Sermon for May 7th, 2023

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Luke 14:12-24 (NT p.77)

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “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. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17 At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ 20 Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ 23 Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

3 From Luke - The Great Banquet

I will never forget two meals I had when I was just sixteen years old. The first one was at State Line on my 16th birthday. It was just me and my dad at my favorite restaurant. Some bread, some steak, and a lot of sautéed mushrooms. I don't know what exactly made that meal so special--but growing up in a family of six, it's one of my few memories of having my dad all to myself for awhile. There was no way I could have known that seven years later he'd be gone. That would be the last time we ate at State Line together.

The other meal I will never forget was at Chili's restaurant on Mesa street. It was the night of the Coronado High School Homecoming dance, and around the table were me, my friend John Wahrmund, and Andy Moye. John's date that night was Ginger. Andy's date was Leah. And my date was a complete stranger--Ginger's friend, a blind date set up at the last minute. I don't remember what food I ordered (probably chicken crispers), but sitting across from me, my date was a quiet, beautiful girl in a baby blue dress with white lace. Her name was Amy. We were sixteen, and it was the very first of a lifetime of meals shared around countless tables.

We live some of the best moments of our lives around tables that have been prepared for us, or tables that we have prepared for others. And I think that's why so many times in the Bible, Jesus compares heaven itself to a banquet or a feast around a lavish table.

Today's scripture passage starts around a table--a real table, before Jesus begins his parable. He's teaching those seated around the table what I would call "good table etiquette." Don't be presumptuous when seating yourself, or you might get embarrassed. Be generous and kind--don't just invite people who will invite you back, but invite the people who don't usually get invited, the people who can't pay you back.

At this, one of the guests pipes up and says, "Blessed is ANYONE who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!"

Now, I don't know what exactly he meant by that. Maybe he was just trying to show Jesus how "spiritual" he was.

But maybe there was something a little more sinister in his comment--something that caught the attention of Jesus and made him raise an eyebrow. Jesus had just finished suggesting that the people you should invite to your dinner party are the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. But his guest shifts the focus away from the "here and now" and into the next life: "Blessed is anyone who will eat bread...in the Kingdom of God." As in, someday...after they die...things will finally work out for all those poor people. God will reward them. So WE don't actually have to invite them to OUR parties here in this lifetime, do we Jesus?

Jesus launches into a big parable, a story about a man who throws a party, and sends out invitations. In Middle Eastern tradition, there are always two invitations: The first one is what we would call the RSVP (I'm throwing a party; I want you to come; I need an idea of how many people to prepare for; will you come?). The second invitation is to say: It's time; the table is set; come on over. Presumably, those who get the second invitation already said yes to the first invitation.

But when the time comes, in verse 18, we read that one by one, the guests who had previously said "yes" begin to make their excuses. Interestingly, all the excuses are somehow related to acquisition of material possessions. I just bought (ἠγόρασα -egorasa) some land. I just bought a team of oxen. I just bought a wife--and yes, with due apologies here, in ancient Middle Eastern custom, that's exactly how marriage worked.

So everyone was interested in the IDEA of the banquet (that's why they said yes in the first place) but when the time came to actually put actions to their words, other things were more important.

The fact that these invited guests could actually afford a piece of land, a team of oxen, a wife...that indicates they were fairly well off. Inviting guests like these, you'd have to put on a pretty expensive party. But that would pay off, when they invited you to their party later on. So all in all, a pretty even exchange.

But what happens when you spend all the money to set the table for all the people who said they would come...and then they don't?

When all the wealthy guests decline, the master does something unexpected: He throws open the invitation to exactly the sort of people who don't typically get invited to parties--the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the disabled. Ironically, these are the people who are probably in the most need of a good meal, some entertainment, some good company.

Does that strategy work? Well, we don't know. Surprisingly, the parable ends with a cliffhanger. Once the master of the house throws the doors wide open, we never get to hear who shows up to the banquet. He says that "none of those who were invited shall taste my dinner" but we already knew that, because we heard them give their excuses. The point of Jesus' parable is not who shows up in the end. The point is who gets invited.

Parables are usually extended analogies or metaphors. Situations, things, or people in the parable are meant to represent other situations, things, or people in real life. If you want to understand a parable, I always suggest asking the question, who am I in this parable?

