Anna E. Rosas, Inquirer in the PCUSA
September 1, 2019
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Good Morning
Who didn’t think they would be here this Morning?
I’m your typical Miami native who didn’t put her shutters up, bought minimal water, and prepared by buying snacks and sharing hurricane Memes on social media. We natives seem flippant, about hurricanes don’t we?
I promise we’re not. We’ve just seen this over and over. Year after year a threat of a storm that veers North, South and diagonal. We have hurricane parties for under a CAT 3 because we know in the flesh the damage a CAT 5 can produce. Being a Miami native of certain age means we were here when Andrew came ashore and that’s our standard. That’s our reference point. We know the devastation a hurricane can produce. We know people who lost their roofs and weathered the storm with a mattress over their heads. Hurricane Andrew was as bad as we all say it was, it was a tragedy that changed people’s lives forever. And as seared as these hard memories are in our heads we also have stories where the grace of God SHINED through in the midst of Andrew.
My family was lucky after Andrew. Our home was fine and we didn’t even lose power. Providentially my mom had just become friends with our neighbor Franco who lived about 2 blocks away. When the hurricane passed we meandered over and told him that we had power. He was so happy. He had lost his power so he brought to our house ALL the food in fridge and freezer. Two turkeys, steaks, fish and who knows what else. Being a good Spaniard he loved food and the possibility of making food. After the storm, he invited everyone he knew into his home for dinner and conversation since his gas stove was still working.
So every day for about 2 weeks. My mom would bring over the cold food and he would cook it .The people he invited would bring wine, bread and whatever else they had. It was a glorious, HOLY potluck in the midst of strewn power lines and the shock of a storm that turned Homestead into a matchstick parking lot.
Every night, by candlelight we broke bread in Franco’s home and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. We were from all over Peru, Spain, Nicaragua, Argentina, Broward, Cuba, even someone from Russia. We were gay, straight, male and female, Christian and atheists some owned apartments in Paris, while others lived paycheck to paycheck. It was a sight to behold.
There’s something magical about breaking bread and drinking drink in community isn’t there?
Fellowship around a table can rarely be beat and Luke the author of our text, thinks this too. Luke gives us story after story around tables with food and drink. Luke turns the everyday into “a symbol of life in God’s reign”. The culmination being the Lord’s super but the passage we just read gives us a glorious glimpse into the kingdom of God which God graciously rules over.
The text before us today is set at pompous dinner table with Pharisees and the like. And Jesus being Jesus calls them out because well He’s the Messiah and you know it’s what the Son of God does…
At a first reading of the text it is obvious that Jesus calls out the people for not being humble and for taking places of honor that aren’t found in the kingdom of God. He also calls out the host, by saying “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.”
This scripture is about humility and loving on the poor, no?
Straight Forward no? Well… Yes and No.
Yes because it’s written right there in plain Greek.
And no because Jesus was also in the process of breaking down cultural oppressive norms. The society where this story takes place was very set in its ways and customs. It was hierarchical and fixed. It followed social norms based on the ways of the world. The rich were elevated while the poor not so much.
Jesus being radically counter cultural, was painting the dinner guests a clear sharp picture of the kingdom God. He was lifting up the poor AND ALSO about transforming the imagery of the table.
Put yourself in that scene for a second. Close your eyes. Do you hear the dinner guests sneering at Jesus? Do you see the Pharisees rolling their eyes at the Savior and Messiah?
Open your eyes.
Jesus knew who he was and what his mission was so he didn’t care, he didn’t mind… the sneers and eye rolls rolled off his back.
Jesus was, and is, redeeming the world and the table which had been exclusionary for way too long. He is telling the dinner guests and us here today No this table, this food, this drink is FOR EVERYONE. AND WE know that everyone means people different than us male and female, rich and poor etc. We know this because we do not come to this text empty handed we come to this text with the depth and breadth of the entire cannon of scripture. We can interpret this text alongside Acts 2, the early church AND with Paul who writes “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” This is the good news of the gospel.
So Brothers and Sisters this text is both a glimpse into the kingdom of God but also a strong admonition. Jesus’ rebuke of the behavior around the table excites me because in one breath Jesus is saying DO BETTER and He’s ALSO saying “Hey come work with me to bring about the kingdom of God, Come work with the Spirit to reflect the truth the kingdom of God already embodies. This admonition is also a gift. Because to participate in the kingdom of God is an unexplainable gift and that makes me enthusiastic. And brothers and sisters we are being invited to do Better.
The early church we hear of in Acts 2 got the message Loud and Clear. After all, Luke tells us in that story that they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”
Do we the church get it today in 2019?
What does Jesus’ call around the table look like for you and me?
For Riviera?
Because I’m a tad type A, I asked Barbie if I could stop by on Tuesday to check out the sanctuary and get a feel for the pulpit and space. Something that surprised me and struck me were the round tables or what I saw/see as dinner tables.
The imagery is beautiful.
You see it right?
Dinner tables in the Sanctuary of our God.
Dinner tables where food and drink are served.
Dinner tables alongside the Communion Table.
Dinner tables where EVERYONE is invited.
This space, where we are in right now speaks to, calls to and echoes, what Luke is doing in this Gospel around the table.
One of the most meaningful ministries I’ve ever been a part of us was a Thanksgiving meal that my last church put on. We catered it from Versailles which sells both turkey and lechon. We would buy all the trimmings plus pie and punch. And since I was ordering there was an abundance of food. It was a suggested donation of 30.00 bucks but you didn’t have to pay ahead of time. All you had to was drop the money in a locked box with slot if you had it. Those with more funds were encouraged to do donate for those who couldn’t afford it.
Let me tell you sisters and brothers. It was a sight to behold. Different countries, ethnicities, races, economic backgrounds. Young and old, single and married, Doctors and people who were fun employed all gathered at the table. These image bearers mixed and mingled, and broke bread next to strangers who soon became more than just table mates. The last time I did this, these mix of people held an off the cuff hymn sing at an out of tune piano. It was loud, off key and it was holy. Good things happen, beautiful things happen when the kingdom of God is present on earth around a table.
So Sisters and brothers this text and the Bible as a whole encourages us and heeds us to participate in the radical Kingdom of God by mixing and mingling with people different than us.
I encourage you to create opportunities where food is abundant and where drink freely flows and where all can attend.
I encourage you to upend our modern day societal norms and reflect the kingdom of heaven.
I encourage you to foster these moments, at your work, at your school, in your neighborhood, and in this space. I encourage you to use moments like a hurricane to find folk who are not like us and to break bread, drink good drinks alongside them. Jose Andres the famous Spanish Michelin stared chef understands this call all too well. He started a nonprofit which feeds EVERYONE after a tragedy. He spent months in Puerto Rico cooking and breaking bread alongside EVERYONE rich, poor, young and old, male and female. It should come as no surprise that he proclaims his faith on Twitter in the same breath that He proclaims that his Food trucks are at the ready in the Bahamas.
So brothers and sisters eat drink and be merry with the whole gamut of the children of God.
Thanks be to God who gives us good food and good tables.
Amen.