A Place at the Table

The greatest Christmas present I have ever given to Mindy were tickets to a George Strait concert. She grew up listening to George. He is her favorite. She had never actually been to a concert before and I, being the awesome husband that I am decided to take her. So I went online to buy the tickets. And they were great. Row 12, seats 24 and 25, section B. I did not mind having to pay a little more for floor seats. It would be worth it. I looked at the seating plan and she was in the section that was right in the middle. I was going to make sure that her first concert experience with her all-time favorite singer was going to be the best.

I packaged the tickets in a CD case so she would not be able to tell what was in the wrapping. When she opened the case and saw what was in there, she literally screamed. I did it. Husband of the year. Now the concert was still a few weeks away, so I made child care arrangements. My dad flew in for the weekend. Mindy and I drove the four hours to the concert. We were outside waiting for the doors to be opened, and it was cold, actually it was downright freezing. I think ice was forming on my eyebrows. But knowing that Mindy would be so close to her favorite singer; the pride I was feeling kept me warm.

The doors finally opened and we got inside and someone directed us upstairs. Wait a minute these are floor seats. We need to go to the floor. Section B is right there on the ticket. At this point I was informed that this was not section B on the floor. The "B" on my tickets stood for balcony. I was crushed. And talk about wounded pride. It was a good show, but we were not as close to the stage as what I had expected us to me. The seats were good, but they weren't the best.

Where you sit matters. Right? Where do the cool kids sit on the bus? In the back. What are the best seats on an airplane? First class. Or by the emergency exits, more leg room. Children understand the importance of seat selection. Have you ever seen kids fighting over who gets to sit next to whom? Or what about planning a wedding reception and the joys of the seating chart? Need I say more?

The importance of seating can even find its way into the church. Lutherans like to park as close to the door as they can when they are outside, and once they are inside they like to sit as close to it as they can. I once heard a pastor lament because after the sanctuary had been expanded he had to re-learn where everyone would sit, and it was more difficult for him to take attendance.

In our Gospel lesson this morning, we see Jesus at a meal. He is around a table with some big important religious leaders. They have not invited him because they enjoy being around him, they have him there in order to trap him. Talk about an awkward social environment. Wouldn't you love to go to a party where the only reason you are there is because everyone else wants to get you in trouble? And yet here is Jesus. Not to show them up or to spite them either. He is there because, even though they may not want his love for them, that doesn't keep him from loving them anyway.

He goes and he watches and notices something rather curious going on. They fight to sit in the seats of that contain the most honor. The one who gets to sit closest to the host is most important. Everyone wants that spot. Now these are people who would be considered some of the highest society. They are scholars and religious leaders. They are the ones who were distinguished and well off, these are adults who should know better, especially because of how well they should know God's word, and the reality of the situation is that they are acting like children.

Jesus notices this and he uses the situation in order to tell a parable. He does not do this to spite, embarrass or humiliate them. He does it to teach them. It is kind of a strange parable. It does not read like some of the other parables that we find in the gospels. But Luke tells us that it is a parable. This is a clue to let us know that what Jesus is saying here must teach us something important about God's kingdom.

He says that when you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the place of honor. Because someone more important might show up, and then the host will have to come up to you and have you go to a lower place and that will be a humiliating kind of experience for you. Instead, when you go, seek out the place that is the lowest, then when the host comes and sees you there, he will tell you to go to a higher spot and you will be honored. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Now. Let's pause here for a moment. If I hear or read this parable and say to myself, "Self, this parable is good, for it lays out the exact plan to show exactly how important we are. Go and find the lowest place, because when we do, we will surely be moved up and then everyone can see just how important we are." If that is what I walk away with after hearing this parable, then I am completely missing the point of the parable.

Jesus is not telling us to be humble so that we can then receive honor. If the ultimate goal behind our actions is our own honor, then it makes no difference if we seek out the high seat or the low seat because our ultimate goal is the same. This is not true humility. If that is all we are going to be doing then you will find the same kind of scene that Jesus witnessed, only instead of fighting for the highest seat, everyone would be fighting for the lowest seat.

