"Table Manners" 2014
Isaiah 61:1-3, 11 Luke 14:1,7-14

Isaiah 61:1-3, 11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Luke 14:1,7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 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. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Last week was an important one for NFL football teams and players.
They had to cut the team rosters down to the final 53 players.

Coaches and team owners had to decide on a combination of players
that will most likely to lead to victory, to a good season
by making the play-offs and having a shot at the Super bowl.

Obviously, there is a lot of money and prestige at stake in this,
so imagine how hard each of the players tried to look good,
by doing whatever it takes to be noticed favorably,
anything for the past few weeks to impress the coaches.

* But it’s not
just football players trying to make a good impression, is it?

Don’t we all
put considerable thought and effort into making an impression,
by trying to associate with the right and influential people
to help establish our own social status and position? …
… so we’ve probably got a pretty good idea
about what’s going on in this Luke passage today.
During the time of Jesus, in the culture of ancient Palestine,
honor and status were huge and important considerations,
and sharing a meal with someone was a very visible part
of establishing your social prominence and reputation
by being perceived as connected to the right people.

In ancient times,
when guests gathered for a dinner it was a major social event.
Guests reclined around a low 'U' shaped table,
and where you were situated in relation to the host
clearly defined each person’s level of prominence.
As you can well imagine, there was considerable effort
in trying to be seen seated as near as possible to the host.

The text says they were watching Jesus, but he was noticing them,
so concerned about making the right impression
and vying for social position by their place at the table.

Jesus reflects on their gamesmanship for a more prominent seat,
and comments on it by offering an observation: vs. 7-9
When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

That's good advice, but Jesus was talking about much more than
just teaching about gracious social behavior and etiquette,
* and obviously the point his message was not
how to get ahead in life by pretending to be humble.

His parable is about how God views our efforts to gain status,
and what it looks like to have an authentic relationship with God.
vs. 11
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Luke calls this a parable because it’s really about God’s Kingdom,
as Jesus describes how to live out the implications of grace
and faithfulness under the rule and reign of the Lord.

In contrast
to the Pharisees’ emphasis on rules that govern outward behavior
and jockeying to achieve impressive status and prominence…
… Jesus describes a vision in which the Spirit guides our thinking,
and what it is like when our lives are defined by God’s grace,
and we are walking in humble obedience with Jesus Christ.

With our eyes and hearts focused on Jesus and his promises,
such schemes lose their power to charm and distract us,
as we recognize the foolishness of our games for status.

With God's love and Spirit present and powerful in our hearts,
as chosen recipients of infinite grace and eternal blessings,
the passing trinkets and status symbols of this world
can’t compare to the lasting glory of God’s promises.

The world’s system and values, all center on looking out for # 1,
and making sure that we get everything that is coming to us
by establishing and safeguarding our position and status.

Jesus is describing other values & a whole different way of living …
and rather than a mad scramble for the stuff of this world,
Jesus offers us freedom from such value constructs
and reverses our sense of who is over and who is under.

Jesus offers through humility, something far more prominent,
that is described in vs. 10-11
But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Christian honor and position are not gained by seizing prominence,
but are freely given as a gracious love-gift from God,
that will only be fully realized at the wedding banquet
as it’s described at the end of the book of Revelation…

… but then in the next verses Jesus takes this message even further,
that because we God's beloved ones, focused on gratitude
that changes the way we practice hospitality and welcome,
rather than playing silly games trying to impress others.

Because we are secure in God’s love, in God’s promises and grace,
we can let the needs and concerns of other people matter to us.

When God’s grace, mission and purpose are the center of our lives,
we recognize, as the prophet Isaiah described it, there is
a whole other group that is honored and uplifted by God.

When Jesus began his earthly ministry,
the passage he read in the synagogue that day was Isaiah 61:1~3…
… he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, … and called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

The Spirit of the Lord is present and resides in each of us,
calling us to proclaim the Good News of the Lord's favor,
as plantings of the Lord called to blossom with God's glory.

If indeed we have received God's saving grace and blessings,
then we no longer belong to ourselves, but Jesus is Lord of our lives
… and He calls us to reflect God's glory, and not our own.

In contrast to the "looking out for me-first" ways of this world,
Jesus calls us to live a life that is redirected,
and recommitted to reflecting God's grace and promise
especially toward the “unimpressives” around us.

Notice that when Jesus describes who we should remember to invite,
in vs. 12-14, the list of God's favored is the same as Isaiah 61.
"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.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

From these simple observations at a dinner party held long ago,
Jesus is showing how we are to live as those of the Kingdom of God
and that hospitality, humility and generosity are
essential elements of Christian character & attitude…
… and that the call is for us to improve on our Table manners.

