Proper 17C / Ordinary 22C / Pentecost +12September 1, 2019

“Table Grace”

St. Luke 14:1, 7-14

14 On one occasion when Jesus[a] 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 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.”

Footnotes:

1. Luke 14:1 Gk he

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.

I am going to possibly annoy you this morning.  I am going to ask you to do something that may be a little out of your comfort zone.  Some may not be able to do this, but those who are abled – stand up – step out of your pew and move to a different pew.  Those in the back are welcome to come forward as honored guests and sit toward the front.  Come on, we can do this.  Find yourself a new pew with maybe even somebody you don’t even know to sit next to.  Let’s try this. 

[Take time for people to move around]

We are creatures of habit and we often prefer our familiar pew.  Maybe it is part of human nature, I’m not sure. 

School started this last week.  Imagine stepping into the Junior High Cafeteria of any school.  And what will you find:  groups, cliques, people with their ‘in’ group and special tables.  New kids may feel rather uncomfortable and will have to figure out the social dynamic in order to belong and fit in.

Why it even happens with adults – even at church potlucks – how often do we sit with the same people and reserve space and a chair for friends? 

Maybe as human beings we are just a tad tribal and it is in our DNA!

Jesus encounters a much more intense segregation in the first century.  Status was defined and permanent.  Born into aristocracy your royal status was a guarantee of a wealthy lifestyle and high status.  Born as a peasant, you were destined to labor in the fields.  Born a slave, you’d probably stay a slave unless a benign master dared to free you. In the first century women were little more than property, and children were less until they reached maturity.  Status and class were defined both formally and informally.  Social boundaries were set and you’d better know your place.

Meals in the Middle-East were often places where power was shared and exchanges were made.  If invited to dinner – you became beholden to your guest to return the favor.  And the pay back dinner better be of equal or greater value.

Wedding banquets were often the occasion to display power, status, and wealth.  Yet the host had the say in where you’d be seated and you dare not assume your status, though you could expect a front row seat if you were a person of status.

Jesus notices the cliques and status seekers at the meal he is sharing with a Pharisee.  He notices that as the guests arrive they chose the places of honor.

So Jesus comments using the Wisdom of Solomon from his own tradition:

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
or stand in the place of the great;
for it is better to be told, "Come up here,"
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. 

                                                Proverbs 25:6-7

Then he says:

“For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Then Jesus goes one step further and suggests a new kind of wedding guest list – the poor, the cripple, the lame, the blind – all who cannot repay.

These were the impure folks –the folks who have no status.  In the first century if you were poor, cripple, lame, or blind – you must have done something wrong – it was a punishment and you were in the ‘out’ class – no room for you at the table.

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.

Table Grace – what does it mean to honor Jesus as a guest?

Jesus is not talking about nice manners or simply encouraging us to be generous people.  No!  He is describing the way things are in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus lived out God’s compassion – God loving rule in everyday life.

God’s reign breaks up our little worlds of cultural cliques and social boundaries.  Jesus is not simply asking us to be polite at banquets but Christ is calling us to a new way of relating.  He is calling us to table grace.

The Gospel of Luke records more references to eating, banquets, tables, and reclining than any other Gospels.

[Source:  Robert J. Karris, Luke, Artist and Theologian: Luke’s Passion Account as Literature (New York: Paulist Press, 1985), pg. 47]  

The table is where Jesus not only has fellowship, but also teaches.  Both his fellowship and his teaching get him executed.

Throughout Scripture banquets are a metaphor for the reign of God, a table is a metaphor for communal fellowship space in the Kingdom of God.  So Jesus is propagating a world view here – how followers of Christ will live out God’s grace here and now.

Past and current tribal tendencies still push us away from each other.  I grew up in a Lutheran tribe that allowed us to take Holy Communion 4 times a year. 

One had to travel through an ecclesiastical obstacle course to partake of the table of grace.  First you had to be confirmed to take communion - so young children had no place at the table.  Once confirmed and an official member of the congregation there were addition obstacles.  Members of the congregation were instructed to talk to the pastor, call up the church office, or send in a card to register to take the Sacrament of Holy Communion. 

In the service of Holy Communion, the pastor’s back was to the people.  He would face the wall when speaking the sacred words.  The service itself tended to a somber occasion and you were very careful not to take the Sacrament to your damnation.  Holy Communion came with a scary warning that you’d better not take it unworthily.  There was always a cloud, a question mark, as to whether you were worthy enough to partake of the Sacrament.

It wasn’t until I became a teenager that I discovered that those outside our particular Lutheran tribe were not allowed to partake of the Blessed Sacrament until they became like us and were immersed in the doctrine of our tribe.

The grace at the table was rationed, controlled, dispensed at the will of those in power in the church – clergy, Synod Presidents, Synod Conventions continued to restrict and narrow the table of grace.

But a closer reading of Scripture and the insights of those who taught me challenged the tribal exclusions.  The Biblical witness portrays a Christ who breaks cultural and tribal boundaries.  Jesus opened the grace at the table to all.  And when the Scripture speaks of the table of grace it pictures a universal feast with all nations and tribes – in fact all creatures and all of creation joined together celebrating God’s gift of new life.

Table Grace is people being reunited through forgiveness.  It is not intended to be an exclusive quarterly tribal meal for the ‘in crowd’ and those who have proven their status before God.

There are no presumptions to privilege in life under God’s reign.  Race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, the language we speak – these do not distinguish us in God’s Kingdom.  In fact, if we allow these tribal characteristics to define us, they will certainly disgrace us.

Table Grace means that we reach across boundaries because God has reached across every boundary to love us.  Christ took the lowest place on the cross to embrace us.  On the cross Christ opened his arms to all.

Table grace means that we open our tables in the church, the community, and the government to those with no voice – the working poor, the disabled, those in need of food, housing, or healthcare.   

Table grace means that we follow Christ’s lead and secure a place at the table for the powerless who live in silent desperation.

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.    

Table grace!

When we invite Jesus to be our guest we will be challenged to get up out of our pews and cross boundaries. 

Shirley Erena Murray sums it up in her hymn: 

For Everyone Born:

For everyone born,

a place at the table,

for everyone born,

clean water, and bread,

a shelter, a space,

a safe place for growing,

for everyone born,

a star overhead.

And God will delight

when we are creators

of justice and joy,

compassion and peace;

yes, God will delight

when we are creators

of justice,

justice, and joy.

[Source:  Shirley Erena Murray, stanza 1 & refrain from “For Everyone Born” – 1998 - Hope Publishing Company – Carol Stream, IL 60188]

Amen