At the Table
please stand as you're able for the reading of the Gospel by Gospel reading this morning comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter 14 verses 1 through 14. Find it in the few Bible on page 1270 if you would like to read along One Sabbath when Jesus went to share a meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees. They were watching him closely. A man suffering from an abnormal swelling of the body was there Jesus ask the lawyers and Pharisees does the law allow healing on the Sabbath or not? But they said nothing. Jesus Took hold of the stick man cured him and then let him go. He said to them suppose your child or ox-bow into a ditch on the Sabbath day. Wouldn't you immediately pull it out? But they had no response. When Jesus notice how the guest sought out the best seat at the table he told them a parable. When someone invites you to a wedding celebration, don't take your seat in the place of honor. Someone more highly-regarded then you could have been invited by your host. The host 2 invited both of you will come and say to you give your seat to this other person. Embarrassed you will take your seat in the least important place. Instead when you receive an invitation go and sit in the least important place. When your host approaches you he will say friend move up here to a better place. Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow gas. All who let themselves up will be brought low and those who make themselves low will be lifted up. Then Jesus said to the person who had invited him when you host a lunch or dinner don't invite your friends your brothers and sisters your relatives or Rich Neighbors. If you do they will invite you in return and that will be your reward. Instead when you give a banquet invite the poor crippled lame and blind and you will be blessed because they can't repay you instead. You will be repaid when the just are resurrected the word of God for the people of God. You may be seated.
Woohoo. I got a lot to say in like not a lot of time. So I just pray this morning that God will help cut through my mind my mind which is admittedly a little bit blurry this morning. I'm just a little tired cuz I went to help my parents pack a little bit there in the process of moving and so what's up with Dean and sorting and dust and driving, but I'm thrilled to be able to be back here this morning and able to share this mint a message with you and I just pray that God will help me.
Say what needs to be said. to say what the Holy Spirit
Want to share with us this morning? And above all I pray that God will help you to hear the word from God that you need to hear. So this morning it's this passage is kind of interesting as soon as Luke chapter 14 work now, I think a little bit over halfway through the gospel. And this is the third meal that Jesus is eating at the home of a Pharisee. The first one was when the woman with an alabaster alabaster jar of oil breakup cleans his his feet and he says that because she has send much she loves much. The second time he eats at the house of a Pharisee. He kind of gives a lecture to them and says that you are so focused on cleaning the outside of the cup. Do you want cleaning the inside you are neglecting the more important matters of your face, which is justice. Not about appearing pure.
And today this this morning. We have this this passage the lectionary actually cut that verses 2 through 6, but I wanted to include it this morning because it's also the third healing on a Sabbath day. the happens in the Gospel of Luke It's this repetition that the message that Lucas is trying I think they can pick it across. One that Jesus is eating in the homes of the Pharisees. He's not rejecting their invitation. Even though he knows that they will be watching him closely. Waiting to see when he'll mess up. Waiting to trap him but he uses the opportunity to teach lessons to the Pharisees. because God desires all to come to the table of Christ. Not just the ones who are oppressed, but also the oppressors. God wants all to come to the table. No one is beyond the grace of God.
The table is a metaphor. For God's Kingdom.
I want to say that again just cuz I really want y'all to get this the table is a metaphor for the kingdom of God. And Those whom we welcome at the table with us. Is a testament a witness to the invitation that God gives to all to come into the kingdom of God. This passage is a lesson about humility. We all love this this humility, right? Yeah, the person who said that there's no there's no one more humble than I am.
It's one of those things. It's really it's really hard. Like, how how can you be truly humble? And I'm pretty sure the first rule is you don't call attention to it.
Paul is home. And he does this humblebrag every once in awhile, right but his point is to say that look if anyone had reason to be proud and they're their social standing or in their ability to keep the law. No one could be more proud than Iowa because I did it, right. But I am also the least of these.
It's only has his humblebrag. I like to think that he doesn't genuinely mean it anymore that he recognizes that all of those things that the world considered important or nothing.
nothing because they don't lift are standing any higher in the eyes of God.
What we've lacked does not bring us any lower in the eyes of God. This message that Jesus is is preaching that we can be hard for many of us to hear that those who bring themselves up will be brought low. Or those who just already are at the top of the social system through no choice of their own necessarily. B2 will be brought low.
It's not an easy message. But it is a message of Grace.
In the passage we can see at the table. the social structure the first century life
and it's important to remember that. In this time that the the idea of quid pro quo. It's how things are organized. And in many ways is still how things are organized. Right quid pro quo. I will do this for you, but you have to do this for me.
Too often. We approach a decision by asking the question what's in it for me?
rather than how can I go if I got?
How can I be the hands and feet of Christ in the world? How can I break down? It's the barriers to Grace that people encounter.
Jesus it's interesting because he's not. He's not trying to break down the system. You're not trying to destroy it. He's assuming that it's going to be this way. Until the kingdom of God arrives in its fullness. This is the social system in which we will find ourselves. It's a rather than trying to dismantle it. He just he focuses on teaching us how to navigate. If we are the guests be humble.
Be humble, but if we are the host. If we are in the hose, we are actually in the position.
To dismantle the system just a little bit. One person at a time and the way we do that if I intentionally inviting people who cannot repay the favor.
Intentionally reaching people in the community who just need to know about the love of God not because of well, you know, they can help us pay our bills. That's not the point.
What I love about Christ is that all through the gospel all through his teachings? He is illustrating how when we can move beyond our our fear. Beyond this idea that what we have is not enough we need more if we can move past that and to fully trust God and to just focus on what God is calling us to do which is to liberate the oppressed. To love others if we can do that. Thank God can multiply Five Loaves and two fish.
