2013-08-29          Daniel Daring             2013 articles              2012 articles

 22nd Sunday: 
Jesus’ comments on our table manners

            Sirac 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24; Luke 14:1, 7-14

                                     (Comments welcome here)
 

Table manners matter in all cultures and they vary from place to place. Two thousand years ago, Jesus was noticing table manners in the house of a leader of the Pharisees (Luke 14:1,7). Today, the Spirit of Jesus is also noticing our table rules. She can see the difference between a relaxed meal with family and friends and a business meal with a tablecloth, china dishes, and linen napkins on the table and reserved seats only for invited guests. During that meal at the Pharisee’s house, Jesus made two comments. One to the quests: “do not sit down at the place of honour” (Luke 14:8); and one to the host: “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” (Luke 14:13). Since then, it has been seen as the lesson about humility and hospitality. However, whom was that lesson for? For the lawyers and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time? Could it be possible that the Spirit of Jesus wants also to comment on our table manners? And what would her comments be?  

Humility – How does God see me?  

We tend to impress others. We love to show off and to flaunt. It opens the way to a better and more comfortable way of life. Just consider the growing culture of VIP lounges at every airport or think about the hierarchical structure imbedded in all international flights with first, business, and economic class. It is definitively not based on humility. ‘I paid for it, so I deserve it.’ – a VIP could argue and s/he would be right. Moreover, impressing others has become a necessary skill to survive in our competing world. We take lessons on how to write a perfect resume and how to take job interview; we learn the art of advertising and effective communication; and we listen attentively to the sales experts. If that would not be enough, we even try to impress God with our piety and expect in return a special place by His table. Then, Jesus comes with his ‘humble yourself’ and sets alternative standards for us, his followers.

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1). There is nothing we can get credit for. All is grace. Our life, our achievements, our good works, and most of all our membership in Christian community. God has chosen us to be His own and He empowers us to do the things He has intended us to do. There is no need to impress or brag or choose the place of honor. All the more, there is no need to impress God. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me” (Psalm 139:1). God knows who we are and He has accepted us as we are. God sees in us the untapped potentials of becoming like Jesus and He himself works out our transformation. “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 Hospitality – How do I see others?  

Jesus does not only encourage us to shun honor. He also invites us to change our table manners. Many Christian and religious communities are segregated by different sets of tables. There are tables for leaders and superiors; there are tables for sponsors and benefactors; and there are tables for the ‘masses.’ Even food, served on those tables, differs accordingly. There is a saying that you know a person by what s/he eats, where s/he eats, and with whom s/he eats. Our table manners reveal an underlying assumption about who can be considered worthy of our company. For many centuries the so-called white Christian churches looked with contempt at people of different races, slavery was being defended with biblical passages, and native men were seen unfit for any ministerial post. Some of us tried to offer them charity, but to make them part of our communities was out of question.

This imperial attitude is challenged by Jesus. In His own striking manner, Jesus tells us to break the pattern of eating only with our own ranks and to reach towards those who are still outside of our communities, who - we have been told - are not worthy to join our meals. Charity can give us a wonderful feeling but it is whom we break bread with that truly testifies to our faith. Hospitality is about the way we see other people. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This is the pattern set for Christian community. No distinction, no discrimination, equality, and inclusiveness. All are welcomed by the table of God.  

Conclusion  

So, what is the Spirit speaking to you about humility and hospitality? Who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’? How do you see yourself in the eyes of God? How do you see and treat others? Is Jesus’ teaching inviting you to make some changes in your community or at your home? May the Spirit of Jesus empower you to follow Her nudging. It will set you and those around you free.

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