A Lesson in Dinner Hosting
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Beloved, I would like you to consider the Boston Globe's account from June 1990 of a most unusual wedding banquet.
Accompanied by her fiance, a woman went to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston and ordered the meal.
The two of them poured over the menu, made selections of china and silver, and pointed to pictures of the flower arrangements they liked.
They both had expensive taste, and the bill came to $13,000.
After leaving a check for half that amount as down payment, the couple went home to flip through books of wedding announcements.
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The day the announcements were supposed to hit the mailbox, the groom got cold feet.
“I'm just not sure,” he said.
“It's a big commitment.
Let's think about this a little longer.”
When his angry fiance returned to the Hyatt to cancel the the banquet, the manager could not have been more understanding.
“The same thing happened to me, honey,” she said and told the story of her own broken engagement.
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But about the refund, she had bad news.
“The contract is binding.
You're only entitled to $1,300 back.
You have two options:
To forfeit the rest of the down payment (loss of $5,200) or go ahead with the banquet.
I'm sorry.
Really, I am.”
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It seemed crazy but the more the jilted bride thought about it, the more she liked the idea of going ahead with the party--not a wedding banquet, but a big blowout.
10 years before this same woman had been living in a homeless shelter.
She had got back on her feet, found a good job and set aside some money Now she had the wild notion of using her savings to treat the down and outs of Boston to a night on the town.
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And so it was that in June of 1990 the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston hosted a party such as it had never seen before.
The hostess changed the menu to boneless chicken--“in honor of the groom,” she said--and sent invitations to rescue missions and homeless shelters.
That warm summer night, people who were used to rummaging through dumpsters dined instead on chicken cordon bleu.
Hyatt waiters in tuxedos served appetizers.
The poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, the homeless, the addicts, etc.
All of them took one night off from the hard life on the sidewalks outside and instead ate chocolate wedding cake and danced to big band melodies late into the night.
This jilted bride spent $26,000 to feed and entertain people who could not pay her back.
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Now, this theme of serving others while not looking for anything from them in return is the focus of our study today.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 14 and focus on verses 12 through 14.
Our message this morning is titled “A Lesson in Dinner Hosting.”
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As you are turning to our passage today please keep in mind this fact...
This is the second of our three back to back sermons on the subject of humility...
Which shows us how important this matter is to our Lord.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Motivation
2) The Instructions
And...
3) The Reward
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are the Author and Creator of all things in this universe...
Everything we see has been fashioned by You...
And everything we can’t see with our human eyes has likewise been created by the very words You speak.
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Thank You for paying any attention to man...
For we are but a speck of dust in the ocean...
But You care for us like a mother hen cares for her young.
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Help us more faithfully follow You in all times...
It times of many blessings...
And in times of many challenges...
Help us to keep our eyes centered on You.
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And it is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Motivation
1) The Motivation
Verse 12: He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
Beloved, let’s start by clarifying a few key points in our passage today...
Like identifying who Jesus is talking to.
So, “the man who had invited him” is the Pharisee from our previous passage in Luke 14:1-6 which we covered two weeks ago and says:
1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.
2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
6 And they could not reply to these things.
As we discussed at great lengths, their was a ruler of the Pharisees who invited Jesus as a guest of honor to a meal after synagogue service on the Sabbath...
Additionally, we covered that this was most likely a set up as there was a man with edema their which a Pharisee who not normally invite to a meal like this...
However, the Pharisees watching Jesus’ every step and wanted to catch Him breaking their own man-made Sabbath rules.
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Then, last week we looked at the parable Jesus shared at this meal as He spoke directly to the people invited as they sought the seats of honor.
We covered that in Luke 14:7-11 which says:
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,
8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,
9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Now, having addressed the Pharisee’s guests about the importance of humility, Jesus turns to His host and delivers some powerful words on what humility looks like as a host.
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So, let’s start by breaking down our passage some more and look at the phrase “do not invite your friends or your brothers.”
Now, this is not to be taken as an absolute prohibition against inviting friends or relatives to a meal.
Inviting friends or relatives to a meal is fine...
They just shouldn’t be they only people you host or serve.
You see, this phrase is meant to be hyperbolic language.
That is, extreme language used to make an important point.
Another example of this is when Jesus employed similar hyperbolic language which is found in verses like Luke 14:26 which says:
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Clearly, this does not mean to hate your father and mother...
For that would be a sin...
However, what it does mean is that our love for God should be so much greater than all our other loves...
That our love for anyone else other than God looks like hate in comparison.
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So, such hyperbolic language is common in Semitic discourse and is used for emphasis...
We need to be able to identify examples of this so we can properly interpret Scripture.
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Now, Jesus’ point here is that inviting one’s friends and relatives cannot be classified as a spiritual act of true charity.
Therefore, Jesus again emphasizes the radical generosity and care that His disciples are to show toward those who are physically impaired and economically deprived.
So, inviting friends or relatives to a meal is really nothing special or any major sacrifice...
For even non believers invite friends and relatives to meals.
But we as followers of Christ are to go beyond the world’s standards.
Invite those who don’t have a family to a meal...
