Monday Morning in the Preacher’s Study
First thoughts about next Sunday’s sermon
(15th Sunday
after Pentecost, Sept 1, 2013)
D. Jay Koyle
It would be easy to esteem Jesus’
words this Sunday as a reprise of shrewd social etiquette from some
ancient Hebrew Emily Post (Proverbs 25.6-7). In fact, however, today’s outtake
from Luke’s first symphonic masterpiece is a brilliant development of themes
introduced in the Gospel’s Exposition, themes that will climax in its
Recapitulation, the Passion and Resurrection narratives.
Staged in the home of a leading
Pharisee, the meal we witness today is the third recorded on route to
Jerusalem, to the appointment Jesus must keep at Calvary. (The first was in
10.38-42, the second in 11.37-54). While most translations miss it, verse one
actually refers to our Lord’s passage to this ultimate destination, saying
literally, “and it happened in his going.” Luke links this episode, then, to
the fulfillment of Jesus’ life and mission. The scene is no diversion from his
movement toward the Cross; it is integral to the journey.
Jesus speaks with great clarity
to both would-be guests and hosts. To the former he advises taking the lowest
place upon arrival at a banquet. His counsel to the latter is that they address
their festive invitations to those who have no means of returning the favor.
Each exhortation echoes themes sounded consistently throughout the third Gospel.
Luke makes it clear that in his
birth and baptism, in his table fellowship and in his death, the Son of God
identifies with those who are considered outcasts, those relegated to the
fringe of society (2.7; 3.21; 5.29; 7.39; 9.16; 13.29; 15.2; 19.5; 23.33).
Indeed from Mary’s song of praise in the opening bars of Luke (1.46-55) to
Jesus’ homecoming homily in the congregation at Nazareth (4.18-21), from the
reorienting Sermon on the Plain (6.20-26) to table turning talk of true
greatness (9.46-48; 22.24-30), this motif is sounded repeatedly.
Jesus not only speaks of this
reality; he embodies it. For Luke, table fellowship with Jesus is nothing less
than the revelation of the coming and near Reign of God.
In the eyes of the third
evangelist, the table activity of the Lord continues in the life and mission of
the Spirit-filled church. It is at table that the Risen Christ is recognized in
the midst of believers (24.28-32). In table fellowship, Christ promises the
gift of the Spirit and commissions his followers for mission (Acts 1.4-8). As
Jews and Gentiles are gathered around the table, the church fulfills its
mission and the breadth of God’s Reign is realized in its midst (Acts 11.1-18).
It would seem that today’s second
reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews reinforces the revelations of
the Lukan table. The text speaks of the mutuality of love between believers.
This phenomenon is meant to spill out and embrace the stranger, something
Christine Pohl names as a “spiritual obligation” and a “dynamic expression of
vibrant Christianity.” (Welcoming the Stranger. Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans, 1999)
Undoubtedly such hospitality may
be the most profound theological statement and the greatest gift the church can
ever offer. Sociologist Rodney Stark sketches the rise of Christianity from a
tiny Jewish sect to a dominant force in the ancient Greco-Roman world. Most new
religious movements fade away, he explains, because they quickly become closed
networks. Christianity’s rise was due to love and service on the part of
Christians. The church rolls swelled in number due to risky service not only to
one another, but also to anyone in need. (The Rise of Christianity, New
York: HarperCollins, 1997.)
With such rich texts, the
preacher can readily herald the welcoming God at work in today’s world, and the
church’s participation in this work.
For
example, today Christians of varying perspectives tend to limit the discussion
of “Eucharistic hospitality” to whether those not baptized should receive
explicit invitation to fully participate at the liturgical table. This reinforces
our tendency to see Eucharist as only something we receive rather than
something that we do and something we are.
This
Sunday, it would be timely to consider the church itself as the table of
hospitality God sets in the world. The Eucharist is missional, after all, not
because it can be employed as a tool of connecting with seekers. Eucharist is
missional because it is the action in which the church ritually discovers and
deepens its profound identification with the One who is God’s hospitality made
flesh and his ongoing work of gathering into the Kingdom.
Jay Koyle is president of The Associated
Parishes for Liturgy and Mission. He serves as Congregational Development
Officer for the Diocese of Algoma (Anglican Church of Canada). This reflection
is based on a commentary published previously in Preaching: Word & Witness.
