We have probably all had the experience at one time or another of giving or attending a party where there has been no seating plan. It never fails to cause an element of confusion and jostling – who should sit next to who etc, and where? The Pharisee in this story had obviously forgotten to organise the table seating plans, or perhaps they didn’t have such essential things. Certainly if I were invited to some important civic event, I would definitely want to know where I was expected to sit! And at really important dinners, where you sit will indicate your status and importance, and of course, at events such as weddings, much will depend on your relationship with the host.
The advice Jesus gives in the first section of today’s Gospel from Luke 14 is, I have often felt, so obvious and – in a way – mundane, that you find yourself wondering why Luke included this advice in his Gospel when papyrus was quite expensive and you couldn’t just pop round to WH Smith and buy a pad of paper.
But, after the social behaviour strategy plan, the punch-line comes in verse 11 : “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus is constantly telling us that, in the Kingdom of God, our normal, worldly, human values are reversed – turned on their head. As Jesus had told his hearers in the Beatitudes, it is the meek (the humble) who will inherit the earth. Try telling that to your average politician, business executive or pop-star! Of course, in practice we know that usually the more exalted they are, the further they fall and the more they are humbled. They who exalt themselves will be humbled, and when – like Icarus – they fly too near the sun, they come crashing down to earth. The epitaph for most VIPs and celebrities could well be Macbeth’s reflection as he faced ruin and death: “A poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.”
As always for the Christian, our model is Jesus. As Paul so wonderfully states it in His letter to the Philippians (2: 5 – 11): “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant...he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even (the most humiliating and ignominious) death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name....”
The dinner party in the story is simply an everyday working out of this supreme example in a daily life.
So we have the role model of Jesus becoming a servant to us, so that we might become servants to each other and to the world outside. Hence the words of Jesus to his host that follow (verses 12 – 14): When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame – people in need who will never be able to invite you back.
This is living according to the principles of the Kingdom of God. And when you try it, sometimes wonderful things happen. The writer to the Hebrews says: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” It can be the apparently unlikeliest of people who turn out to be those who bring a special gift, or a vital message from God.
Tom Wright, whose Bible commentaries many of us are engaged with in our groups, is retiring as Bishop of Durham. He was interviewed on Friday on the Today Programme on Radio 4. He said that people are basically as religious as they ever were, but that - to be impressed and interested - what they look for are actions not words. He pointed out that the Gospels are full of the actions of Jesus, and that it was mainly those actions which drew people’s attention. And his teachings are often not ‘stand alone’ words of wisdom, but rather in commentary or explanation of something he had just done. He suggested that the outside world should be looking at what the church is doing, rather than concentrating on its internal arguments and quarrels. And in many parts of the country, the churches locally are actually doing some very impressive work. When people see that, they begin to ask why – where the motivation comes from.
The writer to the Hebrews in our epistle is just as insistent on actions. “Keep on loving one another...remember those in prison as if you were a their fellow prisoners, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering...” And he ends by saying that, as Jesus has now offered, once for all, the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the old temple sacrifices are redundant, and (verse 15), this way of living service and witnessing has become our sacrifice - a sacrifice of praise – the fruit (the practical product) of lips that confess his name (verse 15).
So, how can we put this into practice? One initiative that has clearly caught the imagination of the public is the Street Angels scheme, and it’s a very good example of how the church can serve the community in a positive way that catches the attention and positive media interest. A guest at our lunch meeting here on Thursday came up with a quotation that sticks in the mind. The church is not a cruise-liner - it’s a lifeboat! And when it acts like a lifeboat instead of a large passing cruiser, people take notice and want to know more. Our primary aim is not to seek happiness and enjoyment for their own sake. But when we serve others, we find that happiness and enjoyment come naturally as part of the Christian package.
Clearly, being a street angel is not for everybody. We need always to think of ways in which we can all both serve one another in love, and also the wider community. Our work among children is much appreciated through Butterflies already, and that work is to be expanded in mid-September to include older children. Volunteers to be present at such events, and do the simplest of jobs will be essential to make it work – look out for more information. We can keep our eyes open and our imagination at work to see who needs care, invitations or visits. Often it is something very simple, done in the name of Christ the servant, which make an impression quite out of proportion to the deed itself.
As one writer cogently remarks, in the Kingdom of God, service to others is the only kind of status – the only kind of royalty - that is recognised.
Discussion
1. What sort of actions might count as Christian service? Broaden the list as much as possible, and perhaps come up with some ideas for practical follow-up.
2. What sort of words might count as Christian service? Broaden the list as much as possible, and consider whether you need to put this into specific practice.
3. How can St Michael’s become more suitable for service to the community, both as a building, and as a congregation of people?
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