The banquet pretty obviously represents God's kingdom, because this whole parable is in response to the man who tells Jesus "Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God." So that means the master of the house is most likely God. Now the question is, from among the remaining characters, who are you? Well that should be easy enough--are you crippled, lame or blind? No? How about poor? Some of you might think you're poor, but the Greek word Jesus uses here is πτωχός (ptochos), which Strong's dictionary defines as "completely lacking ANY earthly resources; destitute; a beggar."

Most of us here today are not in that second group. So what about the first group? Are we the ones who get invited to the banquet, to God's kingdom, and say "Yes--I want to go!" but then when real, actual, commitment is required on our part...when you have to put your money where your mouth is (or your time, or your talent), we make excuses and get distracted by other things? Is that us?

Well, maybe. I'd even say probably. The person to whom Jesus is addressing this parable is certainly in that group, and many of us do let our possessions, or pursuit of material things get in the way of our relationship with God. We'll come back to that later.

But there's one more character in this story, who rarely gets noticed. It's the slave (or the servant). The one who faithfully does everything the master asks, who goes out into the world and issues the invitation, three separate times, and possibly four! In this parable, I think that we--as Christians, and as a church--are supposed to be that faithful servant, inviting people to the banquet that is God's kingdom. It's not our banquet, not our table. We just try to get people to show up.

Today, First Presbyterian Church has a membership of 246 people. That's 246 people (not counting their children) who said, "Yes, I want to be a part of this community, and I promise to support it with my prayers, my studies, my service, and my gifts." How many of those 246 are here this morning? I realize I'm preaching to those of you who actually DID get up and make the trip today! But the simple truth is that most of those who were invited, most who said yes, still find reasons not to come, and this beautiful sanctuary, these beautiful facilities, are mostly empty on Sunday mornings.

But this afternoon at around 1pm, 20 teenagers and pre-teens from our Scout troop will start trickling in with their families for their weekly meeting. A few hours after that, the beats and melodies from the El Paso Youth Jazz ensemble will fill this sanctuary as they rehearse. Tomorrow morning between 7:30 and 8:30am, 30 students from our elementary school will arrive, along with their teachers and staff...as the noise and joy of learning grows. Later in the morning, another 160 children will arrive for our preschool. Later still in the week, the cub scouts will gather here, Kids N Co children's community theatre will rehearse here, the Taft-Diaz masonic lodge will meet, the Basketball Referees Association will meet, the local Bagpipe band will rehearse, along with at least 5 other groups I can't remember right now.

Today, there may be about 50 of us here, if we're lucky. But by the end of this week, over 500 people, most of them children, will have graced the premises of First Presbyterian Church. And the number one question that church members ask me about these groups is this: Do they pay rent? Some do, but of the groups I just listed, most do not; they cannot. Most of them are groups that if they could not meet here, would not be able to meet at all.

But pastor--they consume resources! We have to heat and cool the building for them! And sometimes (God forbid!) they move things; they break things! How many of you had children who did not eat food, consume resources, and never broke anything?

Jesus said to invite the ones who cannot repay you...even though they will still eat your food! "And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

So far, I've been talking about what this parable means for us as a church. I think we've been like that faithful servant. We have faithfully gone out to our invited guests, and when they didn't come, we faithfully went out to the highways and the byways, and we found others--those with greater need--and we have brought many people to the table of this community. One way or another, this building will be full!

I want to end today, not with our story as the church, but with your story, as individuals. Remember, Jesus addressed this parable to one individual--someone who didn't get it, someone who was distracted by his preconceived ideas about who should be in and who should be out. I think Jesus must have looked deep into this man's soul that day, just as he does with us, today.

What keeps you from the Lord's banquet table when the invitation comes? Is it your property? Your possessions? Your spouse? Is it your schedule that pulls you in a thousand directions, and none of them closer to God? Or are there emotional burdens that you carry? Anxiety, guilt, or shame that weighs you down and keeps you from answering God's invitation? Maybe you answered "yes" years ago, but have long since forgotten the way, or gotten sidetracked in the mundane cares and concerns of day-to-day life.

Whatever it is that keeps you from this table, Whatever excuses beckon you elsewhere, Let them go. Lay them down.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.