The mentality of the disciple. Luke 14:7-14
INTRODUCTION
The key words in today’s gospel passage are
humility and charity. Jesus preached what he practiced. While
participating in a banquet offered by a leading Pharisee, Jesus taught
how a disciple should be humble to inherit a better position at the
eternal banquet in heaven. The advice of Jesus to the host was to invite
the poor who cannot return any favor to him so that God would reward the
host. God will reward our humble services for the less fortunate. Jesus
humbled himself during his trial and death that led to his glorification
by God the Father. Like the advice Jesus gave to the sons of Zebedee,
let us focus on participating in the mission of Jesus. Then the
recognition would follow in due time.
The mentality of the disciple.
Conduct of Invited Guests and Hosts.
(12) Then he said to the host who invited
him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they
may invite you back and you have repayment. (13) Rather, when you hold a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; (14)
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For
you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Interpretation
Background
The setting of today’s gospel passage was a banquet
that Jesus attended on a sabbath at the house of a leading Pharisee. The
people in attendance were closely observing Jesus because of the clash
between Jesus and his opponents on the observance of sabbath. During
that banquet, Jesus healed a man with dropsy even though the Scribes and
Pharisees did not answer to his question of whether it was lawful to
cure on the sabbath. Jesus disagreed with their lack of charity as part
of sabbath observance. Jesus made use of the dinner setting, to teach
the guests and the host on the importance of being humble and charitable
to become a true disciple of Jesus.
Just as the people were observing Jesus on his
extraordinary behavior, Jesus was also watching the inappropriate
behavior of the guests. They were competing for places of honor like his
disciples who had been competing for position in the kingdom of God that
Jesus was going to establish. Jesus was not against an eligible person
taking his seat of honor. However, ineligible people were also trying to
occupy higher seats and were getting humiliated by the host because he
had to honor the distinguished guests. Jesus’ intention was not to teach
them on how to behave in a banquet, but as a parable to teach a moral
lesson on humility needed for a disciple. The behavior in a secular
situation is also the reflection in the spiritual mentality of the
person.
According to the Jewish wedding custom during the
time of Jesus’ public ministry, people were reclining on cushions around
a low-level table for banquets. The prominent persons were in the middle
and others were on the two sides of a U-shaped table setting. Though
seats were not pre-assigned, guests were supposed to know where to
recline. Once the guests seated themselves, the host would come to see
the guests as given in the parable of the wedding garment. (Matthew
22:11). That might be the time when the host would ask a low status
person who took the prominent seat to move to a low-rank seat for a more
honorable guest. So, Jesus said, since the guests were not aware of who
all were invited, better to keep a low profile when seated so that a
humiliation might not happen later.
Since the host used to come and check the seat
taken by guests later, or since the prominent guest had arrived last,
there were not many seats left. So, the over-proud person would be asked
to give his seat for the prominent guest. He would be humiliated in
public to change his seat and he would end up getting the least
prominent seat.
The humble guest would be honored in public when
the host would promote him to a more prominent seating in the banquet.
If one would occupy the least prominent seat, there was no chance of
shame and only opportunity for higher position. Jesus said in Mathew
23:12: “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who
humble themselves will be exalted.” This is not a new teaching by Jesus
but an adaptation of proverbs 25:6-7. “Claim no honor in the king’s
presence, nor occupy the place of superiors; For it is better to be
told, ‘Come up closer!’ than to be humbled before the prince.”
There is no chance for exaltation by others for a
person who boasts himself. Whereas, humility is honored in secular and
spiritual life. Jesus put in action in his life what he taught. Though
Jesus could escape himself from the enemies any time, by the end of his
public ministry he humbled himself to be crucified with maximum disgrace
after which God the Father exalted him on the third day from the grave.
Blessed mother of Jesus when she was selected to be the mother of the
Savior, she humbled herself and offered her service to Elizabeth.
Pride and boasting of oneself are indignity in the
secular life and sin in the spiritual realm. For God, pride and
disregard for less fortunate are sins. Jesus presented examples of proud
characters such as rich man in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus,
the unreconciled elder son in the Story of the Prodigal Son, and the
Pharisee in the story of the Pharisee and Publican who went to pray. The
Pharisees were proud people who considered themselves as separate and
dignified than most people who were low in material and spiritual
resources. But their pride, and disregard for those lower than
themselves would lead to their humiliation in front of God.
Jesus turned his focus of discourse from the guests
to the host. He had often attended the lunch and dinner offered by
Pharisees and Publicans. They did not mix as we also do in the modern
world. All of them used to invite their friends, relatives, or people of
their economic and social status. When we make a list of whom to invite
for a banquet we host, we usually select people who had invited us for
the dinner they had hosted. Jesus found no spiritual merit in such an
invitation. It was self-rewarding. Instead, he wanted to teach his host
how he could get credit from a banquet in front of God by feeding those
who do not have food to eat or to return any favor. Then the repayment
would come from God. “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the
LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.” (Proverbs 19:7).
Jesus taught and acted differently from the rabbis
of the time. In contrast to the popular belief of the time, Jesus
considered “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” as dear to
God. Though Jesus did not offer any dinner for such people because he
could not afford to do so, he did more than a banquet by healing them.
So besides, offering food that was mentioned as an example in the
context of banquet, Jesus wants us to offer help for all those who are
physically, mentally, economically weak. The best approach would be to
help them resolve their problems with a developmental or self-help
approach. Christian churches have been doing such missionary work
throughout the centuries.
Jesus did not demand a non-meritorious service. All
our contributions on behalf of God would be rewarded. “Then people will
say, ‘Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who
judges the earth.’" (Psalm 58:11). “The LORD has rewarded me according
to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has
repaid me.” (Psalm 18:20). This is confirmed in the description of the
Final Judgement when, “the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me …”
(Matthew 25: 34-25).
1. Honor and respect are not
something that we should demand or claim for ourselves. They will come
now or later when others realize that we deserve them. A Christian
should be a humble servant of others imitating Jesus who washed the feet
of his disciples.
2. The society would often detest those who seek
honor and those who complain on the lack of recognition. If we work for
reward in this world, the Lord will not give credit for that in heaven.
3. Let us be humble and considerate to others so
that God would compensate for our humility and charity in the world to
come. In the parable of non-considerate Rich man and humble Lazarus,
their fate was reversed in their life after death.
4. Our hospitality and service just for wage or
recompense from people are not meritorious before God. So, let us find
means to transform our resources as investment for afterlife by
supporting the less fortunate so we can be at the right hand of God at
the final judgement.
5. Jesus said to his disciples who returned after
their ministry: “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."
(Luke 10:20). More than the rejoicing at the success of our selfless
labor and honor from others, let us assure that our names are written in
the Book of Life by our meritorious acts of charity.