12 Pentecost Proper 17 Yr C Aug 28 2022

12 Pentecost Proper 17 Yr C Aug 28 2022

Sirach 10:12-18, Psalm 112, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14

 

Luke, the gospel writer of hospitality, tells us a story about Jesus who is going to eat at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, who we learned all about last week as the keepers of the Law. This is the Sabbath, a day that is held in high esteem according to the Law, a day set apart from all other days. In the story that Luke is telling us, Jesus observes how the guests take their places, and tells a story about an invitation to a very special meal, a wedding banquet, and another rather ordinary meal, like a luncheon or dinner. So we have before us, a story within a story, and then, another story.

 

I just presided at the wedding of my nephew and his bride, it was a very fun affair, and a privilege to be the presider. However, a wedding banquet in 1st century Mediterranean culture would have been nothing like that. It would have gone on for days, and the celebration was public, everyone in the whole village would have come to the celebration at one time or another. And in fact, there would have been multiple meals all week long. So after Jesus talks about the wedding, he then goes on to describe meals, and hospitality sort of generally, giving an accounting for who should be invited. There are many things going on here.

 

So how can we understand these stories, these parables. Imagine yourself as an invited guest. What does that mean for you? Where do you sit? With whom do you sit? Is there ever a time you may think to yourself, surely not saying anything out loud, that person should not be here, or that person is not distinguished enough, or that person is not good enough, that person is not like me, that person should not be at this table. But Jesus says, "give this person your place." And we hear in the letter to the Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

 

Now, I want you to imagine yourself as the one who does the inviting. You’re throwing the party. Jesus says, “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. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

 

Remember, Jesus tells this parable when he is at a meal in the house of a leader of the Pharisees. You gotta believe the leader of the Pharisees have an agenda in inviting Jesus over, usually, they want to test him, they want to see what he's made of, they want to find out if he is righteous before the law. And so far, in the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus has failed miserably. He heals on the Sabbath, he eats with sinners and outcasts, and now, he's telling everyone in hearing distance not to invite the important people over for a meal but invite those who cannot return the invitation. Who do we invite to come eat with us here at this table? “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

 

And lastly, I want you to imagine the invitation itself. This is an invitation that we cannot pay back. Jesus invites each and every one of us to the table, it's not about whether or not we deserve an invitation. Because, somehow, we are transformed in the eating. Somehow, we cannot leave the table without being changed. It is not our own doing, it is indeed the love that wins, the love that blesses, that changes us, the love that heals us. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

 

You see, this story within a story from the gospel writer Luke, who is all about hospitality, gives us a picture of God's kingdom. 

What does the kingdom look like in this story?

 

Again, in Jesus’ culture, the greatest good was one's honor. Of course, you sat at the head of the table, of course you expected those less than you to sit at the lowest place. Of course, you invited the important people, the people who could do something for you, the people who had something you need. You would not have considered any other way. That's the way the world worked. It's really not so much different today. Jesus came among the first century people, as Jesus comes among us and says there is a new way, a way of God's kingdom. And in that kingdom, everyone has honor, everyone has status, and that is based on God's love, that is based on being created in God's image. It is not about who you are, it is not based on how much you have, it is not based on anything you can do. In God's kingdom, we are all related, and what we do matters. In God's kingdom it is love that wins and love that blesses.

 

What do you hear in this story? I hear a story of abundance and of enough. Do not be worried about who comes to the party, there will be enough. In God's kingdom there is enough, share what you have. Jesus is inviting us to stop counting and start giving and blessing. What would it be like to live into the freedom to stop calculating our social prestige and stop worrying about what others think and simply be kind to everyone around us, particularly those who are not often the recipients of kindness? What would it look like at work, at school, and at the places we volunteer or play sports or socialize, to look out for those who seem off on the margin and to invite them into the center by inviting them into our lives, inviting them to the lunch table? Jesus invites us to experience the joy of playing “God’s helper” in handing out the abundant gifts of dignity and worth and value with which we have been blessed. There is joy that comes from blessing others with our regard.

 

We are called to this hospitality, we are called to this invitation, we are called to build this kingdom, where no one is an outcast, where all of us sinners are welcome. We are called to the table to feed and be fed. As we feed and are fed, we are sent into the world to be the heralds of this kingdom. We are sent into our work, and our school, we are sent into our communities, bearing this new reality. We are sent into the world to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so we entertain angels. By doing so we are the agents of God's kingdom. By doing so we bring God's healing and reconciliation to all who are broken, which is each and every one of us.

