I meant to be there. I had the invitation. I gave an RSVP. I was going to go to the graduation, but a schedule conflict came up and I had to choose between two options. I chose not to attend.
A friend of the prominent Pharisee felt compelled to reply to Jesus with a spiritual wish. "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." (Luke 14:15b) Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests." At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
The invitation and the summons came at two different times. When the banquet was ready, the guests were informed. It was a serious insult to accept an invitation and to skip out on the dinner. The guests however seem determined to make excuses, however lame. When faced with a choice, they choose to leave.
The owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
The idea that someone else could take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God was not common to the Jewish people. They possessed the invitation to the feast. It was unthinkable that they could be denied their birthright. But it seems that a place at the feast was not automatic. It seems that a choice is implied, a willingness to participate is required.
I don't want to miss the feast. I don't wish to anger the owner of the house. When He calls me, may I choose to answer. The best way I know to recognize His voice is to practice listening to Him now. He may call me to serve, He may call me to wait. He does call me to know Him and to spend more time with Him. I must choose, I must respond. No excuses.
Leave no doubt!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Lessons from the Banquet Hall #2
#2 Be Blessed by Being a Blessing
Jesus offers his host a somewhat humorous suggestion that the tables may be turned someday. "When you give a luncheon or 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."
Did you ever wonder, "what's wrong with being repaid?" Think of it, the two men are watching the guests scramble for the best seats and Jesus tells the prominent Pharisee that his turn in the scramble is coming. You are going to look just like these people in their pride and self proclaimed honor. "And so you will be repaid."
Jesus further suggests that it may be better not to be repaid in this life. I think his lesson here is to use our earthly resources to be a blessing. Sharing our possessions with people who can be counted upon to pass them back to us is not truly giving. That is only loaning. The blessing of loaning is short-term. The fun and fellowship are great, but limited to this life. The blessing of giving is to act like God acts when He gave to us. We are to share our blessings.
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed."(14:13-14a) His advice is to give freely with those who cannot repay. This is not to create debt or obligation on the guests. This is to allow us to bless others with generosity.
Jesus has blessed us and we cannot completely repay Him. But we can be a part of His blessing to someone else.
Jesus offers his host a somewhat humorous suggestion that the tables may be turned someday. "When you give a luncheon or 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."
Did you ever wonder, "what's wrong with being repaid?" Think of it, the two men are watching the guests scramble for the best seats and Jesus tells the prominent Pharisee that his turn in the scramble is coming. You are going to look just like these people in their pride and self proclaimed honor. "And so you will be repaid."
Jesus further suggests that it may be better not to be repaid in this life. I think his lesson here is to use our earthly resources to be a blessing. Sharing our possessions with people who can be counted upon to pass them back to us is not truly giving. That is only loaning. The blessing of loaning is short-term. The fun and fellowship are great, but limited to this life. The blessing of giving is to act like God acts when He gave to us. We are to share our blessings.
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed."(14:13-14a) His advice is to give freely with those who cannot repay. This is not to create debt or obligation on the guests. This is to allow us to bless others with generosity.
Jesus has blessed us and we cannot completely repay Him. But we can be a part of His blessing to someone else.
When will we be repaid? and by Whom?
Share your blessings!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Lessons from the Banquet Hall #1
#1 Be humble.
Everyone likes to be first in line, don't we? Examples of people who act like the world revolves around them can be found without great effort. In truth, we all would like things in our lives to be smooth and easy. We like to be comfortable and prefer others to change to help us out.
Jesus noticed the guests at dinner picking the places of honor at the table. He used the picture of a wedding feast to drive home the point of Luke 14:11. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
The lesson is that you can't grab honor for yourself. Taking a place at the head table that is not yours will only get you moved out. Living as the only person with importance in the room may leave you as the only person in the room!
Jesus's story goes beyond the seating chart however. His lessons always reach for the heart and mind, to direct our attitudes. We need to have attitudes that think of others as more important than ourselves.
How can we develop humilty?
1) Be honest about our actions, accomplishments, and motivation. We don't need to pose to gain respect. (That respect will be lost when the truth is seen by all.) Compared with all the knowledge gathered by men, what I know is very little. Compared with the challenges overcome by so many, what I've achieved is very small.
Be honest, however. I'm not suggesting we run ourselves down, just don't boast or brag about anything we've done. Hard to do, isn't it?
Romans 12:3b "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."
2) Remember the One who has given us all things. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17 We aren't so big when we realize that it's all a gift.
3) Give respect to others around you. Romans 12:10b "Honor one another above yourselves."
Humility is an attitude.
