Today was the first Sunday since I started memorizing the gospel for biblical storytelling that I did not memorize the text. I went camping this weekend and forgot to bring a copy with me to practice on the drive (which is how I normally memorize the gospel) and while I tried going over it a few times yesterday, it just didn't stick. It also didn't help that my brain wasn't really working during worship today because the dogs woke us up multiple times this morning starting at 5am.
I feel a little disappointed in myself that I didn't memorize the text, but also realize that it is not the end of the world. I know that I'm one of very few pastors that memorize the gospel every week in order to tell the story in a more dramatic way. But after so many positive comments about how people have heard gospel lessons in new ways because of how I tell the story and not just read the text, it is a little hard on the ego to admit that you can't do it one week.
The gospel text in question was Jesus' parable on hospitality in Luke 14. I also referenced the first reading, Proverbs 25:6-7, which is pretty much the Reader's Digest version of the gospel lesson. Below is my sermon for these text. It is not my best sermon. Earlier in the week I had a hard time connecting to the text and I thought that I should maybe even ditch this sermon and preach extemporaneously, but again I refer you to the dogs waking us up at 5am and therefore not having the mental capacity to do so this morning.
So if I didn't connect to God in preaching this morning where did I? It was in the laughter of the congregation after the worship assistant prayed for the lame and the bland (not a typo for me, but it was for her) and I felt God's presence as we gathered around the altar to communion each other and finished our worship singing and praying around God's table we were are all invited.
Enjoy the sermon, and remember that you are welcomed to Jesus' table.
Well isn’t that good advice. Really isn’t Jesus’ parable just basic advice, almost a “no duh” situation. Of course you don’t want to sit at the head table only to be told on no you can’t sit there, and by the time someone tells you to move the only spot left is way in the back. Instead sit in the back and be invited forward.
An in case you can’t remember the entire parable of Jesus, hopefully you can remember the Readers’ Digest version that we hear in Proverbs: “Do not put yourself forwards 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.”
So is that it? Is that our gospel, and our sermon for the day: it is better to be honored than be put to shame. Well yes it would be if our gospel stopped at verse 11, but Jesus continues after his parable. He turned to his host, the person who had invited him to the dinner he was now attending and told him that he shouldn’t have invited all the people who were in attendance – his friends, siblings, relatives and rich neighbors. Instead that man should have invited the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
Now just imagine that you are at a party, one of the guests is someone who you have heard a lot about, people either love him and seek out his advice, or they think he is full of ____ and causes trouble wherever he goes. Well this guest gets up and starts telling a story, it starts out normal, a simple story of advice, but then he tells your host that she should haven’t invited you, since you are her friend/sibling/relative/rich neighbor. Instead the host should have invited a nobody off the street. Now think about it. Did this guest just insult you? Did that guest just tell you that you are not good enough to be invited to this party, but a homeless person would be good enough?
Did Jesus just offend all the guest at the party he was at? Yes!
And not only did he offend them by saying that they weren’t worthy of being invited to begin with, he waited to tell his story, his piece of advice after everyone else was already seated. Luke says “when he noticed how the guest chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.” If you were one of those guests in a place of honor, at the same table with the host, wouldn’t you be squirming a little in your seat during this story, expecting the host to say that someone more important that you needs to sit there and therefore you need to move?
And instead of just making the few people be uncomfortable about where they are sitting, he made everyone uncomfortable by saying they all are unworthy.
What then does this have to do with us? What does Jesus’ offensive advice and lack of regard for social ranking have to do with us, especially when we are able to honestly look at ourselves and realize that most of the time we are given a high social ranking?
This may be hard to hear, but Jesus doesn’t care about your social ranking. Jesus doesn’t care if you normally sit at the head of the table. Jesus doesn’t care if you normally are given a place of honor. Jesus doesn’t care if you are 40 years old and still sitting at the kiddy table at Thanksgiving. Jesus doesn’t care if you are asked to eat outside or if you aren’t even invited to the party to begin with. Social ranking and all social orders are not of God, they are constructs that us humans have created. And in the kingdom on God there are no pecking order, we all will sit in places of honor, we will all be invited to the ultimate party in heaven.
And this idea is offensive to many people. Why does that person get the same rewards as me, I work harder, I give more money, I am a more upstanding citizen, I am more respected, I am the better Christian……..So then why are they also invited to the same party and given the same gift.
The gospel is offensive, the good news that Jesus Christ has given to us, breaks away from our preconceived ideas about what is right, about what is nice. Jesus did not come to play nice with everyone, Jesus did not come to pat people on the back and tell us that we are doing a good job. No Jesus came to upset, to turn the world upside down.
And when we are too concern about being nice, about not offending, about making sure that everyone gets along with us and that no one, especially the people with the deepest pockets, is made uncomfortable, then we are not preaching the gospel.
But when we preach the gospel, people, including us, are caused to squirm in our seats, are we in the right seat? Are we giving as much time and money back to God as we are able to and as God is calling us to? Are we hearing God’s word in our lives? Are we seeing Jesus in others? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to move in our lives or are we blocking it at every moment we get?
But the good news is that Jesus does have a place for you at his table. Jesus has a place at the table for you that is equal to everyone else, no one is put higher, no one is put lower. Jesus welcomes everyone to the table, sinners, saints, strong believers, people who aren’t really sure about who he is, people who willing accept his invitation, people who might need to be invited a few more times, people who may never accept the invitation are still invited to the table.
Jesus invites us to his table, and everyone is a guest of honor.
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