Rev. Dr. Rebecca L. Kiser

      Table Manners  (God’s)          

9/1/19     Pentecost    Luke 14:7-14

            I like it that Jesus did a lot of teaching around meals and tables, and drew many illustrations about the realm of God about meals and tables.  I like it because, of course, I like to be around tables and meals myself.  I like to gather around tables for meals with people - church people, neighborhood people, people at conferences and any other people - because that’s where I get to know them.  I find out whether they’re uptight and really don’t want to be there, unable to relax; or I find out that they are gracious and comfortable; or they may show up as rude and opinionated; or pleasant and fun.  Mostly we begin to know one another better; and what I like the most, we start to share stories. 

            My favorite cartoon strip is Calvin and Hobbes, which we have now only on the internet and if we bought books.  That cartoonist, Bill Waterson, always hit the nail on the head, didn’t he?  I googled “Calvin & Hobbes at the dinner table” and it brought up hundreds to strips of Calvin throwing wild fits over what looked like green slop on a plate, or sculpting it into something, or pretending to be a dinosaur, or grossing out Susie at school lunches.  My favorite is the one where his dad tells him that the alien food will turn him into a mutant, and he digs in. 

            My own kids picked up the idea of alien food, and I heard no end of that while they were younger.  If I got angry about it, the table was tense.  I learned to just say something like, “Well, we were out of good stuff so I used cat food.”  That usually quieted things down. 

           

            Today’s text from Luke is another table and meal story about and from Jesus.  It starts out sounding like 1st Century Ann Landers, with Jesus giving sage advice about a culture where honor and place were important ways of respecting those with honor, or perhaps money....  Important people sat at the head tables - we do that too, the honoree of a meal being up front, the bride and groom having a special table maybe with the wedding party.  It was more a daily thing in Jesus’ era - assuming you were special enough to be at the head table, it would be devastating to be asked to move for someone else.  Much better to be found by the host and “promoted,” demonstrating your higher honor.  Okay, that’s pretty obvious. 

            Jesus uses this commentary about honor, or pride, or perhaps hubris, to go more deeply into the concept of humility.  Not a false humility that is always saying, “Who, poor little me? No, I don’t play well enough to get the solo part,” when everyone knows you’re the best violinist in the school and you always get 1’s at the contests.  And Jesus isn’t talking about performance anyway - he’s talking basic human worth.  And in God’s eyes, each of us is equally worthy and equally unworthy at the same time. 

We’re equally worthy because the image of God is built into each of our creation; because God deemed it suitable to redeem each of us through sending Christ Jesus. God desires that each person in the world know God as best they can, and live in the realm of God even now on earth.  Not just Americans, not just light-skinned people, not just middle class people, not just one political party or another, not just educated people, not just articulate and well-spoken people, not just people who bathe daily and have straight teeth - God means everybody.  The children picking through garbage in sprawling cities, darker-skinned women wearing head covers, people in government housing,  homeless people under bridges, wealthy people, people who are illiterate and who smell bad, immigrants and refugees, criminals as well as victims.  God is totally indiscriminate in who God wants to find capital-L-Life and restoration.

We are equally unworthy because no one could ever earn God’s care based on our own deeds, or what illustrious family name we bear, or what position we hold in our country.  There’s nothing really for us to judge ourselves better than another as far as God’s concerned. We are unique individuals, born by chance into the situation we are in, each of us are gifted in certain ways, and each of us need, NEED, to recognize God, be restored and renewed by the Holy Spirit, and begin the journey of  the disciple. “Take on my yoke,” Jesus said, “and learn of me.” Let me lead you, school you, guide you, teach you.  And actually you will find that my yoke is easy and my burden light.  For I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

So there’s no reason to think of ourselves as better or more important than any other.  Or to see any other person as less worthy of welcome than another person.  At one church I served, we gained several members of a family who were, say, not middle class, and not able to give large amounts even if they tithed.  They loved God and worked diligently for our church, although some of the more wealthy folks didn’t know how to talk to them.  At a meeting one night, I was urged to find us some new members who could help more with the budget!  I got angry - and also sad - at the obvious discrimination going on, and called them on it.  God’s church is not a country club, nor a homogeneous group of self-selected people who are alike.  God’s church is the company of believers, all worthy as well as unworthy, all seeking to know and serve God, all on the journey to show God’s realm to the world and carry God’s message of love and care, and the promise of salvation of the world.  Poorer people are not less valuable than richer people.  People NOT like “us” are no less valuable than people LIKE “us.”  In the church, Jesus says, there is no us and them - we are all “US.”

Since this is a communion Sunday and we are gathered around THIS table, Jesus’ words are especially meaningful. As we partake in this taste of the fruits and grains of the earth, we acknowledge the abundance of food and nourishment here in God’s world, and give thanks.  Eating of the world’s store is a sacred gift, without which our species would die.  At the same time, we acknowledge that God sustains us in spiritual ways as well, nourishing our souls on what Jesus calls the Living Bread of heaven.  Communion recognizes the special and complex creations that we are, both made of the dust of the earth while also quickened by the breath of God; and that we are set in a community of others, social and communal creatures, who are as vitally important as ourselves.   This is God’s design.

As we share the bread and cup here, we are aware that we are sharing with each other, all the same.  Usually the servers and the pastor go last, to show that we’re not any more special than  anyone else.  In one church I served, the servers and the Pastor went first, which felt weird to me until they explained that in their training, the pastor and leaders led into sacrifice and service for the world. Both ways were showing the great egalitarian table of God.

And also as we share this cup and bread, we recognize that we are sharing with Christ-followers in other churches in our community - people in other denominations. We are sharing with believers all over Syracuse, and all over New York.  We are sharing with Christ’s disciples in other states, and actually in other countries.  Our sisters and brothers in this family of God may be in countries where they are being persecuted, or have to meet secretly.  Some of them are in places where wars are going on.  Some of them are soldiers in various armies.  Some of them are perhaps imprisoned. Some are starving.  Some have no roof over their church.  Some of them have fled abusive families.  Some of them are trying to enter our country’s borders, and perhaps some are working to keep them out.  Some want to be included and some are uncomfortable with including them.

Yet we are announcing our oneness, our unity, by the very partaking in this same sacrament.  I admit that we haven’t worked out our oneness and unity very well on the larger scale.  We understand unity better when folks are more like us; however, we are actually one with all persons despite our differences.  We are all God’s, because this is God’s table.  God is the host and God is the inviter - we are simply among those invited. There’s no place for pride here. There’s only place for love, and welcome, and support, and sharing. 

God’s vision for people is all-encompassing.  It challenges our more limited vision to expand and grow.  That may feel uncomfortable, even as we come to this table to partake.  Yet we partake with all anyway, know it or not, like it or not, comfortable or uncomfortable. 

May God’s vision inspire us to rethink, to ponder, to reconsider the implications of coming to this table; and may God’s Spirit lead us in showing our oneness and love to the world.  AMEN.