Luke 14 1 and 7-14 eSerm

Entertaining Tips for Christians
Sermon by Alex Gondola, Jr.

Imagine this situation, if you will: a husband comes home from work on a Friday night, say the Friday of Labor Day weekend. And as he drives into the driveway, he sees that there is a rented tent in the back yard. Under the tent are tables and chairs for about forty people. A bandstand and dance floor are assembled in one corner of the tent. Paper lanterns are hanging all around. Now mind you, none of this was there when the husband left for work that morning! Seeing all these preparations and having them come as a surprise, what do you think the husband might think? A first reaction from some husbands might be one of panic: "Good Lord! It's our anniversary, and somehow I've forgotten! And, look at the preparations! It must be one of the big ones!" But, assuming he does some quick arithmetic and realizes it isn't their twentieth or thirtieth or fortieth, he might continue thinking, "I guess all this must be for a Labor Day party, which I forgot."

Then imagine the husband walking into the back yard to find his wife furiously basting a dozen chickens and discovering a pile of choice steaks in a cooler nearby. What might he think then? Probably, "This one's going to cost me a bundle!"

Then suppose his wife looks up, smiles sweetly and asks, "Guess who's coming to dinner?" Now his guess might have been: "Relatives, longtime friends, neighbors and business associates." But before he can respond, she answers: "I've invited twenty homeless men from the NOAH Shelter in town, a family of boat people from Haiti, and all the residents of a group home. Don't worry, dear, you won't know a soul. And best of all, not a single one is likely to ever pay us back!" Given that situation, how do you think the husband might react? Don't you think he might think his dear wife was behaving a bit oddly?

Yet, God bless her, she would only be literally following the words of Jesus: "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous" (Luke 14:12b-14, NRSV). Sounds odd, doesn't it? Jesus overturns the world's values. For one thing, we generally stick to entertaining people in our own "social circle," people we know. And, one invitation to dinner often is reciprocated with another invitation to dinner.

That reminds me of Oscar Levant, the pianist and author who, with his wife June, received an invitation to the White House to dine with the Trumans. As they left Harry and Bess at the White House door, Levant turned to his wife and said, with resignation, "Now I suppose we have to have them over for dinner."

Jesus isn't saying that it's wrong to want to entertain our family and friends. That's perfectly natural. And this passage is about more than just how to make out a guest list for dinner (The Little Brown Book of Anecdotes, ed., C. Fadiman, Little, Brown and Company, p. 352). No, Jesus is encouraging us to engage in what one writer calls "disinterested charity." We are being asked to give of ourselves, our time, energy, talents and treasure, and not look for any reward. To some extent, what Jesus proposes is like that bumper sticker that says: Practice Random Acts Of Kindness And Senseless Acts Of Beauty. Have you seen it? A random act of kindness would be something like driving back from Logan Airport, stopping at the toll booth to the Sumner Tunnel, paying your two-dollar toll, and then paying for the next five drivers behind you in line. Can you imagine the looks on the faces of the next five drivers when they are told to "Have a nice day, the toll is already paid!" What Jesus is proposing has that kind of spirit, but goes even further -- for what Jesus is calling for is more than just an occasional act of kindness done for a stranger. This passage encourages us to make a special place in our hearts for the disenfranchised, for those on the margins of society, for the broken, weak, and poor. "When you give a dinner," Jesus says, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." In other words, have a "soft spot" in your heart for anyone who is needy, and do good for them, without expecting any "pay off" in return.

Why? The whole Gospel passage for this Sunday has to do with humility. The first parable, the parable of the Guests at the Wedding Feast, reminds us of the dangers in thinking too much of ourselves. Those who try to build themselves up, like the pushy guest at the wedding feast, get "put down."

But the second parable, the parable about who to invite to dinner, is also about humility. I think we are called to reach out to "the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind," because at various times, the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind are us. Perhaps we're not financially poor. But we can be "poor in spirit," grieving or confused or angry or lonely or discouraged. And we may not be crippled physically. But sometimes we're crippled emotionally. And, while most of us have our sight, we can be "blind" about various aspects of our lives, like how much we're hurting someone who's near us. Jesus wants us to give generously of our time, our treasure, and our talent to the needy. And he wants us to do so in humility, realizing that we're needy ourselves.

Imagine, if you would, one of the angels returning from a hard day's work, doing whatever angels do in heaven. Imagine that angel coming back to see Jesus, Heaven's Delight, God's only beloved Son, working hard to prepare a feast. It's a spiritual banquet, an offering of every good thing God can give: joy and peace and satisfaction and grace and forgiveness of sins.

Imagine Jesus looking up at the angel and smiling and saying, "Guess who's coming to dinner!" And, when the angel shakes his head and says, "I don't know, Lord," Jesus continues: "I've invited sinners. I've invited anyone who's ever broken God's laws. I've invited husbands and wives who have betrayed each other. I've invited children who have let their parents down. I've invited parents who feel like they have failed their children. I've invited people who have subjected their bodies to all kinds of abuse. I've invited those who are twisted up inside, crippled by all kinds of painful memories. I've invited those whose eyes are blind to other people's pain. I've invited people who say they love me, but whose actions deny me. I've invited all the people who, in any way, have ever failed me. I've invited anyone who has ever done anything that sent me to the cross."

"Why, Lord? Why?" asks the angel. "Why would you invite those people? How could they possibly deserve you? How could they pay you back?"

"They can't," responds Jesus. "But still, I love them. And I understand their hunger. And I hope that once they have been fed, they might just be moved to feed somebody else. You see, there's a world down there full of people who are poor and crippled and lame and blind and lonely and hungry. In fact, they're all poor or crippled or lame or blind in some way. It's a world that needs to be loved with my kind of love. The kind of love that keeps on giving and doesn't count the cost."

"When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." In other words, give to others who can't pay you back. Look for nothing in return. Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. Do so out of humility, realizing you are poor and needy yourself, but that you already have been fed at the Table of Christ. And then, says Jesus, "You will be blessed."

Come As You Are, Alex Gondola, Jr., CSS Publishing Company, 2000, 0-7880-1562-1