When I was twelve, my brothers and I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on a Tiger Cruise on the aircraft carrier where my dad was stationed. We flew from our home in San Diego out to Hawaii, then joined all the sailors and their family members for the week-long trip back to San Diego. There were three cots for us in my dad’s stateroom, and each day activities were planned – an airshow on the flight deck, tours of the ship, movies, concerts, and presentations. My dad was part of the Admiral’s Staff, so we ate most of our meals in the Admiral’s dining room. There was a big, long table, and fancy leather chairs.
On our first morning, we followed my dad in to the dining room for breakfast. As he talked with one of his co-workers, my brothers and I each slid one of those fancy leather chairs out from the table and sat down, waiting to eat. Suddenly, my dad walked over and said, “Oh, let’s move down this way.” My brother Brent was sitting in the Admiral’s place at the table! Of course the admiral was very gracious about it, but we moved seats anyway and we were all a little embarrassed over this social faux pas.
In the first part of today’s Gospel reading, this seems to be the scenario Jesus cautions the dinner guests to avoid. It is embarrassing to be asked in front of a group of people to move to a lower place at the table. As guests came in to dinner, Jesus saw them vying for a place of honor – they wanted to sit close to the important people to show that they were important, too.
In his parable, Jesus cautions them, saying, if this is your strategy, you’d better hope no one more important than you arrives – because you’ll be asked in front of everyone to move to a lower place. Better to start out in a low seat and wait for the host to invite you to move up to a place of greater honor. This seems like sound advice, and it is. No one likes to be embarrassed in front of a group of people. We can probably agree that being humble will get us much further in life than being stuck up.
But then Jesus shakes things up, and paints a picture of the radical, upside-down nature of God’s kingdom. When you have a party, Jesus says, don’t invite the people who have the ability to repay you with a reciprocal invitation. Instead, invite those who are poor, crippled, lame, and blind. In other words, invite people who have no chance of paying you back, people who neither expect nor deserve such an invitation.
In God’s kingdom, the table is full of people who might surprise us, people we don’t expect to be present, people who might themselves be surprised to be included. Why? Because in God’s kingdom, points don’t matter. Our place at the table is not given because we deserve it, or because we’re worthy, or because God owes us anything. Instead, we are loved and honored and included because of God’s grace and God’s generosity. Our place at the table is given because we are children of God.
So, this is the example we’re invited to follow. God showers us with blessings, giving us good things for no good reason, and invites us to do the same for others. Instead of counting points and keeping track of who owes us, we are called to live out of a sense of abundance – there is enough grace to go around! There is enough honor to go around!
What might this look like? For us as a congregation, it might look like being generous even when we can’t see the benefits. We don’t give away school clothes and Christmas gifts or participate in service projects because it’s going to bring in new members, or because we’ll get something in return. Instead, we give away school clothes and Christmas gifts and participate in service projects because God has blessed us abundantly and we can’t help but share it.
And, as individuals, there are many ways we can offer grace-filled invitations to those who might not otherwise expect them. Invite someone who looks lonely to join your table at lunch. Plan to get together with someone from church or work who you’d like to get to know better. Offer up the seat next to you on the bus, or give a friendly smile to someone who looks nervous. Invite someone who is sick or struggling to call on you for a ride to an appointment or a trip to the grocery store.
All of us can strive to value others not because of what they can do for us, or how they can raise our status, but instead because they are children of God. In doing so, we will be blessed – not because God will pat us on the back, or because it will get us a better place in heaven. We will be blessed by the presence of people we don’t usually spend time with as we hear stories and see life from their perspective, widening our vision and opening ourselves to experience grace.
As we gather for Communion shortly, we celebrate together the expansive welcome of God's table. There will always be a place at the table for you and for everyone. And the even better news? Every place is a place of honor! We know, of course, that the kingdom of God is not yet here. But, we can still see glimpses of it. So come to this table, assured that there is a place for you. Know that God loves you and values you unconditionally. Together we rejoice in God's welcome and share the good news of this love and grace with everyone.
On our first morning, we followed my dad in to the dining room for breakfast. As he talked with one of his co-workers, my brothers and I each slid one of those fancy leather chairs out from the table and sat down, waiting to eat. Suddenly, my dad walked over and said, “Oh, let’s move down this way.” My brother Brent was sitting in the Admiral’s place at the table! Of course the admiral was very gracious about it, but we moved seats anyway and we were all a little embarrassed over this social faux pas.
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| Photo by Agung Pandit Wiguna from Pexels |
In the first part of today’s Gospel reading, this seems to be the scenario Jesus cautions the dinner guests to avoid. It is embarrassing to be asked in front of a group of people to move to a lower place at the table. As guests came in to dinner, Jesus saw them vying for a place of honor – they wanted to sit close to the important people to show that they were important, too.
In his parable, Jesus cautions them, saying, if this is your strategy, you’d better hope no one more important than you arrives – because you’ll be asked in front of everyone to move to a lower place. Better to start out in a low seat and wait for the host to invite you to move up to a place of greater honor. This seems like sound advice, and it is. No one likes to be embarrassed in front of a group of people. We can probably agree that being humble will get us much further in life than being stuck up.
But then Jesus shakes things up, and paints a picture of the radical, upside-down nature of God’s kingdom. When you have a party, Jesus says, don’t invite the people who have the ability to repay you with a reciprocal invitation. Instead, invite those who are poor, crippled, lame, and blind. In other words, invite people who have no chance of paying you back, people who neither expect nor deserve such an invitation.
In God’s kingdom, the table is full of people who might surprise us, people we don’t expect to be present, people who might themselves be surprised to be included. Why? Because in God’s kingdom, points don’t matter. Our place at the table is not given because we deserve it, or because we’re worthy, or because God owes us anything. Instead, we are loved and honored and included because of God’s grace and God’s generosity. Our place at the table is given because we are children of God.
So, this is the example we’re invited to follow. God showers us with blessings, giving us good things for no good reason, and invites us to do the same for others. Instead of counting points and keeping track of who owes us, we are called to live out of a sense of abundance – there is enough grace to go around! There is enough honor to go around!
What might this look like? For us as a congregation, it might look like being generous even when we can’t see the benefits. We don’t give away school clothes and Christmas gifts or participate in service projects because it’s going to bring in new members, or because we’ll get something in return. Instead, we give away school clothes and Christmas gifts and participate in service projects because God has blessed us abundantly and we can’t help but share it.
And, as individuals, there are many ways we can offer grace-filled invitations to those who might not otherwise expect them. Invite someone who looks lonely to join your table at lunch. Plan to get together with someone from church or work who you’d like to get to know better. Offer up the seat next to you on the bus, or give a friendly smile to someone who looks nervous. Invite someone who is sick or struggling to call on you for a ride to an appointment or a trip to the grocery store.
All of us can strive to value others not because of what they can do for us, or how they can raise our status, but instead because they are children of God. In doing so, we will be blessed – not because God will pat us on the back, or because it will get us a better place in heaven. We will be blessed by the presence of people we don’t usually spend time with as we hear stories and see life from their perspective, widening our vision and opening ourselves to experience grace.
As we gather for Communion shortly, we celebrate together the expansive welcome of God's table. There will always be a place at the table for you and for everyone. And the even better news? Every place is a place of honor! We know, of course, that the kingdom of God is not yet here. But, we can still see glimpses of it. So come to this table, assured that there is a place for you. Know that God loves you and values you unconditionally. Together we rejoice in God's welcome and share the good news of this love and grace with everyone.
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