 

We are followers of Jesus. We are invited to the table where there is no preference of place. We are invited to be builders of the kingdom. We are charged to engage every person with mercy and compassion, for by doing so, we entertain angels. Amen. 

12 Pentecost Proper 17 Yr C Sept 1 2019

12 Pentecost Proper 17 Yr C Sept 1 2019

Sirach 10:12-18, Psalm 112, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14

Luke, the gospel writer of hospitality, tells us a story about Jesus who is going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees, who we affectionally consider the keepers of the Law, to eat, on the Sabbath, a day that is held in high esteem according to the Law, a day set apart from all other days. In the story that Luke is telling us, Jesus observes how the guests take their places, and in response, Jesus tells a story about an invitation to a very special meal, a wedding banquet, and another rather ordinary meal, a luncheon or dinner. So we have before us, a story within a story, and another story.

A wedding banquet in 1^st century Mediterranean culture would have been nothing like what you and I have experienced as a wedding today. It would have gone on for days, and the celebration was public, everyone in the whole village would have come to the celebration at one time or another. And in fact, there would have been multiple meals. After Jesus talks about the wedding, he then goes on to describe meals, hospitality sort of generally, giving an accounting for who should be invited. There are many things going on here.

Imagine yourself as an invited guest. What does that mean for you? Where do you sit? With whom do you sit? Is there ever a time you may think to yourself, surely not saying anything out loud, that person should not be here, that person is not distinguished enough, that person is not good enough, that person is not like me, that person should not be at this table. And Jesus says, "give this person your place." But we hear in the letter to the Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Now, I want you to imagine yourself as the one who does the inviting. “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. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Remember, Jesus tells this parable when he is at a meal in the house of a leader of the Pharisees. You gotta believe the leader of the Pharisees have an agenda in inviting Jesus over, usually, they want to test him, they want to see what he's made of, they want to find out if he is righteous before the law. And so far, in the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus has failed miserably. He heals on the Sabbath, he eats with sinners and outcasts, and now, he's telling everyone in hearing distance not to invite the important people over for a meal, but invite those who cannot return the invitation. Who do we invite to come eat with us here at Trinity? “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

And lastly, I want you to imagine the invitation itself. This is an invitation that we cannot pay back. Jesus invites each and every one of us to the table, it's not about whether or not we deserve an invitation. Somehow, we are transformed in the eating. Somehow, we cannot leave the table without being changed. But it is not our own doing, it is indeed the love that wins, the love that blesses, that changes us. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

You see, this story within a story from the gospel writer Luke, who is all about hospitality, gives us a picture of God's kingdom. What does the kingdom look like in this story?

Again, in Jesus’ culture, the greatest good was one's honor. Of course, you sat at the head of the table, of course you expected those less than you to sit at the lowest place. Of course, you invited the important people, the people who could do something for you, the people who had something you need. You would not have considered any other way. That's the way the world worked. It's really not so much different today. Jesus came into that context as Jesus comes into our context and says there is a new way, a way of God's kingdom. And in that kingdom, everyone has honor, everyone has status, and that is based on God's love, that is based on being created in God's image. It is not about who you are, it is not based on how much you have, it is not based on anything you can do. In God's kingdom, we are all related, and what we do matters. In God's kingdom it is love that wins and love that blesses.

What do we hear in this story? I hear a story of abundance and of enough. Do not be worried about who comes to the party, there will be enough. In God's kingdom there is enough, share what you have. Jesus is inviting us to stop counting and start giving and blessing. What would it be like to live into the freedom to stop calculating our social prestige and stop worrying about what others think and simply be kind to everyone around us, particularly those who are not often the recipients of kindness? What would it look like at work, at school, and at the places we volunteer or play sports or socialize, to look out for those who seem off to the margin and to invite them into the center by inviting them into our lives, inviting them to the lunch table? Jesus invites us to experience the joy of playing “God’s helper” in handing out the abundant gifts of dignity and worth and value with which we have been blessed. There is joy that comes from blessing others with our regard.

We are called to this hospitality, we are called to this invitation, we are called to build this kingdom, where no one is an outcast, where all of us sinners are welcome. We are called to the table to feed and be fed. As we feed and are fed, we are sent into the world to be the heralds of this kingdom. We are sent into our work, and our school, we are sent into our communities, bearing this new reality. We are sent into the world to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so we entertain angels. By doing so we are the agents of God's kingdom. By doing so we bring God's healing and reconciliation to all who are broken, which is each and every one of us.

We are followers of Jesus. We are invited to the table where there is no preference of place. We are invited to be builders of the kingdom. We are charged to engage every person with mercy and compassion, for by doing so, we entertain angels.