What he is talking about here is an attitude, a mindset a worldview. He is teaching us about God's kingdom and life in that kingdom. This is a kingdom where things are turned upside down from the ways that we might expect, from the ways that we know in our world. This is a kingdom where some who are first are last, and some who are last are first. This is a kingdom where the greatest is the one who is the servant.

This is because this kingdom is a kingdom of grace. No one who is in this kingdom is there because they have earned the right to be there, rather our place in this kingdom is one that is secured by grace. Not by our works or good deeds, but because of the life, death and resurrection of the host of the banquet, of our Lord Jesus. Having this sure place in God's kingdom frees up from having to think only of ourselves. It frees us from fighting, biting and clawing our way to the top. It frees us to live in the sure and certain joy of knowing that we indeed have a place at the table with our Lord, and therefore we can love and serve one another and the people around us, because in doing so we are loving and serving our God.

Now to be sure, this is not something that we do in order to make God love us more. We can't do anything to make him love us more. Although it will make him happy. It is not something that we do in order to earn brownie points with God. We can't do anything to earn brownie points with him. Although it may win us a few with our neighbors. It is not something that we do out of fear that God will give up on us if we don't. Our God does not work that way. Although doing it can open our eyes to see God in all kinds of unexpected ways and places.

This simple life of love and service comes out of thankfulness to God. It is not that we can ever repay God for the gifts of life and forgiveness that he gives to us. We could never even come close. But as I said before we are talking about a mindset, a worldview, an attitude. So as we live our lives we cultivate an awareness of what God does in our lives. And we live out of that. We realize all that we have is from him, not because we earn it or deserve it, but because he is good and gracious and loving and merciful.

Our seat at his banquet table is not ours because we did all the right things or did them better than anyone else. Our seat is at the banquet table because he wanted us there. He paid the price in order to allow for that to happen. Have you ever had the experience where you go out to eat and someone else picks up the tab? It is great isn't it? Especially if they don't expect you to pay them back. Because Jesus gave up his life on the cross your place at the banquet is secured. You have a seat.

As we understand that God is the host of the ultimate banquet, the kingdom of God, as we understand that he makes it possible for us to attend, then we can begin to understand the final part of our text here.

Jesus said to the one who invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, let they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Remember that experience where you go out to eat and someone else picks up the tab? Do you ever feel obligated to pay them back? Does the thought that you now owe them cross your mind? Or worse, have you ever picked up the tab so that the other person would now be in your debt? This is what Jesus is getting at here as he is talking to the host of his dinner. Don't host, don't pick up the tab so that the others owe you. If you are going to pick up the tab, don't expect to get repaid. And while you are picking up the tab, pick it up for those who can't pay you back.

What we are ultimately talking about here is hospitality. It is not that you can't invite the people who can pay you back, just don't limit yourself to them only. Hospitality is how do we welcome people that come to us, whether we know them or not? How do we show them the love of God, whether they can show it back to us or not?

Why would we even consider this? Because we believe that hospitality is not ours to give. We are simply reflecting the hospitality that has been shown to us by our God. Because God loves us, forgives us, welcomes us, we too then show love, forgiveness and welcome to those people that God has placed into our lives. We do this because we see God treat us this way, and we know that he is given us a great privilege in allowing us to join him in showing this to others.

Again we are talking about a mindset, an attitude a worldview here. How do we welcome the people that come into our midst? How do we welcome those we know? How do we welcome the strangers among us? How do we welcome those who cannot welcome us back?

These questions are somewhat rhetorical. But when we begin to think about these kinds of things, and have our answers come out of an understanding of who our God is and how he works in our lives. Then as we seek the guidance and will of the Holy Spirit in answering these questions, we will find ourselves on an adventure unlike anything we could ever imagine.

Seating may be important in world. But at that great banquet, where you sit, is not as important as being there. And knowing that we are there because of Jesus, enables us to then welcome others, that they too might know a place at that great party. May your place in God's kingdom always be a source of joy, comfort and peace for you. Now and always. Amen.