Scripture Reading: Luke 14:1,7-14
1On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.
Humility and Hospitality
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “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, 9 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. 10 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. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 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 and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Sermon: “Privilege into Blessing”
At first glance, the parable at the beginning of our Scripture reading for today—about how to behave at a wedding banquet-- reads like a newspaper advice column on the topic of Social Etiquette. I picture someone writing in a question like this:
Dear Miss Manners—My new boss has invited me to his daughter’s wedding celebration at a fancy country club. I’ve been told there will be no assigned seating. How will I know where to sit? Signed “Anxious to Make a Good Impression”
Jesus, ghost-writing for Miss Manners, answers the question like this:
Dear Anxious—Do not sit down at the head table or at any of the other tables near the bride and groom, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited, and you have to be asked to move. Instead, go and find the worst table and sit there. Maybe the one next to the amplifiers or where Crazy Uncle Fred is seated. Your boss will be impressed by your humility and may invite you to switch to a better table—or, better yet, may even think about giving you a raise! “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
And, taken by itself, that could be one way to interpret the first part of this parable: as shrewd advice on how to comport ourselves if we want to move up the social ladder.
But, if we want to stick to that interpretation, we’d have to ignore the rest of the Gospel. Because, as we all know, the purpose of Jesus’ ministry was not to help people move up the social ladder or advance themselves in terms of power and prestige.
In order to appropriately interpret the first part of today’s reading, we need to look at it in context. And as is so often the case, the next part of the chapter, the next section of our reading, verses 12 through 14, sheds light on the meaning of the first section. In verses 12 through 14 of Luke Chapter 14, Jesus gives advice to hosts, to people throwing a banquet or party. In these verses, Jesus tells hosts something that is completely opposite of all social norms and practices—in Jesus’ day and ours. “When you give a luncheon or a dinner,” says Jesus in verse 12, “do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors…” Instead, says Jesus, “…invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.”
Can’t you just see the jaws of the people listening to this drop at Jesus’ words? Remember, Jesus recounts this advice at a dinner party thrown by a religious leader of his community—an educated man who was wealthy enough to afford to host a big gathering. In fact, Jesus addresses the second part of his advice directly to his wealthy host. What Jesus said would have been completely counterintuitive—to both the people of Jesus’ day—and ours. Who among us would literally invite the outcasts of society over to our house for a meal? It makes no sense. It might even be dangerous. Certainly uncomfortable. And that, I think, is the point of Jesus’ words: to provoke us to consider the things that make us uncomfortable.
As usual, Jesus uses the technique of story-telling to get people to intentionally examine their—our—unconscious mindset that affects our individual behavior and the behavior of our corporate systems. In Jesus’ day and ours, we human beings tend to operate out of the mindset that sees every interaction with others as a business transaction. That is, if we do something for others, we expect to get something in return. If others do something for us, then we owe them something back. And, related to that, we generally do not do something for others, if we know in advance that we will get nothing from them. That’s just how individual interactions and our human systems work, isn’t it?!
And there are some pluses to that type of interaction, that type of system, of course. A business transaction encourages people to take personal responsibility. In business transactions, people are expected to do their fair share. They are rewarded for doing so. And, conversely, people are not expected—or even allowed—to freeload or take advantage of others. And all that is good-- as far as it goes!
But that type of interaction, that type of system, has its limitations and its flaws. Which is what Jesus is calling our attention to in this passage. One of the flaws to treating everything like a business transaction is that it is based on a faulty assumption—the assumption that everyone starts out on a level playing field. Treating every interaction as a business transaction ignores the fact that, in the words of one commentator (Seminary Professor Jeanine Brown), “the system rewards the ‘haves’ and further disadvantages the ‘have-nots.’” (Jeanine Brown on Working Preacher website.) In Jesus’ day—and ours—if we happen to have been born “poor or crippled or lame or blind”—to use the language of this passage—it may take a lot more effort, energy and resources to engage in a transactional manner. In fact, we may simply not be able to do so without help.
That’s where Jesus’ advice comes in. Again, let me stress that in the second part of today’s reading, Jesus is not addressing those who are disadvantaged. He is addressing his host and those who have wealth and privilege. And, let me be clear, he is not saying that having wealth or privilege is wrong. Another commentator (seminary professor Mitzi Smith), puts it like this:
“Wealth and Position are a blessing when shared and used for the betterment of humanity…God calls us to turn our privilege into blessing.” (Mitzi Smith on Working Preacher website.)
“God calls us to turn our privilege into blessing.” That is what we are called to do. Which invites us to reflect on a number of things. Let me name some of them, in the form of questions:
· In what ways am I privileged?
· In what ways are others privileged that I am not?
· Have I been hurt by others using their privilege in a conscious or unconscious manner?
· How might I have hurt others—consciously or unconsciously?
· How am I using—how can I use-- my privilege as a blessing?
· How is our church privileged?
· How is our church using—how can it use—our privilege as a blessing?
Let me close by recounting a real-life story found in a book by Dave Ferguson, who wrote the Bless Book we looked at last month. Dave tells the story of a friend of his, a woman named Joanne Russell, who relocated with her husband to Southern California. She met people in her new community through the PTA, a book club, and other community activities. Being passionate about her faith, Joanne and her husband joined a local church, and she started a Bible study for women in her home, inviting some of her new non-church friends who seemed interested.
In the course of her leadership of this Bible study group, Joanne recognized a trend: a lot of women did not feel very confident in their own leadership abilities or their own ability to share their faith with others. So, Joanne—who for whatever reason was privileged to be blessed with such confidence—began to mentor members of her Bible study group. Over time, as members of the group shared their faith and life experience with each other, they each grew in their confidence and some began to lead study groups themselves. Over a period of years, women mentored by Joanne started a total of 34 study groups, and each group helped other women grow in faith and confidence. Joanne turned her privilege into blessing and taught others to do the same. (Hero Maker, by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird, p;. 52 & 53.) Praise be to God!
In today’s scripture passage, Jesus makes clear that God’s kingdom, God’s realm, is built on grace and radical inclusion. All are welcome; none are excluded. We don’t buy or earn a place at God’s banquet table through a business-type transaction. All are invited to the table, and when we accept the invitation, we become increasingly aware of the ways we are blessed and privileged. May God be with us as we reflect on these things, and may we—each and all--find ways to turn our privilege into blessings for others.