Party Invitations - Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 14: 1, 7 - 14
It was in the Methodist Church in Four Lanes. My great grandmother had arrived for the evening service with the young woman who was to be her daughter in law when disaster occurred. Moving to the row where she sat on a weekly basis, my great grandmother saw another woman in her seat. Ignoring the young woman’s suggestion that they should just sit in another seat, my great grandmother replied;
“I have paid for that seat.”
And with that, this woman who looked a bit like John Prescott in drag, placed herself on the other woman’s lap until the unfortunate woman agreed to move.
The days of pew rents when people paid to have the right to occupy what they deemed to be the best seats, are fortunately well behind us. I know of no Methodist Church where such a practice exists, thank God! Indeed, I would refuse to serve in such a church if it existed. And yet, I dare to suggest that the desire for status is far from belonging to the past.
Issues of status are certainly to be found in this morning’s Gospel reading. The background is that Jesus is sharing in a Sabbath meal at the home of a prominent Pharisee. That this should be the case, attracts our immediate attention. After all, we often think of the Pharisees as the great enemies of Jesus. Yet, such was by no means always the case. A Pharisee would only invite those who took the Torah seriously. And clearly this Pharisee felt that Jesus did precisely that. Of course, there were a number of conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees but these were the conflicts that take place between those who have much in common. How sad that too often today, we have a jaundiced view as to the Pharisees whose primary motive was to preserve the way of life that they felt to be God given. For such a view has too often led to the curse of ant Semitism which has been a blight on the history of the Christian church.
But of course there were conflicts even if they are recorded in the Gospels against a background of the subsequent divorce between Judaism and the Christianity which it spawned. Anyhow, today’s Gospel is rooted on a meal shared by Jesus with Pharisees. Within the meal , there has been a degree of disagreement concerning what is permissible on the Sabbath. But our reading takes us into the realms of a different matter - the matter of status!
In the first part of our Bible reading, we find Jesus suggesting that in the Kingdom of God, we are called upon to relinquish the desire to be seen as more important than others. For meals such as this, there would have been a correct order of seating. The nearest thing we get to it today would probably be at a wedding or at a State Banquet. As with a wedding banquet, the custom at such meals at the time of Jesus was for there to be a place for the most important people present, the least important people present as well as for those who came somewhere inbetween. This is why such importance is given to the beloved disciple at the Last Supper having his head next to the chest of Jesus as they reclined to eat.
We talk today of the greasy pole and such existed at the time of Jesus as well. People wished to rise and dreaded falling. In some ways, the advice of Jesus to take a lowly seat may be seen as advice to protect people from the indignity that would come if they had valued themselves to highly and now faced demotion. But, I think it is about more than this. I think that Jesus is suggesting that God is not concerned with our hierarchies and that within the Kingdom of God which Jesus has come to proclaim, our distinctions based on class, learning or race, have no place whatsoever. It is in abandoning the greasy pole that we embrace the path of Christ and find ourselves truly raised up as we become open to sharing in the life of God. For God is not the God whose love is confined to an elite but God is the God who is committed in love to and for all peoples.
And then, we come to the advice that Jesus offers to the host. His suggestion is that the host should offer hospitality not to those who can do the host good but to offer it to those who are utterly powerless to respond in kind. True blessing comes from inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Today, we lose a sense of the radicalism of these words. For these were the days when the dominant theology held people as being responsible for their own misfortunes. It was a cruel theology and some of its roots can be found in the Deuteronomic writings within the Old Testament in which writers seek to explain the catastrophe of Israel’s exile in terms of its disobedience. And indeed sometimes today, a distorted religion turns God into some sort of hitman dealing out the cruellest of punishments to those who err. Oh beware of the sort of teaching that dares to misrepresent God as a monster.
This teaching was all around at the time of Jesus. If someone was a leper, this hateful religion suggested that such was a result of sin. And in nearby, Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, there was the Essene community which suggested that the very people whom Jesus suggested that the host should invite, were excluded from the much anticipated Messianic Banquet that lay at the heart of Jewish hope for the future.
What Jesus is suggesting is that there is no room for exclusion. The very people who we are tempted to shy away from, are to be welcomed into our community life. This is the Gospel that bids a hearty welcome to the stranger, the outcast and the person who cannot fit in. Why? Because the Gospel of Christ is for al!
“For all, for all my saviour died. For all my Lord was crucified!”
All beloved of God, we are called into a community of solidarity which has no walls or barriers.
Let me tell you a story which comes from Canada and which relates to Fred Craddock, a well known American preacher.
