Its been long suggested that how a person eats says a lot about what they are like.
As a parent who has tried, often in vain, to teach good table manners to my children,
I cringe when I imagine what people might be saying about them.
Who we eat with, how we eat and the customs associated with our eating
are studied by anthropologists to gain knowledge about people and our societal practices. In different parts of the world there are many varied customs associated with eating.
For example, in Afghanistan the host will ask a guest at least three times
if he or she would like more food,
and the guest should refuse at least three times before accepting.
One minister tells the story of a recent immigrant to the west who, when offered food, would always refuse, even though he was very hungry.
His western hosts thought that he was truly not hungry
and felt that it would be impolite to continue asking him to eat,
never understanding that this man was brought up in a culture
where he was taught to refuse an offer of food at least three times.
Fortunately, this misunderstanding was cleared up before anyone starved to death.
Depending on the culture, it is either considered impolite to finish all the food on a plate, or it is considered wasteful not to finish everything on the plate.
In the Orient one should never place chopsticks into food so that they stand straight up since this is only done as part of a ritual in honoring deceased relatives.
You should also refrain from using your chopsticks for anything other than eating,
for instance beating them on the table like drumsticks
and you should never use chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. Speaking of forks, real Italians never use a spoon along with their forks to eat pasta.
In Korea one must never start eating before the oldest person at the table begins to eat and one should never pour his or her own drink,
you must wait for someone else to pour a drink for you.
We have all heard that its impolite to make sounds when chewing our food,
however, in Japan, one should make a loud slurping noise when eating noodles or soup. In fact it is suggested that the taking in of cold air with the hot noodles
actually accentuates the flavour of the noodles.
In India, you never use to left hand to eat, even if you are left handed.
Even when you break a piece of bread, you use only your right hand to do so.
There do seem to be some universally accepted table manners no matter what the culture, such as not playing with or throwing your food, not talking with your mouth full, practicing good hygiene and acknowledging the host for their hospitality.

That last point is one people might have pointed out to Jesus,
considering what our text this morning tells us.
It seems that Jesus was invited one Sabbath to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee. But our text also pointedly notes that he was being carefully watched.
Clearly Jesus was not invited because the Pharisee cherished his company,
and this was no ordinary meal.
Part of the text which was not read this morning and is not part of the lectionary reading, tells of a man who was also at the meal
but who was suffering from an abnormal swelling of the body.
Such a man would hardly be invited to a meal at the home of a Pharisee,
who would have believed that those who were sick were unclean
and were suffering a just punishment for their sins.
Obviously this man is out of place and has been brought before Jesus as a test.
Even though it is the Sabbath, Jesus heals the sick man,
challenging those around him to claim that they would have done anything differently. Having dealt with the test which was presented to him,
Jesus now offers some observations of his own regarding his host and the other guests.

In Jewish tradition, often at a large meal, the table would be in the shape of a ‘U.’
The host and the guests of honour would be seated at the center of the table,
reclining on cushions rather than chairs,
and the other guests would take their seats around the table accordingly.
Where one was seated spoke volumes about the relative importance of a person
and his or her place in society.
Jesus observes how the guests jostle for position
and then speaks what can only be called admonishing words to those gathered.
When you get invited to dinner,
be careful about where you choose to sit.
Don’t think too highly of yourself by choosing the a place of honour
for someone more distinguished than you might come along and you will be humiliated, having to be moved to a less important place.
Rather, when you are invited, take the lowest place
so that you can be moved up and honoured in the presence of all the guests.
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled
and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Or as Eugene Peterson puts it,
If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to wind up flat on your face.

You can imagine the discomfort around the table
as Jesus’ words fall like bowling balls in a china shop.
People begin to look around at each other, sizing each other up.
Have I misjudged, will I be expected to move?
No doubt there were people who were convinced that they had not miscalculated
and were in their proper place.
Its quite likely that most of the guests
would have been annoyed and angry with Jesus’ audacity,
“Who does he think he is, telling us what to do?”
But Jesus isn’t finished yet.

Looking now at his host, Jesus says,
Listen, take a look around, I see what you’re up to.
Look at who you’ve invited to this meal, the who’s who of society,
all the important people, your friends, your family,
your social peers, your rich neighbours.
But next time, don’t invite only those who can repay you,
but invite the poor and the crippled, the lame and the blind.
For if you do, you will be blessed.
The poor and the crippled, the lame and the blind, will never be able to repay you
but God will at the resurrection of the righteous.
You can be sure that Jesus was not invited back to this particular Pharisee’s home.
In fact, in the rest of Luke’s gospel account
Jesus was never again invited to be a guest of a Pharisee or any religious authority.
The next time we hear of Jesus taking part in a meal, its with sinners
and the Pharisees and religious leaders are not impressed.

