Invited and Inviting...

 

Luke 14:1, 7-14   Pentecost XII

 In a world based on having more wealth than others, having more power over others and having more status above others, a message on humility can seem absurd.

 Rome, and empire in general, was/is built on greed, lust for power and desire for status.  A false sense of superiority helps to justify those who believe that they are entitled to more than anyone else, to control others’ lives and even to hate those not like oneself.  The expectation of entitlement above others is just par for the course under empire.

 So, Jesus, in the house of a Pharisee, on the Sabbath, to have a meal, Jesus was watched closely, and Jesus watched those in the house closely.  Kingdom met Sabbath at table, and you can imagine that a lesson about the Kingdom of God would be the natural outcome.  It is a lesson for US.

 Recognition for status was expected.  People were vying for attention and recognition.  So, sitting in a place of honor might give others the impression that one had the status by which to do so.  It meant nothing to Jesus.  He talked of the danger of being exposed for having less status than one believed he/she/they had.  It is always a danger that one might be exposed for being a poser when one assumes a position of status.  Status is such a fleeting, fickle thing that can be lost in an instant based on political wind, social faux pa or someone else’s preferred presence, so it is dangerous to pose in a place of status.

 “All who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  It is not out of low self-esteem that one should take a humble stance, any more than it is out of high self-esteem that one should take a more prominent one.  It is wise.  It is honest.  It is humble, and in the Kingdom of God there is value for humility.  Those who willingly humble themselves for the sake of others to be recognized are lifted up.  As Jesus humbled Himself to be born in our existence and live it, to offer Himself in service to humanity and eventually to die for us, so we are to humble ourselves with one another, regardless of worthiness.  We reflect God’s Kingdom values in how we live in this part of God’s Kingdom, here and now.

 God demands that we treat all of God’s children with equal value, selflessly.

 Likewise, a lesson for the one throwing the banquet for folk seeking higher status than one another was in order.  It is best in agaph to invite those who cannot pay one back or offer quid pro quo, a strong value of empire.  Indeed, it is best to invite those who have nothing to give in return.  For living agaph means committed action on behalf of the most vulnerable, so inviting them to feast is a foretaste of the feast to come, in which God even invites lowly humans to table with God.  As God does, so we are to do in this part of the Kingdom, here and now.  As God elevates to worthiness, so are we to treat others as worthy.  As God invites us, those unworthy to sit with God, so we are to invite those we deem “unworthy” to sit with us.  It is reflective of God and thus God’s Kingdom.

 God demands that we use our resources to provide for those most in need among God’s children, selflessly.

 Are we people of empire, or people of the Kingdom?

Do we follow Jesus?  Then, we must go where Jesus went.  We must humble ourselves.  We must serve humanity.