There's a lot in this. not so very short passage, but medium wax passage, perhaps
But above all the message the Christ proclaims is this idea of radical inclusion?
That at the table of Christ at the kingdom of God, it is marked by radical inclusion.
It is marked by a rebellious attitude in a sentence. A willingness to say to the world. What you value is? Not the right thing. What you value misses the point? rather then trying to to increase your social standing.
which is something we fall prey to every moment probably even in our own church up until recently where you sat and the church was directly correlated with your social standing. You could buy your pew. Right. So the ones who had the most wealth could sit up front where all could see their status
I'm hoping maybe that's why so many people like to sit in the back.
Because there is no striving to be humbled right not because they just don't want me to look at them.
We as Christians as followers of Christ. We are called to seek out the ones whom Society projects. Maybe more accurately. We are called to seek out the ones whom those in power reject. We are called To Be A Witness within this world that we live in.
We are called to be Christ.
Very end of the passage is says you will be blessed. Because they can't repay you.
And there was a quote that I came across in one of my many legendaries that I read.
That I actually wanted to share.
They write the Jesus's disciples should share their resources and excess with others. So that they do not starve. Or become ill We should strive to ensure that they are properly clothed. We should make amends for abusing and defrauding others. We should love our enemies. We should treat haters why we should bless those who curse us. We should pray for those who abused us if someone steals our coat. We should give him a shirt to. We should give to all who are in need and lend with no expectation of repayment. The point out the in the wilderness Temptation Jesus sided with the oppressed. Rather than two to exalt himself.
When Satan tempted him, right, you know, if if you are the Son of God if you really have all of this power and authority and privilege then do this. And Christ time it again so snow.
I will live at the least of these left.
I will trust God to provide. I will not use my power to serve myself.
The spirit anointed Jesus and us to bring good news to the poor to Proclaim release to those in prison to give sight to the Blind and freedom to the oppressed. and
is a word that the writer use uses in this next part that I want to say a little bit about it. It's weird privilege.
The purest form for Tears way of understanding this word privilege. It's just that we don't have to think about it.
And some of you I've had this conversation, which is that there is such a thing as hearing privilege. I am legally deaf. I was born with a severe to profound hearing loss in both ears, which means that when I go to a movie theater, the question I ask is do they have accommodations?
And until recently. The closest theater that I would really go to assume, San Antonio. Houston, baby But it's slowly starting to kind of spread out more. But because this is this is the reality. This is the first question that I ask myself because frankly, I don't want to pay $10 to watch a movie and have to focus the entire time to figure out what people are saying. Sort of defeats the purpose. I don't want to work to be entertained.
So there is such a thing as hearing for which but it doesn't mean that I want people to feel guilty. About it. It doesn't mean that I want people to lose their hearing. It simply means. Try to be more aware or intentional about how you relate with me. Try to be more intentional maybe maybe if you if you are going to invite me to the movie. Maybe you actually do the work to see if the theater has accommodations. Nobody has done that for me. Not even those who love me most. Can you imagine how how much of a witness or testimony that could be to do that for someone? To be mindful of the way in which we are more privileged and deceit. Just a little bit more equality Justice.
I say that because I don't want anyone to feel threatened when they hear that word privilege. So it goes on and says wealth and position are a blessing when they are shared and used for the betterment of others. But we often confuse privileges with blessings.
Here's what I mean by that. For those of us who are privileged are blessed. We consider our blessing material. How many people have you heard talk about this? Oh, God has blessed us with this new car.
God has blessed me with this. house God has blessed me with parents who are educated. but really We need we need to be able to make the distinction that what we consider a blessing is actually a privilege. I have a lot of privilege in my life even being hard of hearing because my mother is educated my mother majored in child development. She knew early that I wasn't hearing correctly, but I wasn't hearing well because of that she took steps and she knew what steps to take.
I'm also privileged because my parents. Made enough money to be able to afford hearing aids.
To be able to provide me with the tools that I need to to be able to function in the world. Yes, it's a blessing but more accurately is it's a privilege.
We confused privileges with blessing.
because when when the privilege reconsidered Material things blessings but when it comes to those who are not privileged we spiritualize it.
privilege
God calls us to turn our privilege into blessing.
Going back to the part where the lectionary skipped this moment when Jesus heals a man with abnormal swelling.
I was thinking about this. older translations use the word dropsy the modern-day diagnosis terminology for this edema
when the body is retaining too much water.
Water is needed for life. but
it's also possible to have too much water. It is possible to have an excess of something.
The good news that I think that these these versus pro clean again, is that God desires to heal those who have an abundance of blessing?
God desire to hear to heal those who are bound by fear.
Who are afraid to share what they have for fear that it might not be enough.
When we sit at the table in the place of honor at a wedding. Now us Methodist good method if we're not supposed to gamble, right but I would be willing to bet that those who sat in the seat of Honor got their food first.
Which means efforts the lower you sat at the table the more likely it would be that they might run out of food before they got to you.
God calls us to share. What we had until we're calling to sit at the table and of the the least important place isn't is not just for this this this humility but also because maybe this is the opportunity that someone who goes hungry day-to-day will actually be able to eat a good meal.
And by putting them ahead of us we give them that opportunity.
I know that I'm really going over time. So I got to wrap this up. summer clothes with this quote by a man named Fred Craddock And he says the hospitality which we talked about Nicki verse hospitality is not having each other over on Friday night. But welcoming those who are no position to help us in return.
But we also have to notice that the text does not speak of sending food to anyone either. yes, we should send food if we are unable to actually go and be present but the clearest sign Of the kingdom of God is when the host and the guest sit at a table together. The clear sign of acceptance of recognizing one another the equals of cementing Fellowship is breaking bread together.