aside for the bride and groom, and plops themselves down in the groom’s
chair?! Instead of observing the “rules” of wedding decorum, they take the best
seat in the room for themselves.
This morning, Jesus talked about a wedding
banquet. Although the rules for wedding etiquette were different in First century
Israel verses 21st century American, Jesus’ parable still works today.
At the dinner Jesus was attending, the
guests all seized each other up, and then arranged themselves in the seats
based on the status they perceived themselves as having. Possibly the richest person in the room sat
next to the host, or perhaps the most renowned Biblical scholar chose that spot,
or the mayor sat in it. We may not understand the rules of the gathering, but
we understand there were rules.
Jesus’s message is that as followers
of God, we are supposed to humble ourselves. We humble ourselves in worship to God.
We humble ourselves in the presence of other people in our churches. We humble
ourselves out in the world as we interact with other people.
We are called to be humble. We are
no better than any other person. We are no better than people who are a
different racial group than us; we are no better than people who have less education
than we have; we are no better than people who have less money than we have; we
are no better than people who are citizens of other countries than ours; we are
no better that people who are younger than us or older than us. We are called
to be humble, and to remember that we are no better than anyone else.
Lately, in the media, we have heard
stories of people dubbed “Karens.” The reason why these people are criticized
is because they forget to be humble. They are often people who feel a sense of
privilege or entitlement over and above the people they are interacting
with. They belittle clerks in stores or
servers in restaurants. They call the
police to report people who are not doing anything wrong or illegal, just because
those people are doing things the Karen doesn’t like or finds inconvenient. They claim a superiority over people they
believe are their subordinates, even when they have legitimate reason to make that
claim. Instead of being humble, they attempt to act with superiority.
Jesus not only calls us to be
humble, but we are also supposed to be driven to do actions that help people
who have lower status than we have. When we chose to be generous, we shouldn’t
do it for prestige. We shouldn’t be generous so that we are acknowledged for our
generosity. We should not do things so that others tell us how great we are. We shouldn’t be driven by the goal of being
acknowledged.
Instead, we are called to help
people who don’t have as much as we have, not for the glory, but because our
faith compels us to care about others. Jesus
said, “When you give a banquet, invite
the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.
Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous.” When you throw a party, invite
people who aren’t usually included, people who are poor, people with physical disabilities,
people who are unpopular, people who have mental health differences, people who
are homeless, people who suffering…invite people who will not repay your kindness
by inviting you to a similar event.
Jesus instructs us to behave in a
way that is not natural for us. Jesus
instructs us to do things that are difficult, that are scary. And, although
this instruction is extreme, Jesus’ words remind us that as Christians, we are
called to work to help people who are troubled, people who are struggling
financially, people who are suffering will illnesses, and people who are having
a hard time. Our work is to use our gifts and our resources to help people who
are suffering. Our work is to be generous and not to expect our generosity to
be reciprocated by other people.
God’s Holy Spirit is in our midst
all of the time. The Holy Spirit observes our every move. When we are generous,
God’s Holy Spirit notices our actions. God knows we are choosing to do the
right thing, even if no other people notice our choices. God calls us to work to
lighten other people’s burdens, and God sees us when we are faithful to what God
calls us to do.
May we do so in love. Amen.
