|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Sirach 10:12–18 |
Psalm 112 |
Hebrews 13:1–8, 15–16 |
Luke 14:1, 7–14 |
Last week, Kluane and I went to see Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko.” Moore has always enjoyed being a controversial, polemical, and abrasive figure, but I discovered that the movie is much more than a harsh critique of our health care system. The movie was really about how we as a society care for one another.
A central tenant of our society is that everybody should be self-reliant, look after himself, and expect to pay for what one gets. If someone can’t pay, tough luck. The movie disturbs such widespread self-centeredness and complacency by asking, “should not a moral society be one that takes responsibility to care for one another, especially those who are injured or sick? Are moral concerns always subservient to the so-called economic concerns of maximizing profit?”
This is Labor Day weekend. First proposed in 1882, Labor Day has marked the sometimes violent struggle for the recognition of the dignity of labor. The debate about fair wages, working conditions, and how we as a society value labor and workers is still ongoing. We read in the news about the greed and dishonesty of certain of the rich and powerful consistently every day. For people of faith, a moral society demands we care about the safety and wellbeing of workers, and are not afraid to ask questions about the products we buy and services we purchase.
Jesus was not without a sense of humor, even when talking about serious things, and I suggest that becomes evident in today’s Gospel. Jesus is around people who want to obtain an upgrade of position into God’s fellowship without really committing themselves to any vision of new life. Their vision seems to begin and end with themselves. They are concerned about who will sit where, and how they can build up credits on their charge cards to apply to the heavenly banquet. So Jesus says, hey don’t worry about where you sit when you are invited to a banquet. Your worry will just overwhelm and spoil the happy occasion for you. The same food is served at all places. There are knives and forks at every place. Relax and enjoy yourselves, enjoy the company of whoever sits next to you. If the host wants to put you at the head table, you will be singled out and exalted in front of everyone. Then Jesus realized how easily we could twist things around. I wonder if Jesus may have thought UH, oh. I see it, now. People rushing to the last chairs just like the last pews in church, fighting over the lowest place, out-humbling themselves so that they can get recognized and get a higher place.
So Jesus tried again. Don’t worry about how one party will gain you a ticket into a better party. Just enjoy the party at hand. When you give a party, instead of thinking what benefit it will bring you, give a party for those who will enjoy it as a wonderful and undeserved gift. Don’t expect anything more out of it except that people will have a good time. So don't invite to supper those who are sure to reciprocate, and maybe even invite you to a fancier meal. Invite those who can only offer a grateful thank you. In God's fellowship, how do you think you can reciprocate? Even if you use St. John's cookbook, do you think you can put on a spread to out do the heavenly banquet?
Now Jesus is not against planning, but often we let very lesser concerns and arguments obscure our understanding of a greater fellowship. Our spiritual energy becomes short circuited and drained. Yet citizens of the community of God don’t need to worry about who will sit where, or about how God will settle up.
Jesus emphasizes God's generosity to us all. The secret of true hospitality is that it is offered with no strings attached. That's part of a vision of a universal hospitality. That is something much more than the grim struggle to find the perfect upgrade and to sit higher than everyone else. Jesus offers a vision where everyone will care and take responsibility that everyone will be offered a seat at the table.
We are privileged to witness three baptisms this morning. If Jim and Sherri put the considerations the world tells us are so consuming, ahead of everything else, Kalena, Gabriel and Rafaelle would likely not be here and have a chance at a fuller life. But Jim, Sherri and their family are Gospel people. They know that living the Gospel often implies a counter-cultural action, They believe that “how much one can give back into life to others” is such a radically reverse orientation than “how much can one squeeze out of life for oneself”. They want a society that cares for others and we are so grateful for their witness.
I recommend seeing the movie "Sicko". It is likely not what you might first think. And I think Jesus would have enjoyed seeing “Sicko,” too.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
