Remnant Ramblings - April

In Luke 14, Jesus fins himself attending a dinner held at the house of a well-known Pharisee. At this dinner, his hosts again try to humiliate Jesus by placing a man suffering from dropsy in front of Him. The man was a test, probably unable to walk and with multiple tumors. He was not somebody who was normally invited to the house of a Pharisee. They thought if Jesus healed the man He would be guilty of disobeying the Sabbath law. Then the Pharisees could use his disobedience to make Jesus look bad before the people. After all, it was wrong to do work on the day of rest. Knowing something was up, Jesus asked his hosts, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" They were silent at his questioning, for if something of value to them was lost on the Sabbath, would they not do what was necessary to retrieve it themselves?

Those surrounding Jesus did their best to be seen in a positive light by the people of Israel. They were the 'in' crowd, an exclusive group. Not just anyone was welcomed to eat with them. They wanted Jesus to look bad in front of them. That's why the man with the disease was there. They wanted Jesus to mess up. After all, he was a troublemaker in their eyes, someone who upset the social balance. How dare he upset the system?

Maybe we're all too familiar with the class warfare idea, cliques, and exclusive groups. Perhaps we identify with the individuals in the text: the Pharisees, who think they're more special than the rest, the diseased outcast, or maybe even Jesus. Maybe we can identify with wanting the status of belonging to the 'in crowd'. This was the concern of Jesus in Luke 14:12-14. He said, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed."

Jesus was not saying, don't eat meals with your family members or that we shouldn't invite our friends over for dinner, but His message was to show hospitality to all. So often, we miss the people who need Jesus most because we are too busy paying attention to those who already are accepted, who get noticed. But who will reach out to those who are forgotten? In Matthew 25:40, Jesus states it from another perspective, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." When we extend hospitality to others, when we treat them well and allow them to be a part of the 'family', we are extending what Christ has extended to us.

With love in Christ,
Pastor Drew