Scripture Lesson: Luke 14:13-14
May 2018
“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and the you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." ~ Luke 14:13-14
Luke’s gospel’s includes several gems for your spiritual growth. It conveys a special interest in the oppressed and the outcasts of society which Christian are expected to honor. It also conveys a sustained emphasis on the universalism of the gospel message with particular reference to Gentiles and Samaritans because Luke was himself a Gentile. As you know, Jews considered Gentiles and Samaritans as spiritually less important and less holy than they, themselves. And Luke’s gospel has the only story of Jesus between his birth and public ministry, the episode in the temple at age 12, when Jesus teaches the teachers. Finally, some of the best-loved parables, the Good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, are found only in Luke’s gospel.
You get a different picture of Jesus in Luke’s gospel, it portrays a Jesus who is both gracious and sever; you see the tender and compassionate side of Jesus in the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector who climbed the tree to see Jesus and Jesus responds in Luke 19, “come down immediately, I must stay at your house today.” You see the demanding side of Jesus in the 26th verse, Jesus demanded undivided loyalty, and the Contemporary English version puts it this way, “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.”
Most people would agree that Jesus is teaching about the need for humility in our text. There are unfortunately many definitions of humility – some think that it is putting other people’s needs above their own, some think that humility is downplaying their strengths, some think it is pretending not to notice or care when people take advantage of them, some think that it is never making time for themselves, some think that humility is never having a desire, some think that humility is doing without so that others might have what they need. The only definition of humility we should be interested in, and the only definition that matters, comes from Jesus. Jesus defines humility as thinking of the needs of others while also thinking about your own needs. What is the difference between the many human definitions and Jesus definition? The difference is balance, maintaining equal weight on both sides of the caring equation as you do for yourselves and you do for others.
Why Jesus’ preference for the poor? Since God the Father, God the Creator, had a preference for the poor, and since Jesus was with God from the beginning, then it stands to reason that Jesus had the same preference for the poor also from the beginning. The poor, the disinherited, the nearly forgotten are such for numerous reasons both those in their control and those beyond their control. The poor are poor for such reasons as drugs, gambling, bad choices, and mixed up priorities, but also because of calamities and hardships beyond their control such as sickness (most Americans are one major health crisis away from poverty), fraud, paying more for everything because they have no credit or bad credit, having no grocery stores in their neighborhoods but instead needing shop at pricey convenient stores, and being targeted by the lottery and other get rich quick schemes.
Spiritual etiquette is both simple and complicated, it asks you to be giving toward those nearest to you – friends, relatives and neighbors while also giving equal attention to the outcasts of society – the poor, the crippled, the lamed, and the blind. It is simple to give good things to your friends, relatives, and neighbors but the complicated part is giving good things to the poor, the crippled, the lamed, and the blind because that is what God and Jesus expect of you. Spiritual Etiquette demands that you humble yourself and always keep a balanced perspective, Romans 12:3 puts it this way, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: 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.” Spiritual etiquette demands that you consider all that God does for you and in turn, you must do your best in doing for others, remembering as you do all that you do, your hands are God’s hands used to transform lives.
You must continue on your spiritual journey because you haven’t achieved spiritual perfection; Jesus knows that you don’t need to be perfect but only good enough, you need to be balanced spiritually and personally. You need to have Jesus’ definition of humility buried deep within your heart. You need to maintain a balance between taking care of your needs and taking care of the needs of others, certainly your loved ones, but also the stranger in your midst, Hebrews 13:2 puts it this way, “do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” To live a balanced life is to recognize your need for Jesus to guide you in all things, and then to allow Jesus to transform you, making you better and more balanced every day. And that my Christian sisters and brothers is what Jesus wants for you.