May 3, 2015 · Luke 14:1–6

Great Banquet Etiquette

— he was actually being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and the experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they remain silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and he sent him on his way.

“If only those at the Pharisee meal will listen to Jesus and accept his invitation, then they're going to get a spot at the biggest and the best, most prestigious banquet of all. And this original speaker was presumptive. … Let's not miss the banquet. I think the church of North America is in danger of being the church of the establishment. Are we looking for the brightest and the bestest? Jesus isn't. At least not exclusively. Do we want to impress our cool neighbours and show co-workers — oh, church people can be hip too? … Are we willing to invite the annoying, socially awkward person from work to our dinner parties? Do we show the socially undesirable hospitality, or a subtle undercurrent of hostility? I believe that this whole story about Jesus eating with the Pharisees is about him laying down the conditions by which the Pharisees are going to be allowed to join the kingdom of God. You want the kingdom of God? You got to be a good host and you got to be a good guest. And this is how it works. I love this, because he's not excluding them — which is what we often do in our society.”