Invite!

This Saturday is a birthday party for two special kids in my life. William Cutler’s birthday is this Tuesday and then Savannah will have her birthday on Thursday a week from now. Every year we plan a party for the both of them. This year, the party is going to be at my stepmother’s house. We have already planned to have two tables for each child to have their own decoration and place for their presents. I have bought the decorations and my stepmothers is getting the main course. Hopefully my mother-in-law will order cakes for them and bring the ice cream. We invite just family and each grandparent has always been good about bringing something for the party.

I love to celebrate events and have fun gatherings. I love getting to together with people to celebrate important times and life milestones. As an introvert, I may not always want to party, but certain events and holidays need to be celebrated. Before social media and technology, having parties and banquets were very important social gatherings. In our passage today, we will be taken to a feast that a Pharisee is hosting and Jesus and His disciples had been invited. They obviously wanted to know more about Jesus and what He had been preaching. Feasts and Banquets were always big social gatherings. You would want someone of honor at your feast or banquet. in some cases, being asked to attend such an event was an honor in-of-itself.

Feasts and Banquets were always big social gatherings. You would want someone of honor at your feast or banquet. in some cases, being asked to attend such an event was an honor in-of-itself.

Pray and Read Luke 14:7-24

Luke 14:7–24 NRSV

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at 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 the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “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.” One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’ ”

Jesus is at the house of a Pharisee. This is big that a Pharisee would even invite Him. They were testing Him and yet He did not just try to prove Himself. Instead, He tried to teach them about God and how loving God is, the healing that God brings, and teaching as God does. The first few verse are advise from Jesus on first, how to be humble and then, how to be hospitable. When you are a guest, be humble and when you are the host, be hospitable. These are virtues that are not easy to come by. It is not easy for some to see that others may be or can potentially be more important then they are. When I think about church leadership or any structure of a company, it is often times the supervisor and managers who must work on their humility and hospitality. It is easy to think, “Well I have the higher position, so I must be shown more respect.” This was the pharisees problem. Because of their stature, they thought of themselves better than most people. Jesus warns them that they will be humbled if they are not humble to start with.

During this time, they did not have chairs and tables like we do now. They would be reclining on raised levels with clothes and pillows instead of sitting. It might be easier for us to get up from a chair and find different chair if we realize we are not in the right spot. But think about reclining next to the host and someone more important shows up and you have to get up off the pillows and blankets to let the more honorable person recline. That had to be embarrassing.

Jesus then teaches about Hospitality. Jesus tells us that the poor, the crippled which translates to disfigured, the lame which is the same as being paralyzed, and the blind should be invited. it is easy for us to invite those we know to our parties. It is also more socially acceptable to invite the political and business leaders to soirees and fundraiser. But what would happen if we flip the script on invitation?

In the second half of our passage today, we hear a person reference the Heavenly Banquet, the meal we hope to be present for after the end of days. Jesus hears this, and in the way that Jesus is known for, He tells them a parable. After all, this banquet is His banquet and He is making the guest list. The final verse hits hard, Jesus says that the host declares that no-one invited will taste the bread or drink the vine. We could speculate here and say that Jesus was straight up referring to the pharisees and other important Jewish leaders of the time. Verses 13 and 21 makes the same list, the poor, the paralyzed, the disfigured, and the blind are invited and there is still room. Who seems to be more willing to accept the invitation in the end? Who should we give the better seats to in the beginning?

Everyone of us are welcomed into the Kingdom of God. When we except that invitation, we must then invite others into this fellowship. If you are not that outgoing and passionate about reaching out, that is fine, I bet you can be humble and hospitable to all who come in to this church building to learn about how great is our God. No one owns this church building. No one is better than the next person. If you put yourself first in leadership, watch out, for you will be made low. Those who are called have great responsibilities. We are all called to be humble and hospitable. So, invite those who need Jesus to church, not those who should or could already be here. There is still room after the deformed, the paralytic, the poor, and the blind have come into the God’s house. I know I once was mentally and emotionally deformed, but God brought me in and now I am grateful.

So I want you to think about this. Do we make our worship accessible to the lame and the blind. How about our discipleship? How about in service, using their gifts? Do we really want those that are tattooed or even transgender in our midst? Those with bad reputations, are they invited? How about people with issues, physical, mental or emotional; are they invited?

The people of the Church need to be humble in their actions towards others. We need to be inviting to everyone and work to offer good hospitality. However, Christians don’t really have that reputation, right or wrong. How can we show others that we love as God loves? How can we still do right in being humble and hospitable?

I love how Jesus called fishermen to be His disciples. Then He made the analogy that they are to be fishers of men, or fishers of people. Remember that story of Jesus teaching Peter to follow Him and how he needed to cast his net when Jesus said to, even if it was at a bad time and Peter was tired. Sometimes you may need to cast your net out over and over again. Sometimes, Jesus may fill that net so full that you can barely bring them all in, and sometimes you may be sitting out their all night.

Who do you miss, have you called them? Maybe you have multiple times, maybe it is time to invite someone else. Prayerfully think about a person who doesn't go to church and needs a community, and most importantly, needs Jesus. That is the person you should be inviting. After they are invited, our work is just beginning. How is our church humble and hospitable? What can we do to be more hospitable? What ideas do you have to ensure that everyone who comes to this church feels welcomed and whats to be involved?

Jesus taught us to be inviting to all but also to accommodate, help and service others in the love of Christ. Being inviting is the middle point for everything we do as a church. Everything we do, from our discipleship to our worship, and our outreach and loving one another all hinges on how humble and hospitable we are to those around us.

In the Name of God the Father, Jesus the Son and Holy Spirit. Amen