Jesus invites us into a kingdom where rules and arrogance don’t keep people out. Let’s not keep people out either.
Luke 14:1-14
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Have you ever been kept out of a party or celebration? Have you ever been required to meet a stringent set of criteria in order to just scrape entry to an event?
When I was a kid, older friends of the family kindly invited me to attend the cricket with them, in the member’s section. However, the stringent dress rules in place at that time meant that my parents and I had to race around to shops to buy clothes suitable for attending! I suspect it cost more than a cricket ticket; and it was pretty hot sitting in the sun in semi-formal clothes.
You might think I am being very ungracious to my friends. But I’m not – they didn’t make the rules and it was my choice to say ‘yes’ to their invitation. But let’s just say that while my friends were kind, I didn’t find the members to be very welcoming in general.
God’s party is not like that. In the passage, Jesus contrasts his way of doing things with the exclusive approach of the religious leaders. They focussed on rule-keeping and honouring themselves – count how many examples of this we see in the passage! – even to the point of refusing to help the sick and expecting Jesus to refuse to help.
But Jesus shows us that God’s kingdom is different. It is a place of healing and acceptance, of honouring others and loving those that we might be tempted to call unlovely. Here Jesus provides a wonderful picture of the kingdom that he rules over. He provides that picture just as he is on his way to give his own life to bring that kingdom into being.
How about us? What customs do we take for granted in our Christian community that might be more about status or rules than about love and sharing? Jesus wants us to look on at the love he shows – in inviting us to be part of the banquet – and to love and invite others too.
Head: If you are honest, do you think that you are better than others? Jesus reminds us here that he’s in charge – the host of the wedding feast may move the arrogant guest to a less honourable seat!
Heart: Some Christian psychologists say that a reason we are so keen to put ourselves above others is that we haven’t let ourselves trust our own security – indeed our very self – to God. What do you think?
Hands: What is a practical way that you can give love and honour to someone in our church family whom you might otherwise ignore? How can you expand this in future?
Prayer: Father, we acknowledge that we can be blind to the unhelpful rules we make and to our habits of judging ourselves more worthy than others. Forgive us. Help us to see that we are completely unworthy, but made completely accepted by the sacrifice of Jesus. Then help us to extend love and acceptance to others. Amen.
A song to listen to: Only You Can Satisfy
Geoff Pryde
