On Line Bible Study - For the Week February 21-27, 2011

Lesson 481

Luke 14: ¹ One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ² There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

⁵ Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” ⁶ And they had nothing to say.

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

I'm growing weary of this ... the ping pong match between Jesus and religious leaders of various stripes that seems never to result in a 'win'. Jesus scores more points, but he is always coming from behind. How is that possible?

Some might say it is not Jesus, but the evangelist who is tireless. Others would argue that Luke reflects the tenacity of Christ in dealing with a people who just don't want to receive the grace God is offering us.

The setting is a Pharisee's home (why do those guys continue to invite Jesus for dinner?). This is supposed to be an environment of radical hospitality. The text answers the parenthetical question: Jesus is invited so they can keep close tabs on him. Would the same be true as an explanation for why Jesus keeps accepting the invitations? Is this a situation where the devil we can see is preferable to the one we can't?

This is the seventh (and the last) time Luke presents Jesus on the Sabbath. And it is clear by now that neither side is going to back down.

I can't help but be aware of the political face off in Wisconsin - an important one in so many ways, but one that pales into insignificance when compared to what is happening in the streets of Tripoli, and what has recently happened in the streets of Cairo. And we read in the press that folks on either side of the abortion issue are gearing up for more intense battles as are those on either side of the 'Defense of Marriage' act.

The text before us is radical in part because of how completely counter-intuitive it is. We are not brought up to back down. In Viet Nam we didn't back down until we were chased out. We have long ago declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq. Our pilot-less drones are but another way of attempting to influence the political landscape through some back door. Who is going to be first at the table? Who is going to be lauded as the greatest?

Is it possible to "serve" without being proven to be "right"? Does one always have to maneuver from a position of power?

In Anthony Robinson's book Changing the Conversation he talks about a dearth of modern (or should I say post-modern) day prophets. Then he poses the question in a way that is both deft and wickedly whimsical: How can we expect to 'generate giants from a movement that is itself anemic?' "Anemic" is how he characterizes post-modern Mainline Protestantism.

Evil thrives in an environment of theological anemia. Is that what I'm feeling? Has my faith grown anemic?

Spiritual vitality does not come from sucking up (I hope that is not an offensive phrase to you ... or maybe I hope it is ...) to the power brokers and the economically elite. I'm not saying they are bad; I'm just saying that what they - and so many others of us - are desperate for is the kind of non-compromising commitment to serving, to dishing out lavishly the grace of God that Jesus embodies.

There is life at the table - of this I am certain. But if the seating arrangement is such that people are placed in some weird order of diminishing return, we need to be careful about how we are doing the math. Think ... and pray ... before you sit down.