"We're all in this together. I'm pulling for you!"
Everyone likes to be first in line, don't we? Examples of people who act like the world revolves around them can be found without great effort. In truth, we all would like things in our lives to be smooth and easy. We like to be comfortable and prefer others to change to help us out.
Jesus noticed the guests at dinner picking the places of honor at the table. He used the picture of a wedding feast to drive home the point of Luke 14:11. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
The lesson is that you can't grab honor for yourself. Taking a place at the head table that is not yours will only get you moved out. Living as the only person with importance in the room may leave you as the only person in the room!
Jesus's story goes beyond the seating chart however. His lessons always reach for the heart and mind, to direct our attitudes. We need to have attitudes that think of others as more important than ourselves.
How can we develop humilty?
1) Be honest about our actions, accomplishments, and motivation. We don't need to pose to gain respect. (That respect will be lost when the truth is seen by all.) Compared with all the knowledge gathered by men, what I know is very little. Compared with the challenges overcome by so many, what I've achieved is very small.
Be honest, however. I'm not suggesting we run ourselves down, just don't boast or brag about anything we've done. Hard to do, isn't it?
Romans 12:3b "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."
2) Remember the One who has given us all things. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17 We aren't so big when we realize that it's all a gift.
3) Give respect to others around you. Romans 12:10b "Honor one another above yourselves."
Humility is an attitude.
"We're all in this together. I'm pulling for you!"
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Would've, Should've, Could've
Jesus is heading to Jerusalem in these chapters. The Passover is coming shortly and the Pharisees and the experts in the law are becoming more anxious to trap this threat to their position and power. "One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched." (14:1)
"I would have . . ." "You should have . . ." Or "You could have . . ." can be good suggestions for improvement or can be symptoms of being second-guessed. The coaches of the teams that didn't make the playoffs or advance far enough have listened to the experts tell the world what and how they could have done better. The expert however has a huge advantage. They already know one thing that didn't work.
Living under a microscope is an expression we use today to describe these situations. If you've ever felt like every move you make is criticized, Jesus has been there too. Perhaps we can find some encouragement in His example.
Notice first his host, a prominent Pharisee. Jesus didn't stop associating with his critics. He went to his house, reclined at his table and ate his food. He continued to interact with the Pharisees and experts in the law. He didn't act with pride or concern for his social standing. Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee.
"There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy." (14:2) Jesus was consistent in his actions. Because the Jews were watching him carefully, I suspect the man was planted in front of Jesus. I think, because Jesus acted with compassion for the people consistently, that the Pharisees placed the man with dropsy in front of him as a test.
Lord, grant us the grace to continue working with the relationships that discourage or criticize us. Help us to see people in the ways that you do. Amen.
"I would have . . ." "You should have . . ." Or "You could have . . ." can be good suggestions for improvement or can be symptoms of being second-guessed. The coaches of the teams that didn't make the playoffs or advance far enough have listened to the experts tell the world what and how they could have done better. The expert however has a huge advantage. They already know one thing that didn't work.
Living under a microscope is an expression we use today to describe these situations. If you've ever felt like every move you make is criticized, Jesus has been there too. Perhaps we can find some encouragement in His example.
Notice first his host, a prominent Pharisee. Jesus didn't stop associating with his critics. He went to his house, reclined at his table and ate his food. He continued to interact with the Pharisees and experts in the law. He didn't act with pride or concern for his social standing. Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee.
"There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy." (14:2) Jesus was consistent in his actions. Because the Jews were watching him carefully, I suspect the man was planted in front of Jesus. I think, because Jesus acted with compassion for the people consistently, that the Pharisees placed the man with dropsy in front of him as a test.
Lord, grant us the grace to continue working with the relationships that discourage or criticize us. Help us to see people in the ways that you do. Amen.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thoughts for Theophilus
Our quiz teams are entering the second half of the season, studying in the gospel of Luke. They have been working hard and learning much Scripture and many lessons. My purpose for starting this blog is to offer an additional look at Luke's gospel. As we study the last half of the book, my goal will be to share ideas and questions that can help us apply the lessons we find here. Comments and questions are always welcomed.
Dr Luke writes to Theophilus so that he (and we) may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. He has carefully investigated everything from the beginning. He has been showing us Jesus as He lived and related with the people around Him. Not everyone was excited to have Jesus around. He challenged ideas that had been around for a long time. He rebuked those who "load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, " and "will not lift one finger to help them." (11:46)
- We have been taught many things at school, at church and among our families and peers. How can we know with certainty what and whom to believe?
- Is Jesus someone we can believe? Does His care for the put-down people show us this?
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