I think that most of us know already what Jesus was trying to get at in our text today. Don’t be too proud, rather, be humble.
Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought, think more highly of others.
And be compassionate, care for the poor and hungry,
the hurting and those who are forgotten by others.
You’ve heard me preach on this topic before, there’s nothing really new here.
Last week I said that the secret to abundant life lies,
not in the gathering up of resources,
but in the sharing of our lives through giving, serving and sacrificing.
We know what Jesus is getting at,
but we still struggle with how we will respond to Jesus’ invitation.

Have you ever gotten an invitation to a party or gathering
which you knew you wouldn’t enjoy because of the people who would be there?
A while ago I received an invitation to my 20 year High School Reunion.
While I enjoyed my time in high school,
there was absolutely no part of me that was interested in attending.
I’m not very nostalgic and I had no desire to find out what everybody was up to
and besides those who I cared about, I already knew.
Probably part of me didn’t want to deal with trying to explain
how I ended up as a minister.
You, a minister? Well I never would have thought!
For me it was better just to stay away from the whole thing.

For some of those at the Pharisee’s house,
the invitation of Jesus must have struck them the same way.
You want me to throw a party for those who are poor and crippled, lame and blind? Thanks, but I’d rather not, and please don’t invite me to any such party.
I’ll wait for when my kind of people gather.
The only problem is that the Pharisees who thought this way
didn’t understand that Jesus wasn’t really offering a choice.
When Jesus spoke of a party filled with the poor and crippled, lame and blind,
he was telling anyone who would listen that this is what the kingdom of God is like.
He was saying, this is really the only party in town.
If you want to be part of the heavenly banquet,
there’s no picking and choosing which party you’ll attend.
God is the host and he is inviting those he chooses.
We’re invited, but will we want to go?

If this is what the banquet table in the kingdom of God looks like,
maybe we need to think about what our tables look like.
Who’s sitting around our tables?
Who have we invited to our banquets?
Does our guest list reflect something of Jesus’ invitation
to be compassionate, generous and gracious,
or have we surrounded ourselves with only those who we think are good for us,
good for our social standing, good for our business relationships,
only those who can invite us back in return?

Take a look around you.
What does our church look like?
If the church is to be God’s community, reflective, albeit imperfectly,
of what God’s desire for humankind is,
how are we reflecting the kind of compassion and welcome Jesus speaks of?
Do we come to church because we know that it will be full of people just like us,
who dress like us, who look like us, who think like us, who live like us,
whose backgrounds are similar to ours,
who social standing is relatively equal to ours,
whose educational background matches ours,
or is there a more compelling reason why we gather in worship together?

Jesus speaks of a feast where all manner of people are welcome
and later in Luke Jesus says that this is what the kingdom of God is like.
The church is a community which is united
because all of us are God’s invited guests.
There’s no other party in town.
We can’t choose to wait for something more to our liking,
more with our kind of people.
Friends, all of us, all of us who are so varied,
we are all God’s kind of people.
That’s what unites us, that’s what the church is.

On the last Sunday of this month our church will host a community open house.
We are mailing out over 20,000 invitations
to people in the neighbourhoods which surround our church.
We haven’t checked the demographics.
We don’t know whether the invitations will reach people who are middle class,
upper class or struggling to make ends meet.
We don’t know whether it will be the elderly, the young or the middle aged
who will get the invitations.
We don’t know whether it will be families, married people, singles,
single mothers, or divorced people who will get the invitations.
We don’t know whether some who get the invitations will be addicted to drugs,
or struggling with other addictions.
We don’t know the lifestyles of those who will get our invitations.
We don’t know whether these will be people who are presently associated with a church, were once associated with a church or have never had a church background.

What we do know is that we are inviting them to share in the love of Jesus Christ
as part of this community, part of this church.
What we do know is that God is inviting them to a saving knowledge of his Son,
Jesus Christ, by being part of this church community.
What we do know is that the invitation reads,
“If belonging matters to you, perhaps you belong here.”
What we do know is that our new church motto is,
“Community becomes Family.”
We may have our preferences, but so does God.
And God prefers that as many people as possible, and all sorts of people at that,
come and be part of his kingdom feast.
That includes us.

Who are the people we are willing to invite into our lives?
Who are we willing to invite to sit at our tables?
Is what we do and who we associate with
geared strictly towards what can help me with this life,
or do we really believe in the resurrection and the eternal life God has promised us?
And if so, with humility and compassion,
can we do otherwise but to invite into our lives and into the family of God’s church
the people whom God loves,
all the variety of people for whom Jesus gave his life?

As I look around this church, I see how varied we are.
I am grateful to be part of this community
which welcomes anyone and everyone
who seeks the gracious, forgiving and redemptive love of God in their lives.
I know that we have worked hard at opening our doors to the community
and as we begin this new church year, along with you,
I look forward with hope and excitement
to what God will do as we continue to live as his compassionate people.
May God bless us as we serve him together,
and to his name be all the glory, now and forevermore, Amen.