4 Pentecost Yr C Proper 9 July 7 2019

Audio  4 Pentecost Yr C Proper 9 July 7 2019 

Isaiah 66:10-14, Psalm 66:1-8, Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

God is a God of generous grace, and astonishing, powerful, healing love. And here in Luke’s gospel we hear, the kingdom of God has come near to you. And at the heart of Jesus’ call is the message of peace. And Jesus’ call is urgent.

We’ve already established that Jesus and all of those who are following are on their way to Jerusalem, the place of Jesus’ death. Jesus gives instructions to his followers, and then sends out seventy others, in pairs, to the places he intends to go on the way. There seems to be trouble though, it must be dangerous territory. Jesus sends them like lambs in the midst of wolves, and tells them not to carry anything with them. Jesus sends them in pairs, in community, always a good way to enter territory that may be dangerous. And yet, Jesus tells them to say to whatever house they enter Peace to this house! If the people in the house offer hospitality, stay with them, if they don’t, move on. Remember that a main theme in Luke’s gospel is hospitality. Hospitality that includes a warm drink and a sandwich, but deeper than that, hospitality that breaks boundaries and barriers and borders. Hospitality that crosses divisions and perceived differences. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is the exemplar of hospitality, Jesus says, Peace to this house.

It feels a little like being sent into the wolves these days. And, sometimes it feels like people don’t even want peace, they prefer to bicker, and disagree, and bully. Bickering, and disagreeing, and bullying gets attention, that’s what we see modeled for us in television and media. It’s almost like a game, a game where there are winners and losers, and the purpose of the game is to clear the board, winner takes all, subjugate and control the other. A game in which people talk over and talk around each other and you can’t hear anyone, it’s all noise. Bickering and disagreeing and bullying tears us apart, it tears us down, it disassembles us, it is what we call sin. These are that sins protect power, these are sins that ignore those who are different.

As if bickering and disagreeing and bullying are not bad enough, it seems as if the fabric of civility is being rent. Jesus is the exemplar of hospitality, and Jesus welcomes the last, and the lonely, and the lost. Jesus sets those who are being held prisoner free, Jesus makes a home for all of God’s beloveds. As followers of Jesus, we too must be exemplars of hospitality. If we don’t, it is a rejection and refusal of the Kingdom of God. But perhaps our world is really no different than the mission field into which Jesus’ disciples were sent. Human nature hasn’t changed much in 2,000 years.

And into that melee, comes Jesus’ voice, Peace to this house. The kingdom of God has come near to you. You don’t fight bickering and disagreeing and bullying with more of the same. You don’t fight evil with evil. Jesus rejects violence, Jesus rejects hateful and hurtful words. That is what Jesus does in his life, that is what Jesus teaches his followers, and that is what Jesus does on the cross. Jesus goes to the cross, beaten but not defeated. To all the world it looks like loss. To all the world it looks like death wins. But you and I know better because we have been given a glimpse of the kingdom. In God’s kingdom the boundaries and barriers and borders are torn down, and those who are on the margins, those who look to the world like they have been defeated, are set free. On the cross, Jesus does not return violence with violence. Jesus returns violence and hate with forgiveness. Into a world that looks like darkness, comes new life.

And we do not follow Jesus because in doing so we can feel good about ourselves. You and I both know that following Jesus does not mean somehow we escape death, following Jesus does not mean that this life is easy, following Jesus does not mean that we get rich.

We follow Jesus because we know the truth of suffering, and death and new life. We know the truth of the love that picks us up off the ground, the love that puts us back together again after destruction, after falling apart, after having been thrown off to the margins. We know the truth of the love that wins.

And it is knowing that truth that brings us to this place today. We shake the dust off our sandals, and we persevere. We stand up and we testify to the truth once again. Day after day, hour after hour, love your neighbor, the kingdom of God is near. There are big huge issues today that we need to figure out, and we can participate in the solutions to those problems as the solutions present themselves, solutions that lead to healing and wholeness, solutions that defeat the evil that breaks people apart.

So today I leave you with five Habits of the Heart, as Parker Palmer calls them, that I believe bring the Kingdom of God nearer.

The Kingdom of God is near when we understand that we are all in this together. We are intertwined and interconnected. Indeed we are all related.

The Kingdom of God is near when we understand hospitality in ways that we receive what our neighbor has to teach us.

The Kingdom of God is near when we allow the tension of contradiction to expand our hearts.

The Kingdom of God is near when we speak the truth, and use our voice to make a difference.

The Kingdom of God is near when we create community.

The kingdom of God is near, peace to this house.

Amen.