Invite those who are poor and have nothing to offer you to a meal...
Invite those who are outcasts in this world to a meal...
As we have ability to, we are to serve others, especially those whom society ignores or frowns upon.
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Furthermore, Jesus command here may also be a rebuke against those prone to reserve their hospitality for “rich neighbors” who they know will feel obligated to return the favor.
Do you invite people to your home for a meal who you feel will benefit you in some way?
Are those the main people you host and serve?
Are we acting like politicians by kissing babies and shaking hands with those who will advance our social statis?
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You see Beloved, in Jewish society an invitation to a meal, with a Pharisee for example, was a kind of currency...
They exploited hospitality for the sake of self-glory and elevation.
It was like a game of increasing one’s reputation in the community.
However, acts of kindness with no societal reward was foreign to them for everything they did was self-serving.
Yet, Jesus’ challenge to the host revealed the true path to eternal blessing.
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Beloved, the world tells us to only associate with those who will benefit us...
But God says to minister to those who have nothing to offer you.
Just look at what it says in Luke 6:30-34 which we covered earlier in our study of the Gospel of Luke:
30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
Loving your friends is fine but what real sacrifice is that!
Doing good to those who also do good to you is fine but what real sacrifice is that!
Lending to someone who you know is good at paying you back is fine but what real sacrifice is that!
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By God’s standard, we are to love our enemies!
By God’s standard, we are to do good to those who have harmed us!
By God’s standard, lend to those in need even if we expect to never be paid back again!
That right there is what Jesus Christ calls us to do as His followers!
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So, let us look at what Jesus says next...
And that takes us to our second point.
2) The Instructions
2) The Instructions
Verses 13-14(a): But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.
I really love this quote by Darrell L. Bock:
“Hospitality is generosity when no motive exists besides giving.
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The question is not ‘What can one do to receive something equivalent back?’ but ‘What can one give to meet the needs of others?’
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In short, the church is not to worry about the chair of honor.
Rather, it is to make chairs available to those who are looking for a place to sit—even for those who think there are no chairs for them.”
That should be our attitude, Beloved...
That is what should be incorporated into our own personal worldview.
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Just as we previously discussed in our study, guests must renounce self-interest in selecting seating at the banquet table, so the host must renounce self-interest by welcoming outcasts whose presence will not bring him social or financial benefit.
So, we should be humble and not seek our own glory and status...
And we should seek to host and serve those who do nothing to raise our social or financial status...
In fact, some people are such outcasts in this world that associating with them would mean our social status would be negatively affected...
However, we are to follow the example Christ gave us...
Remember Jesus is the the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...
But He ate with sinners and the social outcasts.
He called a tax collector, the scum of earth in the eyes of 1st century Jewish society, to be one of His followers...
He used fisherman to fish for men...
He elevated the status of women...
He called the humble and meek blessed...
For Jesus Himself was gentle and lowly as Matthew 11:29 says:
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
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The truly humble person gives without hope of reciprocation and Jesus calls His followers to care for their neighbors out of love and to give no thought to self-interest.
Yet, at the same time, ancient biblical wisdom assured those who loaned to the poor that God Himself would repay their investment.
The New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke puts it this way:
“Because invitations served as currency in the marketplace of prestige and power, there is nothing extraordinary or particularly objectionable to the inclusion of one’s social peers and family, persons from whom one could expect reciprocation.
This is true, at least, for those willing to work within the established world system.
Seen through Jesus’ eyes, however, orthodox conventions have as their consequence the exclusion of the poor; after all, for the social elite the poor are unhelpful in the business of parading and advancing one’s social position and, perhaps more importantly in the current co-text, the poor could not reciprocate.
The Pharisees are thus portrayed as persons who exploit hospitality for self-serving agenda, and whose patterns of hospitality both secure their positions of dominance in their communities and insulate them from the needy.”
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However, in the New Testament, we are constantly warned not to show favor to others just because they have wealth, power, or status.
As James 2:2–4 says:
2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Likewise take a look at what is recorded in Romans 12:16, which says:
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
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Now, Beloved, it is not only in the New Testament where we see commands like this...
I would like you to take a look with me at what some of the wisdom books of the Old Testament say...
For example, Psalm 82:3–4 says:
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Beloved, it is our responsibility as Christ’s ambassadors to take care of those in need...
That is why historically, it is the followers of Christ who took care of others...
Consider this fact:
The first public hospitals were founded by Christians in the 4th century.
Additionally, many orphanages, charities, and schools started out as a Christian institution to help those in need.
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I love how Job 29:15 records it:
15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
In a similar fashion Proverbs 31:8 says:
8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
So, as those who genuinely believe in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we need to be the eyes for those blind...
We need to be the ears for those who are death...
We need to be the mouth of those who are mute...
We are to be the legs and feet of those who are unable to walk...
We are to be shoulder in which those who are burdened can cry on...
We are to be the light of the world...
Mirrors reflecting the pure light of Jesus Christ!
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This truth is even more urgent for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!
As James 2:15–16 says:
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
And as 1 John 3:17 says:
17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
The people we are to take care of first and foremost are those in the Body of Christ...
