Sermon 8-29-10
Psalm 81:10-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14
“An Invitation to All”
Every Sunday morning as Kevin and I have breakfast together, we listen to Ravi
Zacharias. Ravi is minister from India, in the field of apologetics, meaning: “The
branch of Theology that is concerned with defending or proving the truth of
Christian doctrines.” (Your dictionary.com)
In his book ‘Walking from East to West” he shares his life story, his call to
ministry and how God has used him through the Ravi Zacharias International
Ministries (RZIM), bringing back the word of the living Christ to India, his home
country, and to many other places in the world.
As he shares his story, he tells how as a teenager he and his best friend used to
“crash weddings.” In India the weddings are not always very formal so invitations
go to the family unit and everyone in the household, children, parents, and
grandparents, are welcomed, invited and included in that one invitation. So the
celebration becomes a feast. No tabs on the guests, no assigned seating, it’s a
party and everyone is there to enjoy the wedding. So, for him and his friend is
was easy to go and eat and be merry, without being asked, who did you come
with? Or where are your parents? Even though they had their answers ready in
case they were questioned.
In the US, weddings are a bit more rigid, the guests are selected according to the
relationship to the family of the bride and the groom. Children are usually
excluded unless closely related to the couple. The seating arrangement is very
well thought out, so that everyone at the table will be comfortable with each
other. Weddings are planned well in advance. As you know reservations need to
be done a year or more before the date. The choices of church, location,
reception, flowers, food, etc. are made ahead of time. Everything is scheduled
and properly executed, no room for error, unexpected guests, shortage of food,
sitting with the wrong person or not having space for one more guest. You do not
chose where you will be sitting at the wedding it has been chosen for you!
A third example of wedding traditions is presented in this text, instructions are
given by Jesus on how to behave when you are to come together for a wedding
feast. “Even though ‘we all tend to prefer the ’best seats in the house,’ Jesus
needed to remind his listeners of some guidelines to keep in mind.
Jesus knowing that their “human tendency for self- aggrandizement is prevalent
on the occasion of social meetings…” He uses a parable as a example “to counter
this tendency…” (Rodney S. Sadler, Jr., Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg.23)
“In the Palestinian culture, at wedding feasts, the male guests recline on
coaches, with the center couch being place of honor, those invited are chosen
according to wealth, power, or office. If a more prominent man arrives late, as is
often the case, someone of lesser rank is asked to move to a less prestigious
location. Jesus is offering a practical advice to choose the lowest place so that
you can be invited up…” (Emilie M. Townes, Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg.22)
“The guest should not rush to the head of the dining room, but to sit in a humbler
location, on the happy chance they should be invited closer to the attractive host.
With farther daring, Jesus reminds the host not to invite those who can repay
him, but rather to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, who can
offer nothing in return.” (Charles E. Raynal, Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg.22)
“The host will be the one who has already invited those who do not take an invitation for granted, including the ones who are typically uninvited.”
(Ronald P. Byars Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg. 25)
Why all these examples? I believe they help us to see ourselves as the church.
What kind of hosting church are we? Are we an exclusive or an inclusive church?
I don’t think that the message here is that every wedding needs to be a “come one, come all,” or that it has to be so strict that one more person cannot come in later in the planning. The point is more about how excluding or including of others are we as the church, as the community of faith that is called to preach the kingdom of God.
Jesus’ healing and practice of table fellowship become metaphors of the kingdom of God, where they “will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God… Jesus’ pastoral ministry exemplifies the foundation of the pastoral service we are to offer as the people of God.
“Karl Barth offers us the Greek word “koinonia,” meaning a kind of hospitality in fellowship, as one of the many forms of the ministry of the Christian community.
When the community acts to establish fellowship, it witnesses to God’s fellowship established in Jesus Christ, both between the whole world and God and among human beings. God in Jesus Christ joins with humankind. God establishes this fellowship between us and Jesus Christ. Jesus calls the community of God’s people to bear witness to the fellowship between God and humanity by establishing fellowship between human beings.
Barth unpacks the concept of this wider community for us in four dimensions:
First, as the community reaches out to all nations, it offers unity among peoples that overcomes national, ethnic, and linguistic barriers in our world.
Secondly, the community rejects racial different in society and “the dividing up of “special white, black or brown congregations.”
Third, the community responds to the plurality of human cultures… overcoming cultural differences.
And finally, the community sets aside class distinctions in society between rich and poor.
These are practices of hospitality and welcome to heal national, ethnic, racial, cultural, and class divisions in the world. Hospitality and fellowship (go hand in hand) they become central to the church’s ministry.”
(Charles E. Raynal, Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg.22-24)
“Jesus reminds the host not to invite those who can repay him, but rather to invite those… who can offer nothing in return.” (idem)
“Jesus is clear who should be invited: people who are the very fabric of God’s
realm – the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. For Jesus extending
genuine hospitality to the least of these through acts of unselfish hospitality and
kindness can be as God washing a blessing over us and giving us a sense of the
great blessing that is to come in the resurrection. How are we a blessing to those
whose lives we touch?” (Emilie M. Townes, Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg.22-24)
“Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, all people have been accepted
regardless of age, tongue or race. In the UCC, this principal of acceptance and
welcome applies regardless of religious experience, life challenges or personal
convictions.” (Frank Proctor, “What Matters for children and families,” United Church Press,
Cleveland, Ohio, pg. 16)
When we talk about offering an extravagant welcome, what we are saying is that
our God is an awesome God! God is one who welcomes all people no matter
where they are in their life journey, no matter their place in life, their family
constituency or their personal choices. We are not here to welcome only those
who can give us something back, or those that can fit on our guest list. We are
called to extend an open invitation to all God’s people and to welcome them at
the banquet feast of God.
“Those viewed as lower are to be treated with great respect, to receive greater
Favor, and to enjoy places of honor in our own lives!
(Ronald P. Byars Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol.4, pg. 25)
In the words of Paul to the Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to
strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it!
Amen! (Hebrews 13:2)
BENEDICTION
God extends an extravagant welcome to all people unconditionally.
You have a place at God’s table!
Let us go out into the world and invite the neighbor and the stranger
just as Jesus welcomed us! Amen!
