Pentecost 14: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1-14
August 29, 2010
I was pleased to see the electronic sign board lit up announcing the "5th Sunday Breakfast" for all the community to see as they drove by this week. I did panic a little when I considered how many from the community might actually show up this morning. Will we have enough food prepared? Will we be ready to welcome whoever comes? Will we be glad they are here?
This is like the Block Party we had a few weeks ago isn't it? The community welcome and no charge. And while we are on the topic of food and meals, the fall Chicken Dinner will be Oct. 9. You should make a note of that. We will need everyone who is able to volunteer their time and labor to help prepare the food and serve. For this we do expect the community to come even from Springfield. And so we need to be ready to welcome everyone and show our gladness that they are here.
What wonderful opportunities these are to share the hospitality of Sherman UMC with friends and strangers alike, with those who may already know Christ and also with those who may not. Simply visiting over a cup of coffee or a plate of fried chicken can open the door for a new disciple of Christ to be born. For this reason these are not just money makers; they are evangelistic in the best sense, forming new relationships, expanding the family of Christ and thereby the love of God out into the world.
I believe Jesus thought along these lines too. Some have said that in the gospel of Luke especially, Jesus is either 'on his way to a meal, at a meal or coming from a meal.' Table fellowship was very important because to Jesus it was a sign of something else. It was a sign of the Kingdom of God. In fact it was believed that the victory of God's reign would be celebrated with a great banquet. And so, who would be invited? Who would be welcome? How would you get in?
Now ordinary banquets long ago reflected the social standing of the invited guests. Seats next to the host were for those from higher classes and they were served the best food. Lower classes were seated further away and were served a different menu. For Pharisees the seating order also reflected something else. Pharisees prided themselves on their 'purity' and 'cleanliness' before God. They emphasized learning scripture and following the Law of Moses. And so those who sat closer to the host would be considered superior to those who sat further away in relationship to God.
One day Jesus is invited to the home of a Pharisee and he notices how the guests jostle one another to sit in the more honored places. Jesus uses this occasion to illustrate about the kingdom of God. First, if you seat yourself in the place of honor, the host may judge someone else as more worthy and so ask you to take a lower seat. This would be very embarrassing and everyone would see it. On the other hand, if you seat yourself in the lowest place and then the host asks you to move up higher you will be honored and everyone will see this too.
The point of this in relationship to God is 'don't exalt yourself' as being closer to God than anyone else. This is not for us to decide anyway. It's God's prerogative. 'Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted.'
Jesus makes second point about who to invite to share a meal. Again the ordinary custom in those days was that if you were invited to dine at someone's home, then it was expected that you would extend a reciprocal invitation at a later date. And so you invited only those people who would able to repay you. This is customary even today. We tend to do the same. We fellowship with friends and family members back and forth. And so our social habits tend to center around those with whom we have the most in common and are people we already know.
Jesus challenges this custom. Instead of inviting those who can repay you, invite instead those who cannot repay – 'the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.' For then your payback will be in the resurrection of the righteous.
The Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he challenged their social and religious conventions. It was the desire for heaven that drove the Pharisees to strive for perfection in their personal conduct and religious life. For this reason they drew distinctions between themselves and those considered to be defiled and unclean. They avoided contact with these in order not to become contaminated themselves. This was the root of their opposition to Jesus because he befriended sinners, ate with them, touched them, forgave them. Pharisees avoided contact and condemned them.
For Jesus showing hospitality goes beyond just our friends and includes strangers too. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:2) This is a reference to the story in Genesis about how Abraham and Sarah showed hospitality to three strangers who stopped at their tent one day. As it turned out these strangers were messengers from God who announced that Sarah would soon conceive and bear a son. And so it was.
Now how does all this apply to us today if the church represents the banquet of the Lord which according to Jesus is an open table. Everyone is welcome here regardless of their ability to pay back the host who is God, not us. And the seating is not based on one's social standing either. We are all equal here this morning before the Lord. Ideally, the church should be one big happy family where everyone loves everyone else with both friends and strangers treated alike. Right?
Well, I don't know about you, but I have yet to find the ideal church. This is something that all churches are working on and that means there will always be stresses and strains along the way to become that community of faith represented by the open table of the Lord.
All churches want to grow in numbers. But often they stumble from hidden barriers that are very difficult to see by those who are already on the inside. Insiders can become like the Pharisees old. Their chief concern is for personal purity and religious duties. And so they avoid contact with others beyond their fold and often condemn those who are perceived as not being clean and pure. If they reach out to others with the good news of God's love in Christ at all it is mostly those most like themselves that they hope to gain. But what about the people we may not like to be around? What about them? Does God care for these?
Jesus did not back away from befriending the poor, the blind, the sick or the sinner. He visited the untouchables and the unlikeable. He went to where they lived and did not fear contamination from them. What about us? Are we freed up to reach out?
It's very easy in other words for churches to become social gatherings of those who have the most in common where the stranger who comes may not feel welcome or accepted. When we become insiders of the church it's easy to take things for granted as if everyone knows what we know.
For example, you may have noticed the new signs posted over the doors on the east side of the church recently. The "east" sign now reads "Family Life Center." The middle door reads "Church Office," and the west door is marked "fellowship hall and sanctuary." The last one has gotten the most attention and I've heard many comments about it. "Does this mean we cannot go into the church through the middle entrance? That now we can only go through the west side door?" And the answer of course is NO.
Everyone here this morning knows that you can get to the sanctuary no matter what door you use. And you know that because you are already familiar with the layout of the building. But put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never been in this church before. Previously they saw 3 doors and not one of them was marked "sanctuary." So if you are a first time worship visitor which door do you use? It's kind of like choosing which hat or shell hides the prize. The signs were changed therefore to take the guess work out for first time visitors. Don't assume that a visitor knows what you know.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Let's take seating in the sanctuary. Where do most insiders like to sit? In the back, right? Now if you don't like to sit in the front, wouldn't it be a fair to assume that maybe first time visitors might not like to sit up here either? Insiders can help outsiders to find available seating by giving up their back seat and moving towards the front. This may not feel comfortable for any of us to do, but like the parable you will be honored in the presence of all.
As insiders of the church we can become rather cliquish and not even be aware of it because the desire is so natural to fellowship only with those with whom we feel the most in common. But we live in a world where people are different. The kingdom of God is not just for people like us, or about who are acceptable to God and who are not. The Kingdom of God is about building a community of faith where all are acceptable regardless of race, social standing, economic status, how they dress, smell or whatever. Loving our neighbor is not based on our feelings. It's a commandment.
This is why I was so pleased to see the sign board announcing our 5th Sunday breakfast for everyone in the community to see as they drove by this week. Maybe we should do this more often. How about having a chicken dinner sometime and invite everyone and there's no charge. We could put ads in the State Journal, the Riverton express, the Williamsville Sun, the Cantrall-Athens Times as it were. This might seem rather unconventional and costly and likely last all day. But as Jesus says our payback will be "in the resurrection of the righteous."
By showing such radical hospitality to strangers who knows how many angels we will meet.