Jesus is promising, that when our lives are submitted to the Lord,
then our lives are empowered to express and proclaim
the grace and hospitality that we have received from God.

* Christian humility rejects playing for position and status,
but will allow someone else to get in line in front of us.

* Christian generosity is a life focused not on what we can get,
but on what we can give and share more freely
so that we become signs that point the way toward Christ.

Every month we come back to the Lord’s Table for another meal ---
because we need that constant re-nourishment for our souls,
that renewal of hope as a reminder of God's gracious love
that empowers us to live life empower and refreshed
for a more faithful and growing walk with the God.

Today at the Lord’s Table let us consider our practice of hospitality
of Christ's humility and generosity in our own daily lives…
… for by imitating the example Christ, we become
living signs of God's grace and hospitality out into the world …
… for that is the life, purpose & task to which we are called.

At the elders’ retreat a couple years ago,
we had a good discussion about a story from Tony Campolo,
about an incident that really happened.
It’s a bit long, but here’s how he tells the story:

A few years ago Tony flew to Hawaii to speak at a conference. The way he tells it, he checks into his hotel and tries to get some sleep. Unfortunately, his internal clock wakes him at 3:00 a.m. The night is dark, the streets are silent, the world is asleep, but Tony is wide awake and his stomach is growling.

He gets up and prowls the streets looking for a place to get some bacon and eggs for an early breakfast. Everything is closed except for a grungy dive in an alley. He goes in and sits down at the counter. The fat guy behind the counter comes over and asks, "What d'ya want?"

Well, Tony isn't so hungry anymore so eying some donuts under a plastic cover he says, "I'll have a donut and black coffee."
As he sits there munching on his donut and sipping his coffee at 3:30, in walk eight or nine provocative, loud prostitutes just finished with their night's work. They plop down at the counter and Tony finds himself uncomfortably surrounded by this group of smoking, swearing hookers. He gulps his coffee, planning to make a quick getaway. Then the woman next to him says to her friend, "You know what? Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm gonna be 39." To which her friend nastily replies, "So what d'ya want from me? A birthday party? Huh? You want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?"

The first woman says, "Aw, come on, why do you have to be so mean? Why do you have to put me down? I'm just sayin' it's my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"

Well, when Tony Campolo heard that, he said he made a decision. He sat and waited until the women left, and then he asked the fat guy at the counter, "Do they come in here every night?"

"Yeah," he answered.
"The one right next to me," he asked, "she comes in every night?"

"Yeah," he said, "that's Agnes. Yeah, she's here every night. She's been comin' here for years. Why do you want to know?"

"Because she just said that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you think? Do you think we could maybe throw a little birthday party for her right here in the diner?"

A cute kind of smile crept over the fat man's chubby cheeks. "That's great," he says, "yeah, that's great. I like it." He turns to the kitchen and shouts to his wife, "Hey, come on out here. This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow is Agnes' birthday and he wants to throw a party for her right here."

His wife comes out. "That's terrific," she says. "You know, Agnes is really nice. She's always trying to help other people and nobody does anything nice for her."

So they make their plans. Tony says he'll be back at 2:30 the next morning with some decorations and the man, whose name turns out to be Harry, says he'll make a cake.

At 2:30 the next morning, Tony is back. He has crepe paper and other decorations and a sign made of big pieces of cardboard that says, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" They decorate the place from one end to the other and get it looking great. Harry had gotten the word out on the streets about the party and by 3:15 it seemed that every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. There were hookers wall to wall.
At 3:30 on the dot, the door swings open and in walks Agnes and her friend. Tony has everybody ready. They all shout and scream "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" Agnes is absolutely flabbergasted. She's stunned, her mouth falls open, her knees started to buckle, and she almost falls over.

And when the birthday cake with all the candles is carried out, that's when she totally loses it. Now she's sobbing and crying. Harry, who's not used to seeing a prostitute cry, gruffly mumbles, "Blow out the candles, Agnes. Cut the cake." …

…So Tony gets up on a chair and says, "What do you say that we pray together?"

And there they are in a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon, half the prostitutes in Honolulu, at 3:30 a.m. listening to Tony Campolo as he prays for Agnes, for her life, her health, and her salvation. Tony recalls, "I prayed that her life would be changed, and that God would be good to her."

When he's finished, Harry leans over, and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he says, "Hey, you never told me you was a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?"

In one of those moments when just the right words came, Tony answers him quietly, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."

Harry thinks for a moment, and in a mocking way says, "No you don't. There ain't no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. Yep, I'd join a church like that."