20^th September 2013

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 8 September 2013

Lessons - Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 107:1-9; Luke 14:12-27

'But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame
and the blind.' (Luke 14:13)

There is much feasting in Luke's Gospel. In this episode Jesus is dining with an important religious figure. Later, he will tell a story about a father who throws an extravagant party for his wastrel son. Now he tells a parable about a Master who held a Great Banquet.

Meals are necessary for survival and friendship. They show our dependence on each other and the produce of the earth. We are known by the company we keep at meals. They can be enjoyable, festive and happy occasions or spoiled by gluttony, intemperance and conflict. They may be gulped down to satisfy our immediate hunger and thirst or savoured over conversation with friends.

This banquet must have been very important. In line with upper-class Jewish custom, prominent citizens are invited twice to feast at the table of the Master of the house. The second invitation is a courtesy. Sadly, they do not accept. 'They are blind to the insignificance of their pressing concerns in comparison with the generosity of the invitation.'
(paraphrase Eduard Scheizer)

The 'master' reacts with understandable anger. But, instead of letting their poor, lame excuses spoil the party, he sends a 'servant' to invite the poor and lame (and the crippled and the blind) from city streets (v21) and the homeless from country roads so that his 'house may be filled with guests'. (v23)

The parable is a shot across the bow of Jesus' opponents. It justifies his behaviour in dining with social outcasts, whose conditions were regarded by the religious as proof of their sinfulness. And it warns those who are smug about their social position not to close themselves to the Gospel. It describes Jesus' ministry in which he embodied God's hospitable grace and offended the religious who did not expect such people to share the festivities of the Kingdom of God at the 'resurrection of the righteous'.
(v14)

* The parable also invites disciples to take up their mission. Luke wants us to see the deeper meaning in this simple story. Unlike a similar parable in Matthew 22:9ff, he includes a second group of invitees.
Outsiders within Judaism are to be invited 'from the streets and lanes of the town' (v21), as are outsiders to Judaism itself 'from the highways and the hedges' (v23 RSV). Jesus' disciples are urged to invite outcast Jews and Gentiles to enjoy the festivities of the Kingdom of God. People from every strata of society and every corner of the world are to be welcomed to the 'Great Banquet'. 'Come,' says Jesus, 'for all is now ready.' (v17)

* The missionary aspect of the parable is seen in the dialogue between the 'master' and the 'servant'. These terms refer symbolically to the relationship between the Jesus and his disciples. The purpose of going into the streets and highways is so that 'the Lord's house may be filled with folk who taste his banquet' (vv 23,24).

Therefore the Master's invitation to come to a banquet at a particular house becomes Christ's calling to the Church to take up her worldwide mission. The more universal meaning is suggested by the fact that the Greek word for 'house' (oikos) may also mean a 'people' or a 'nation'.

The parable is an invitation to all - Jews and Gentiles, upright citizens and social outcasts - to share in the festivities of the Kingdom of God now as a foretaste of the Great Banquet that awaits us when all divisions shall be healed, the genuinely righteous shall be rewarded (v14) and all nations shall glorify God.

It is not only a word of hope for the future but a spur to action now.
Showing hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2) and inviting the poor, the lame, the crippled and the blind to participate in the Kingdom of God (Luke 14) are vital - not dispensable or optional - parts of the Church's mission.

What then are we, as a Christian community, to make of much that has gone on in the recent election campaign? Political and economic issues are often complex. Tough and unpopular decisions often have to be taken. There is not enough money to solve all the problems of the country or the world.
There is bipartisan support for a national disability scheme. Some income support is available to struggling families, single parents, the unemployed and homeless. We have an extensive immigration and refugee programme.

It is more than disappointing, therefore, to see the way in which the major parties have portrayed the arrival of asylum seekers. It is one thing to realise that Australia cannot take all refugees who arrive by boat and that they make it harder for poorer refugees to find safe haven and that something must be done to prevent vulnerable people being exploited by unscrupulous boat operators. It is quite another to demonise refugees in general as 'illegal boat arrivals' who pose a threat to national security and must be 'processed' offshore in less than satisfactory detention centres.

The situation is complex. Inevitably there will be different opinions about what can or should be done. But it is shameful that so much of the discussion has treated refugees as outcasts, like the poor, the lame, the crippled and the blind who were ignored by the upright citizens of Jesus'
day.

Have we forgotten that our political, legal and ethical traditions have been largely shaped by the revelation of God's goodness-and-mercy in Christ? Have we, like the busy citizens in the parable, become so preoccupied with our petty concerns - and anxious that politicians should satisfy them - that we have come to ignore or resent outsiders from other countries? Perhaps we - not the outcasts - are poor, lame, disabled and blind when it comes to understanding the universal scope of the Gospel?

The parable turns things upside down. As we have seen in Hebrews recently, so here in Luke, Christians are to be counter-cultural. We must not make poor, lame excuses for rejecting the invitation to take part in the festivities of the Kingdom that has come in Christ or for being blind to the need to invite upright citizens and outcasts alike to join the party.

As the Church protests the direction and tone of public discourse she must not, however, forget that her primary purpose is to point others - including politicians and refugees - to the One in whom God's grace for sinful and outcast people has been embodied. We are not called to fly a party-political flag but to invite others to the one party that celebrates the unexpected friendship of God who satisfies the needs of body and soul.

As she awaits the glorious fulfilment of history - pictured here as a Grand Banquet - the servant Church is called to proclaim the presence of God's grace in the Master who, at the cost of his life, upset social convention by welcoming outcasts as well as upright citizens into the 'house' of grace. It is a high privilege to be beneficiaries of grace in a community that is not defined by family ties, social status or political allegiance.

Enjoying the privileges of grace brings with it great responsibility. That is why the parable ends on such a jarring note! Jesus' speaks shockingly about 'hating one's family and oneself' (v26).

We must be very careful not to misinterpret these strong words, as is done by sectarian groups who separate people from their families. According to the Semitic mind, this way of speaking expresses a clear preference for one loyalty over another. Eating and drinking with our own families, friends, ethnic groups, et al, is right and good. It is a pleasure to share news and support one another across the generations. But family meals and everyday tasks must not take priority over our calling to invite others - including the poor and lame - to the festivities of the kingdom of grace that has come amongst us in Jesus.

May this parable be a challenge and an encouragement to us to demonstrate the hospitality of God with a joy that comes from knowing the undeserved love of God for us and everybody. Let us be ready to invite and welcome 'unexpected others' to the grace-filled table of our Lord and Master. Let us rejoice as we look forward in hope to the time promised by Isaiah (25:6-
9) and present in Christ's life, death and resurrection, when evil and death shall be completely destroyed: when all nations shall rejoice at the grace of God in a banquet to outdo all banquets.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.