Rev Gav
How do we live the right way up in an upside-down world?
Reflect
Luke 14.1,7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
In first century Palestine, social status played an important part in Roman, Greek, and Jewish life. In fact, the desire to gain a higher social status seems to be a key facet within most cultures, including our own western contemporary culture.
The pursuit of social status may well have its evolutionary roots in a natural desire to seek the benefits of improved access to resources and security, but it also provides the psychological rewards of ego-boosting from the approval of others, and a sense of belonging from being part of a more elite societal group.
Throughout human history, the pursuit of social status became inculturated, where the opportunities for gain were defined by the social and economic norms of the day. In other words, gaining status in first century Rome would employ different methods to gaining status in modern-day New York City, however the underlying human nature was and is the same.
The pursuit of social status provides a kind of feedback loop. For every rung on the ladder we climb, our egos are boosted, and a bigger ego requires feeding, and the food is to acquire a greater social status. Each rung of the ladder represents a more elite, and typically smaller group, with the ultimate destination to make it to the very top.
In humans, the psychological benefits, outweighing the social or reproductive benefits to a family, become an end in themselves — in fact there is scientific evidence that the pursuit of social status in individuals has a detrimental impact on marriage, relationships, and child-bearing.
The pursuit of social status is also at the heart of narcissism, and it is no surprise to find narcissistic social climbers at the top of the ladder, whether they be Roman Caesars or national dictators, where the desire for approval of others to meet the ego is so great that it demands deific worship.
The way of Jesus turns the way of human nature and of culture upside-down. More than simply explaining that the Kingdom of Heaven operated under a different model, Jesus actively lived out the model and urged his disciples and followers to do the same. It wasn’t enough to observe culture but it was imperative to live in it — through words and actions — in a counter-cultural way; to live and have one’s being by kingdom values and not by earthly values.
And so, in today’s reading, we come to a very ordinary, practical, and everyday occurrence — the communal meal.
Jesus challenged the pursuit of social status by instructing people on how they should select their seats, but then went further.
Pastor and theologian, Simon Cross, explains that the power behind the pursuit of social status is the value of reciprocal or mutual benefit — exemplified by the maxim, “You help me and I help you.”
Jesus turns this upside-down by suggesting that we, his followers, bless those who cannot bless us in return. When applied to a meal, this means inviting those who are unable to invite us back — the poor, crippled, lame, and blind.
Jesus himself instituted a communal meal, one that is at the core of every Christian community. Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, the breaking of bread, or whatever you want to call it, is not just a thanksgiving or means by which God confers grace, but a defiant, countercultural expression of equity — the great leveller — where we all kneel (physically or metaphorically) alongside each other and receive, no matter what social status we may be.
This kingdom principal or value of blessing can be applied, not just to communal meals but to any social interaction or life event, for example, those with whom you decide to stop and talk with on the street or to whom you offer a ride home after a function.
The bottom line is that we are called to live the right way up in an upside-down world, and to live out humbly the way of Jesus wherever we may find ourselves.
So, today, may you be the blessing that God created you to be — not just to those who can repay you, but, importantly, to those who never will.
Amen.
and then
Delete Reply
Are you sure you want to delete this Reply?
Yeah, this is a sore spot for me. In church after church, Christian after Christian, this principle of equity and communion as equals is ignored, every bit as bad as what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians and James in his book. It really disturbs me and makes me want to go all turning over tables with a whip! Jesus was God though, and I am not. So, I fight it as best as I can with as much love as I can muster up.
Delete Reply
Are you sure you want to delete this Reply?
C.S.I. wrote:
I hope we can make FAB Church different. x