STANDINGS
Luke 14:7-14
8/28/16
“It’s a me, it’s a me, it’s a me Oh
Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, it’s a me Oh Lord, not my
sister, it’s a me Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” A great old song
from when as a youth I sang in a gospel quartet.
Now the truth of the matter is that
sometimes, where you sit, sometimes depends upon where you stand.
Every so often my brother, who is six
years older than I, would come to visit. Often as not, when we sat at the
dining room table, he would automatically sit at the head of my table, in my
chair. He did this with complete grace and aplomb, assuming the position of
host and dominant personage. Being kind and charitable, I didn't let this
bother me much, but have from time to time I considered putting Ipecac in his
coffee or loosening the legs of the chair. My brother-in-law has also taken the
chair at the head of the table and assumed the role of host. Even though he is
bigger than I, I have somehow managed to convey to him that since I pay the
mortgage, the head chair belongs to me.
There is a protocol, sometimes spoken
and sometimes unspoken, about seating arrangements. Where you sit often defines
or reflects your standing in the community or family. Try figuring out where to
sit people at a wedding dinner, and you’ll see what I mean. We have gotten
fairly casual in society now days, but newspapers still run Miss Manners'
columns to help us with protocol, etiquette and seating arrangements.
Moreover, social scientists have
discovered that it is possible to change the dynamics of a group by changing
the seating arrangements. Something happens to the flow of conversation, to the
pecking order, and to group dynamics. In fact, during the peace negotiations
with the Vietcong in the 60's a lot of time was spent negotiating the shape of
the table. Like King Arthur's Court, a table was chosen which did not imply a
hierarchy of importance among the participants.
For thousands of years individuals,
societies, and cultures have grappled with the problems of the ranking of places
of honor at the table based upon standing within the community. Where one sits
often depends upon where one stands. This is a basic human dynamic.
Now many of the parables and stories
of Jesus deal with basic human dynamics. This is one of the reasons why the
stories were remembered, told and retold. Such is the case with today's Gospel
lesson from St. Luke. Luke tells us that on one occasion Jesus
dined on the Sabbath at the house of a leader of the Pharisees. When Jesus saw
how people were seated He told a parable to the effect that one should not
presume to sit at the head of the table, but rather take a lower one so that
the host may move him higher. All who exalt themselves shall be humbled and
those who humble themselves shall be exalted. Likewise, Jesus continued, when
you give a banquet you should invite not only your relatives and friends but
also the poor, crippled, lame and blind.
You and I need to remember that Jesus
was a teacher, a rabbi. It was assumed that He would give a teaching in various
situations. Seated with the Pharisees, it was appropriate to make comments and
to enter into debate. Jesus seizes the occasion to push the implications of the
meal. His teaching that those who humble themselves shall be exalted is right
out of Proverbs (25:6-7). Proverbs, as you know is part of Wisdom
literature, and assumes that common sense observations reflect not only the
natural happenings of nature and society but also reflect God's intention. One
can sometimes deduce the will of God from common sense observations on life. So
it is that Jesus re-presents the saying from Proverbs. But Jesus does not stop there. Rather, He goes on to push
the symbolic nature of host, guests and meal and says that the dispossessed
should be invited and given the places of friends and relatives.
Jesus is not dictating economic or
social policy. The meal, particularly the Sabbath meal, is a symbol of the
heavenly banquet where all will have a place with God at the end of time. Jesus
is saying that social standing does not dictate where one will sit with God.
Rather God recognizes the humble and those who are shorn of pretense and
self-importance. When you and I stand before God in utter vulnerability, utter
openness, in utter humility, without pretense, then we are open to God and
respond to God appropriately.
By reaching beyond Wisdom literature's
observations of the world, and by standing conventional values and behavior on
their head, Jesus is defining how you and I should worship God. Jesus is
defining ethical and religious behavior. This in turn defines who Jesus is.
Part of the messianic hope is that the blind would see and the lame walk. Jesus
is reaching out to man's sick and unadorned condition. He is saying that God
asks you and me to join Him in humility. And Jesus, as we know, goes on to be
revealed as the messiah by Himself being stripped of all honor and dignity. It
is through His degradation on the cross that Jesus is exalted and raised from
the dead.
So by talking about where you and I
sit at the table, Jesus defines our proper relationship to one another and to
God. Moreover, Jesus goes on to be defined by His own humiliation.
In summary, you and I are reminded by
today’s lectionary passage from Luke
of three things. First of all when we stand before God, our proper stance is
one of complete humility. When you and I let it all go, when we say, “it’s me,
Oh Lord”, when we stand before the ultimate and eternal power of all existence,
our status, our trappings, our social distinctions are really pathetic. I have
been present so many times when people have died to know most profoundly that
in the last analysis wealth and status don't count. The only viable posture is
humility.
Secondly, when you and I stand before
God in humility, then we stand not alone but with others in humility. Yes, we have positions and relationships
and pecking orders. But when we realize that they are superficial and don't
truly define who we are, then we can stand with
the lame, the halt, the poor and the blind. We stand not in contempt, not in
condescension, but in humility, which the precondition for love.
Thirdly, the meal, which defines our
lives, which defines our relationship to God, the meal at which you and I sit with Jesus is the meal of the
Eucharist. This is the meal, which has been prepared for us by Christ's total
dedication, humiliation and sacrifice. It is in the Eucharistic meal that you
and I participate in God's presence in the body and blood of Christ. The only
stance at the Lord's Table is one of self-surrender and humility. When you and
I join with our brothers and sisters in faith and humility, we are privileged
and exalted in a new and special way because we receive the love of God, the
forgiveness of sins, and the promise of eternal life. “Standing in the need of
prayer”, standing in faith and humility, you and I are assured by Christ Jesus
of a seat at the table of the communion of saints in God's eternal kingdom.
Amen. - Fr. Gage-
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