Fred was in the city of Winnipeg. It was early October and a storm had paralysed the city. For his breakfast, Fred found himself in a café at the bus depot.. As he entered a big man with a greasy apron came over and asked him what he wanted. Not knowing what the café served, Fred asked for a menu. Grumpily the man said;
“What d’ya want with a menu? We have soup.”
“Then I’ll have soup” replied Fred.
Soon afterwards, the man brought Craddock his soup. It looked unusual, rather grey like a mouse. Nervously, he picked up his spoon and tasted it. It was ghastly. How can I eat that he said to himself.
At that the door opened and in came a woman. She was middle aged and had a coat on but no ead covering. Quickly she was ushered to a seat. Soon the man with the greasy apron came over and the whole café heard the following conversation;
“What d’ya want”
“Bring me a glass of water please.”
The man brought the water and repeated the question;
“What d’ya want?”
“Just the water.”
“Lady, you gotta order something.”
“Just the water.”
The man’s voice now began to rise;
“Lady I’ve got paying customers here waiting for a place, now order!”
“Just the water.”
“You order something or get out!”
“Can I stay and get warm?”
“Order or get out!”
And so the woman got up. But not only the woman. Others got up and the sight of people rising rippled around the café and Fred to got up. Next they all began to move towards the door.
At this the man with the greasy apron said;
“OK. She can stay.”
And so everyone sat down. The man even brought the woman a bowl of soup.
Fred turned to the man sat next to him and asked;
“Who is she?”
The man replied;
“I never saw her before but if she ain’t welcome, ain’t nobody welcome.”
Fred looked around and saw all around people eating the soup. And he thought to himself;
“Well, if they can eat it, I can eat it.”
With that, he picked up his spoon and began to eat. Later he recalled;
“It was a good soup. I ate all that soup. It was strange soup. I don’t remember ever having it. …. I remember eating something that tasted like that before.”
As he left the café, he remembered what it was. It had tasted to him like bread and wine. And Fred mused,
“I wish that had happened in a church.”
This morning, at the beginning of a Methodist New Year, we prepare to celebrate with bread and wine. It’s a party to which we are all invited by the host who is Jesus himself. We come celebrating that the invitation comes from his kindness. And as we come to receive bread and wine, we give thanks that as we receive we are brought into solidarity with diverse people who likewise are invited by Jesus. For Jesus issues the invites to all.
This sermon was preached at Bideford Methodist Church on September 2nd 2007
It was in the Methodist Church in Four Lanes. My great grandmother had arrived for the evening service with the young woman who was to be her daughter in law when disaster occurred. Moving to the row where she sat on a weekly basis, my great grandmother saw another woman in her seat. Ignoring the young woman’s suggestion that they should just sit in another seat, my great grandmother replied;
“I have paid for that seat.”
And with that, this woman who looked a bit like John Prescott in drag, placed herself on the other woman’s lap until the unfortunate woman agreed to move.
The days of pew rents when people paid to have the right to occupy what they deemed to be the best seats, are fortunately well behind us. I know of no Methodist Church where such a practice exists, thank God! Indeed, I would refuse to serve in such a church if it existed. And yet, I dare to suggest that the desire for status is far from belonging to the past.
Issues of status are certainly to be found in this morning’s Gospel reading. The background is that Jesus is sharing in a Sabbath meal at the home of a prominent Pharisee. That this should be the case, attracts our immediate attention. After all, we often think of the Pharisees as the great enemies of Jesus. Yet, such was by no means always the case. A Pharisee would only invite those who took the Torah seriously. And clearly this Pharisee felt that Jesus did precisely that. Of course, there were a number of conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees but these were the conflicts that take place between those who have much in common. How sad that too often today, we have a jaundiced view as to the Pharisees whose primary motive was to preserve the way of life that they felt to be God given. For such a view has too often led to the curse of ant Semitism which has been a blight on the history of the Christian church.
But of course there were conflicts even if they are recorded in the Gospels against a background of the subsequent divorce between Judaism and the Christianity which it spawned. Anyhow, today’s Gospel is rooted on a meal shared by Jesus with Pharisees. Within the meal , there has been a degree of disagreement concerning what is permissible on the Sabbath. But our reading takes us into the realms of a different matter - the matter of status!
In the first part of our Bible reading, we find Jesus suggesting that in the Kingdom of God, we are called upon to relinquish the desire to be seen as more important than others. For meals such as this, there would have been a correct order of seating. The nearest thing we get to it today would probably be at a wedding or at a State Banquet. As with a wedding banquet, the custom at such meals at the time of Jesus was for there to be a place for the most important people present, the least important people present as well as for those who came somewhere inbetween. This is why such importance is given to the beloved disciple at the Last Supper having his head next to the chest of Jesus as they reclined to eat.
