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Lk 14:1, 7-14
Dear Friends,
The Gospel passage generally has many levels. Today it seems that Jesus is offering some practical advice. It touches on two strong customs in his day: hospitality and reciprocity. Both were wedded to the idea of status and recognition rooted in false values of prestige, power and privilege: “You do something for me and I will return the favor” “I welcome you to my private and special club!”
Jesus, however, is going much deeper. Jesus’ teaching is about the transformation of the false values of the world. He is proclaiming the truth of the Kingdom. The foundational teaching is humility. This means recognizing who God is and who we are. It is about the Creator and the creature. We are being called to a humble discipleship that recognizes the presence of God in all, especially, the poor, neglected and marginalized. We are being called to a new mindset, a sharing of the vision with Jesus in identifying and serving in a humble attitude that exalts the other not ourself.
Jesus offers us two practical ways that have far ramifications in opening the wonders of the gospel message. This enlightenment draws us into the mystery of Luke’s theme of reversal. Service prevails over prestige and privilege. Humility reigns so clearly in contrast to the world’s exaltation of self in wealth, power and prominence.
The honor/shame system and the self- serving reciprocity program of Jesus’ day and our day gives way to the challenge of the gospel. Jesus is calling for a revolutionary change of mindset that penetrates our heart and lifestyle.
Luke places today’s teaching in the context of a meal. Much of the evangelist’s teachings are presented in the sharing of a meal. It has been said we can eat our way through the Gospel of Luke. Obviously, Jesus was always inviting his followers into a much more profound level of human experience than practical table know-how. He is always drawing us into the presence of God that opens the stuff of daily life to the deepest mystery.
Luke puts special emphasis on Jesus’ mission to turn the world upside down. He puts great importance on the theme of reversal: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11).
Today’ teachings are given in the form of parables. The message is about the Kingdom: the great reversal that is to come. We are called to receive the poor and the lowly. There we will find God. The great and powerful of this world will find their fate woefully lacking and diminished in the new upside-down world of the Kingdom. The call for us in this great reversal is to go beyond writing a check or giving a handout to true hospitality.
Hospitality in Jesus’ teaching is not a token gesture but true sacrifice and involvement with those in need in our midst. Too often, it is about fundraising and not service, feeling good and not self-giving that draws us out of our narrow comfort zone.
Jesus was challenging the deeply entrenched and self-serving customs of his day: a distorted sense of hospitality and reciprocity. Jesus is calling us to truly go beyond our self-interest to share our table and our life with those in our midst in need. This is no easy task. It shares the uprooting and world-shattering dimensions of all of Jesus’ teaching. Too often, the ordinary practices of our helping those in need prove to be an obstacle and a hindrance to the message of Jesus in today’s Gospel. More frequently than not, it is about self-satisfaction rather than personal sacrifice.
In the great reversal of God’s Kingdom, God will be the host. As Luke teaches us in the Magnificat (Lk 1:51-53) and the Beatitudes and the Woes (Lk 6:20-26) the poor and neglected will have a special place. The way of the world that wraps self-serving activity in the twisted activities of false hospitality and reciprocity, will come to a crashing conclusion. God, as the host of the heavenly banquet, will readily take care of all the humbling and exalting. This is the Good News: all have an invitation to the table. The guests will be measured by service not by prestige and wealth. The ticket is a heart and life committed to truly helping those who are in need.
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