Healing Rays of Righteousness

Read Luke 14:1-14

Labor Day weekend is a good time to ponder “for what do I labor?”  Is it for self-status or for service to God?  Is it to receive praises from mankind or praises from God?  Do I labor for things temporal or for things eternal?

Picture a man in his fifties, distinguished and properly attired.  He is a faithful husband and strict father.  He is a respected businessman and, above all else, a deeply religious man.  In a word, he is a Pharisee.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were not bad people.  They were highly respected merchants with a heart for God.  In fact, it was with the Pharisees, as opposed to the Sadducees, that Jesus was most readily identified.

And it was in the home of one of these highly respected Pharisees that Jesus sat down to eat.  The table is magnificent, the servants attentive, the centerpiece impressive, and the wine chilled.  All the “right people” are there – bankers, doctors, lawyers, synagogue leaders.  Jesus is invited not because he is considered an equal but because he is a curiosity who has been in the news.

Attention was given to the proper prayers and ritual cleansings.  Everything had to be just so, and it was.  The esteemed guests are watching closely to see how Jesus fits in.  The table talk is polite, as expected – until Jesus began to speak.

At the dinner, Jesus noticed how the guests made their way to the places of honor at the table.  They were good people, and they simply wanted to be recognized as such.  But Jesus saw it differently.  He severely rebuked them for seeking out the places of honor and striving for status.  In essence he said that if you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on you face – “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus tells them that humility is more important than being esteemed.  This was contrary to the Pharisees’ way of thinking, and their puffed-up egos.  They considered themselves good, religious people and thought the community should esteem them as such.  But Jesus says that they should see themselves more as servants than rulers and that the table of fellowship is open to all.

What Jesus is saying about God’s Kingdom and entrance into it is unacceptable to the Pharisees.  And even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with this new Kingdom thinking.  Remember the story of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asking Jesus for the honor of being seated on his right and left in his glory.  And on another occasion the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them.

For what do I labor – for self and status, or for service to God in serving others?

When Jesus finished rebuking the guests, he turns to the host and criticized the host’s dinner guests list.  In effect, he said, “Why do you invite only the beautiful people?  What about the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind?  Why not invite them?”

I can imagine the host thinking this was a silly question.  Good religious people know that there are standards to be upheld, reputations to consider.  Besides, this was a Sabbath dinner, not simply a common meal.

That is Jesus’ point exactly.  The Sabbath is an institution of God, who loves and invites all to his table of fellowship.  A Sabbath dinner is the perfect time and place to welcome all of God’s children.  So Jesus instructed him to “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”  And Jesus assured the host that if he adopts this practice he “will be blessed.  Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Jesus promises that if we live our lives under the banner of lifting up those in need and affirm their eternal worth in the sight of God, we will be blessed.  The blessing will not be from other people, but from God.  He is ultimately the only One who can bless us, or whose praise matters.

This reminds me of the words Jesus spoke as recorded by Matthew in 25:31ff:  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. …  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’   Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, …or thirsty, …a stranger, …or needing clothes, …sick or in prison?  The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

For what do I labor – for self and status, or for service to God in serving others?

(September 5, 2018)