No member in the Body of Christ should ever be without food...
No member in the Body of Christ should ever be without shelter...
No member in the Body of Christ should ever be alone and without company...
No member in the Body of Christ should ever rejoice alone or mourn alone...
Or as Romans 12:15 puts it:
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
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We are to love for Christ loves us first...
Yet, even though we not to seek a reward for our genuine love and care for others...
God says that there will be a reward for those who obey His command and care for the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Reward
3) The Reward
Verse 14(b): For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
As we have discussed in our study today, such outcasts like the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind would not be invited to a reception given by a Pharisee, since they had no way of reciprocating.
In fact, it was these individuals who they labeled as outcasts and riffraff that the Pharisees sought to distance themselves from.
However, true believers demonstrated humility by inviting outcasts to join them for a meal that they could not repay...
True believers demonstrated humility by ministering and caring for outcasts whom the world turned their back on...
And this loving act will not go unnoticed by our mighty and awesome God...
We will be repaid by God at the resurrection of the righteous, when we receive our eternal reward.
As Proverbs 19:17 says:
17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Likewise, recall the words found in Revelation 22:12, which says:
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
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So, believers are to do good, not with the expectation of a future reward, but unselfishly.
Then God will remember and reward them.
As theologian James R. Edwards says:
“If one does something knowing it will be repaid, then it is an exchange rather than a gift.
Those who ‘come to Jesus and hear his words’ are taught another way, the way of agapē, which gives, and gives freely without thought of return.
Jesus instructs the Pharisee in the same ethic he taught disciples in Luke 6:32–35.
The Pharisee—and all hosts—are taught to think of hospitality in terms of debt rather than repayment.
Agapē is an expression of faith that puts one in debt to God.
Other debts can be repaid by other agents, but God alone can repay agapē—‘at the resurrection of the righteous.’”
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Beloved, if you ever come across someone who is in need and you have the means to help...
Then help!
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Is someone in need of clothing and you have the means to help?
Then help!
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Is someone in need of food and you have the means to help?
Then help!
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Is someone in need of shelter and you have the means to help?
Then help!
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Even the giving of clod water to someone who is thirsty will not go unnoticed by our Heavenly Father...
Or as Matthew 10:42 says:
42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
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Often times, our flesh and the world wants us to go in one direction but the Spirit is leading us down another path.
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Beloved, you have heard it said, “You have to look out for number one.”
But it is written that we are to put others about ourselves!
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You have heard said, “Just follow your heart.”
But it is written that we are not to lean on our own understanding for the heart is deceitful above all things.
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You have heard it said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
But it is written that we are not to be of the world.
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You have heard it said, “Hate your your enemies.”
But it is written, in Luke 6:35-36:
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
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Now, here is a great summary of our passage...
As the New American Commentary on Luke says:
“Pride and arrogance are abominations before God.
The great reversal should be understood as a rejection of the proud, who exalt themselves, in favor of those who humble themselves.
To know God is to understand both his infinite greatness and our own impotence and sinfulness.
Pride is not possible under such circumstances.
Along with the teaching on humility comes concern for the unfortunate. Love of one’s neighbor is expressed as love for those who are in need.
Elsewhere it is demonstrated in Jesus’ acceptance of tax collectors and sinners and his teaching on loving one’s enemies and the needy.
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The ethical behavior enjoined here, however, stands in sharp contrast to the arrogance of the Pharisees, who neglect justice and mercy.
As a result this section also helped Theophilus and Luke’s other readers understand why the Pharisees’ lack of repentance led both to their exclusion from the people of God and to the events of A.D. 70.”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
Years ago, late on a stormy night in Philadelphia, an elderly couple walked wearily into a hotel.
They approached the night clerk at the desk and practically begged him for a room.
Apparently there were three conventions in town, and every hotel was filled to capacity.
“Are there any rooms left anywhere?” the old man inquired.
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“I’m sorry. All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said.
“But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the street and in the rain at one o’clock in the morning.
Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room?
It may not be what you’re used to, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.”
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When the couple declined, the young man pressed it.
“Don’t worry about me; I’ll be just fine,” the clerk said.
“Just take my room.”
So the couple agreed.
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As he paid his bill the next morning, the older man said to the clerk,
“You know what?
You are the kind of man who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States.
Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.”
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The clerk didn’t think much about that, and two years passed.
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The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man.
It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.
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The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.
He then pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.
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“That,” said the older man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.”
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“You must be joking,” the young man said.
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“I can assure you that I am not,” said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.
The old man’s name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
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You see, when we give without worrying about being repaid, we can’t foresee the rewards of our kindnesses.
But Jesus guarantees they will be repaid in countless blessings at the resurrection of the righteous — at the end of the world, when he comes to take his faithful people home with him to heaven.
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Because that’s where the way of grace leads us:
Heaven.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then humble them...
Show them the truth...
Open their eyes...
Soften their hearts...
And lead them to a saving knowledge of You.
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Continue to encourage us in times of joy and times of mourning...
Continue to equip us to better sever You...
And continue to lead us on the narrow road.
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