We talk today of the greasy pole and such existed at the time of Jesus as well. People wished to rise and dreaded falling. In some ways, the advice of Jesus to take a lowly seat may be seen as advice to protect people from the indignity that would come if they had valued themselves to highly and now faced demotion. But, I think it is about more than this. I think that Jesus is suggesting that God is not concerned with our hierarchies and that within the Kingdom of God which Jesus has come to proclaim, our distinctions based on class, learning or race, have no place whatsoever. It is in abandoning the greasy pole that we embrace the path of Christ and find ourselves truly raised up as we become open to sharing in the life of God. For God is not the God whose love is confined to an elite but God is the God who is committed in love to and for all peoples.
And then, we come to the advice that Jesus offers to the host. His suggestion is that the host should offer hospitality not to those who can do the host good but to offer it to those who are utterly powerless to respond in kind. True blessing comes from inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Today, we lose a sense of the radicalism of these words. For these were the days when the dominant theology held people as being responsible for their own misfortunes. It was a cruel theology and some of its roots can be found in the Deuteronomic writings within the Old Testament in which writers seek to explain the catastrophe of Israel’s exile in terms of its disobedience. And indeed sometimes today, a distorted religion turns God into some sort of hitman dealing out the cruellest of punishments to those who err. Oh beware of the sort of teaching that dares to misrepresent God as a monster.
This teaching was all around at the time of Jesus. If someone was a leper, this hateful religion suggested that such was a result of sin. And in nearby, Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, there was the Essene community which suggested that the very people whom Jesus suggested that the host should invite, were excluded from the much anticipated Messianic Banquet that lay at the heart of Jewish hope for the future.
What Jesus is suggesting is that there is no room for exclusion. The very people who we are tempted to shy away from, are to be welcomed into our community life. This is the Gospel that bids a hearty welcome to the stranger, the outcast and the person who cannot fit in. Why? Because the Gospel of Christ is for al!
“For all, for all my saviour died. For all my Lord was crucified!”
All beloved of God, we are called into a community of solidarity which has no walls or barriers.
Let me tell you a story which comes from Canada and which relates to Fred Craddock, a well known American preacher.
Fred was in the city of Winnipeg. It was early October and a storm had paralysed the city. For his breakfast, Fred found himself in a café at the bus depot.. As he entered a big man with a greasy apron came over and asked him what he wanted. Not knowing what the café served, Fred asked for a menu. Grumpily the man said;
“What d’ya want with a menu? We have soup.”
“Then I’ll have soup” replied Fred.
Soon afterwards, the man brought Craddock his soup. It looked unusual, rather grey like a mouse. Nervously, he picked up his spoon and tasted it. It was ghastly. How can I eat that he said to himself.
At that the door opened and in came a woman. She was middle aged and had a coat on but no ead covering. Quickly she was ushered to a seat. Soon the man with the greasy apron came over and the whole café heard the following conversation;
“What d’ya want”
“Bring me a glass of water please.”
The man brought the water and repeated the question;
“What d’ya want?”
“Just the water.”
“Lady, you gotta order something.”
“Just the water.”
The man’s voice now began to rise;
“Lady I’ve got paying customers here waiting for a place, now order!”
“Just the water.”
“You order something or get out!”
“Can I stay and get warm?”
“Order or get out!”
And so the woman got up. But not only the woman. Others got up and the sight of people rising rippled around the café and Fred to got up. Next they all began to move towards the door.
At this the man with the greasy apron said;
“OK. She can stay.”
And so everyone sat down. The man even brought the woman a bowl of soup.
Fred turned to the man sat next to him and asked;
“Who is she?”
The man replied;
“I never saw her before but if she ain’t welcome, ain’t nobody welcome.”
Fred looked around and saw all around people eating the soup. And he thought to himself;
“Well, if they can eat it, I can eat it.”
With that, he picked up his spoon and began to eat. Later he recalled;
“It was a good soup. I ate all that soup. It was strange soup. I don’t remember ever having it. …. I remember eating something that tasted like that before.”
As he left the café, he remembered what it was. It had tasted to him like bread and wine. And Fred mused,
“I wish that had happened in a church.”
This morning, at the beginning of a Methodist New Year, we prepare to celebrate with bread and wine. It’s a party to which we are all invited by the host who is Jesus himself. We come celebrating that the invitation comes from his kindness. And as we come to receive bread and wine, we give thanks that as we receive we are brought into solidarity with diverse people who likewise are invited by Jesus. For Jesus issues the invites to all.
This sermon was preached at Bideford Methodist Church on September 2nd 2007
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home