Talking Over a Meal

Week Three - Day 3

Today's Reading -- Luke 12:35 to Luke 14:35

Jesus was often criticized for the company he kept and the people with whom he shared meals.  It was usually the Pharisees who complained that he ate with tax collectors and sinners, including a woman whose sins were known to the whole community.  So, it is interesting that Jesus was frequently invited by Pharisees to be a table guest in their homes.  There were occasions when they wanted to engage him in conversation about his teachings and activities among the people, and times when they wanted to watch him to see if he was going to break one of the laws or commandments.  The account in chapter 14 seems to be the latter, and Jesus has joined the leader of the Pharisees for a meal on the Sabbath, and we are told that they were watching him closely.

In my experience, if you watch Jesus closely you’re going to see and hear things you didn’t expect because we can be so certain as to what he will do in any given situation.  Jesus, however, doesn’t do what we think he should; instead, he reveals what God would want us to do.  During this one meal Jesus does and says quite a lot.  First he challenges the lawyers and Pharisees with a legal question:  “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?”  This is not just a theoretical question because standing there before them all is a man with physical ailment.  The lawyers and Pharisees remain silent.  We can imagine them wanting to say no, it is not lawful, but hesitate because of the man right in front of them.  For Jesus, caring for someone in need is not about proper timing but about timeless compassion.

Jesus’ other comments at dinner are aimed first at the other guests whom he saw jockeying for the best seats at the table.  Using the image of a wedding banquet (a frequent reference to the future Messianic Banquet where all people will be gathered before God), Jesus tells the guests that no one should think too highly of themselves in the eyes of the host.  While all will be welcomed to the banquet it will remain within God’s prerogative to design the seating chart and assign places as God sees fit.  Jesus’ other comments are saved for the host, whom he implores to forget about inviting your rich neighbors or friends.  Not only do they not need your food, they will only return the favor and invite you to their house for a meal.  You basically swap food with each other and neglect those who truly are hungry or in need of a helping hand.  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  Think about your eternal salvation, Jesus says, for God will look favorably upon your honest generosity to your brothers and sisters in need.