August 28, 2016
15th Sunday After Pentecost Year C

“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. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day?” And they could not reply to this. 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.” Luke 14:1-14

“Do you remember how obvious the pecking order was at school? How important it was to sit with the right folks at lunch? How much it meant to you to have someone invite you to a party or even just save you a seat at lunch? The clear social demarcations of the various groups from band, sports teams, techies, or whatever? The seats of honor and, well, if not shame at least uncool, on the bus? (I’d offer more examples but most of us are probably already re-living some of our worst moments!) Our schools very much operate on a status system where everything counts and everything is counted. Truth be told, I don’t think it ends at school. It happens in the work place and at book clubs, it’s present in the volunteering we do and even at church. It happens just about everywhere; it’s just a little more obvious at school. I don’t want to hear a sermon this week that simply moralizes on the importance of welcoming others, I want a sermon that reminds me that God has given me all good things for no good reason and invites me to do the same for others. I want a sermon, that is, that challenges me to take my faith seriously enough to act and live differently.” (David Lose, “Dear Working Preacher” website The Kingdom of God … at School, August 26, 2013)

When I look at Jesus observing the guests coming to the meal, he noticed that these people were stuck in a rut. But as it turns out, their ruts had deep societal and religious roots. Let me explain….
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, a parchment was also uncovered which included a document scholars have come to call “The Messianic Rule”. They dated the parchment to about 75 BCE which means it is a Pre-Christian document. The document describes how their community was to deal with the “end days”. In particular the document describes a banquet with their King that was to mimic the coming Messianic Banquet. It goes on to list those who were invited to the banquet:

“All the wise men of the congregation, the learned and the intelligent, men whose way is perfect – the men of renown”. But that is not all, for it continues with who is not invited: “no man smitten in his flesh, or paralyzed in his feet or hands, or lame, or blind, or deaf, or dumb, or smitten in his flesh with a visible blemish; no old and tottery man unable to stay still in the midst of the congregation, none of these shall come…”

Even from the earliest days, there has been an emphasis placed on lifting up those in our communities who are the strongest, the wisest, the most learned – and there has been exclusion of the last, the lost, the least, the lame, and the little. Perhaps this is why Jesus felt it necessary to teach something about the behavior he observed from the people gathering for the meal – but then again, Jesus was always seeking to get to the root of our ruts. To help us achieve that understanding, we need to remember our Biblical roots and teachings: We are to be “In” the world, not “Of” the world – “The last shall be first, and the first last” – “Take the lowest seat so that your host may call you higher” – just to name a few.

Seeking honor just for the sake of being noticed or getting affirmation is a “rut race” we need not seek to be a part of. So, to get out of the “rut race”, we first need to remember where our true identity comes from. Our identity comes from our baptism, where God claimed us as one of God’s children – loved beyond all measure – loved and valued enormously. That identity, not the measures that society wants to use, like wealth, beauty, status, and popularity, but our identity as “God’s children” is what gives us value.

When we are rooted in our “Christian” identity, well this is what calls us higher and helps us out of our ruts. Our status, popularity, wealth, etc. means nothing to God in terms of our relationship with God. God loved us first, claimed us, has loved us from the beginning. This understanding then helps us and teaches us “Humility” – something so many people in our society lack today – especially so many of our young people. Jesus is reminding us to always be looking for opportunities to honor the “Less Thans” of our society.

Jesus has practical, “Life altering” lessons to teach us – and one of the more important lessons is to humble ourselves. When we live in this manner, then we truly free ourselves from society’s “Rut Race” to “Be” and to “Do” the love of God found in Jesus Christ. When we are rooted in this kind of humility, when we know that we are beloved children of God, then we choose to live not seeking honor, but instead honoring those whom society seeks to hold down in their own “ruts”.

Pastor Dave