Jwquaker's Blog
Sermon
We Should Celebrate
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 11, 2022
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Luke 15:1–10 (ESV)
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
When I would dream about what I wanted to do when I grew up, being a pastor was never on the list. Being a pastor was not even a thought in my head. I have mentioned it before, when I was Albert’s age, I wanted to be an astronaut. Every week when our class would go to the library I would have space books, I think I read all the space books in the library. I loved the movie, “The Right Stuff” and even though it is an unbearably long movie to watch as a kid I loved it. And I could not wait to be in the third grade because that was the year the students could go on a field trip to the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. If you have not visited the Cosmosphere, I cannot urge you enough to make that trip the next long weekend you have, because it is worth the trip.
I mention this because even though my mom knew that being an astronaut was probably never going to be something I would ever be able to become, because I was born half deaf, she still encouraged me to try my hardest. She encouraged me to study. She would tell me what astronauts needed to learn, so I really applied myself in the areas of math and science. Never once did she tell me you cannot do that, except when it came to the military. She told me I could not join the military because I heard the doctor tell me that. She let me come to my own conclusions in that regard. She allowed me to find out on my own that, my dream of become an astronaut would not be something I could do, and then she helped me pursue a different path.
I love my mom. I could not think of any mother that could be better than my mom. Except maybe Albert’s mom, because my mom never threw birthday parties like Kristy does. In fact, there was one birthday she forgot to make a cake, so she put a candle in a little Debbie and sang happy birthday. In her defense we were planning on celebrating my birthday on the next weekend, but she usually made a cake for us to eat on the day anyway. My mom is a great mom, but when I told her after I returned from Ukraine and finished my last semester of college that I felt called to the ministry, it was the first time she really told me that I could not do something.
Parents know their children. They know their interests and their personalities. They know their strengths and their weaknesses. And my mom knew that I did not talk. I am painfully shy most of the time. As I have gotten older, I realized why I do not talk much. It is because I do not hear well. It is easier for me to withdraw and read than it is for me to hold a conversation, especially if the conversation is in a crowded room. When people lose their hearing, they will begin to withdraw from conversations, and eventually from social gatherings, simply because it is a lot of work. She knew that I did not talk, I did not like large crowds, and that a career in research probably would have been better suited to my personality. Parents know their children, but sometimes parents are wrong. It is not their fault because they are human just like everyone else. We sometimes misread a situation, or maybe we neglect some aspect of a conversation, and we build a faulty assumption that distorts our perspective of reality.
I love my mom. And although she told me that I could not be a pastor she has sense repented and has said that I do ok.
I bring this up because we can sometimes get things wrong. Each of us look at the world around us and we make choices and decisions based on the things that we see, hear, smell, and understand. But there are always times where we proceed only to later find out that we had built our minds around something that might not be the whole truth. This is where I find myself in today’s passage. I love this section of the gospel. I love the parable of the lost sheep, and the lost coin because it is filled with hope.
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”
I must confess that I have not fully understood this parable. I have read it, even spoke from this text multiple times, and yet the more I study the more I realize that I have often been wrong. I look at the shepherd in the story and I know that it is God that is pursuing the lost sheep and bringing it back into the fold. I have built my life on this understand of this passage, because I have been that lost sheep. And God did find me, and God did bring me back. But there is more to this story than just God going out to find the lost sheep.
We often forget why Jesus is telling this story in the first place. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” Why are the religious leaders so upset with Jesus talking to sinners and tax collectors?
I have read this passage multiple times and for some reason I just never really understood why Jesus was prompted to tell this story in the first place. A few weeks ago, we discussed Jesus healing a woman at the synagogue on the Sabbath. We discussed how irritated the ruler of the synagogue was at this. And the reason was that she was healed on the sabbath. He was not necessarily upset that Jesus healed the woman, but that he would do it in the synagogue on the sabbath. Jesus worked on the sabbath. Jesus not only worked, but he did this unrighteous feat in the place within a community, dedicated to the regular worship and praise of God. Six days you are to work, come on those days if you want to be healed. Jesus looked at the ruler and rebuked him. He said to that man that all of them would untie their donkey and lead it to water, yet this daughter of Abraham they would leave bound by a disabling spirit.
Then on another Sabbath, Jesus was invited to a meal at the ruler of the pharisee’s house, and he again healed a man on the Sabbath. This time the people were astonished that he would heal on that day yet again, but this time when Jesus spoke, he began to speak out against the various social maneuvering the people at the feast were doing. They were trying to get the best seats; they were inviting the most influential people. They were living their life trying to get one step ahead, while the man, this son of Abraham was sitting in bondage, right outside the house.
And then Jesus, while beginning his final journey to Jerusalem, began to teach those that followed him what the cost of true discipleship was. And I mentioned to you that in God’s economy, value is retained not in the currencies of this world, but in the people that bear the image of God and are called by his name. The cost of discipleship is to turn our backs on economies of the kingdoms of men, and to embrace the very things that God values.
We have value in God’s economy. Every human being bears the image of God within them. Early Quakers would often say that we should pursue and encourage that of God in all people. That is an interesting saying, it is a bit odd, but I like it. I like it, because it reminds me that there is something of value that God loves in every person. When we find that place where those of us who know God and those that do not know God meet, that is where something miraculous happens. That is where we can encourage and be encouraged. That is where we can live the love of Christ with others.
This is the framework that Luke is working in when he wrote these words. He is building on the passages that we have read from the past few weeks. He is telling us that the ruler of the synagogue, the ruler of the Pharisees, the people that wished to be disciples but were unwilling to accept the cost are all in the same place. They are wandering around in the kingdoms of men while claiming to be in the kingdom of God, but their currency is not valid. It cannot be exchanged. They look as if they are wealthy but, they are impoverished.
These religious leaders are grumbling that Jesus receives sinners and eats with them. This is tied to Old Testament teachings that many of us may not understand. There were rules about hygiene that were attached to meals. You were to wash your hands before you eat, but not merely washing your hands, you had to wash them in a particular manner, so that you could remain ritually clean. If you were to meet someone that did not put in the same amount of righteous care, they might contaminate you.
There are good reasons for these ritualistic hygiene rules. You do not know where someone else’s hands have been. We have just come through a worldwide pandemic, and we are very aware of how pathogens can be spread. Ancient Israel did not know about the germ theory. They did not know anything about viruses or bacteria. They did not know about parasites that could live within meats that were improperly stored or improperly cooked. They only knew that God commanded them not to eat certain things, and that they should wash before they ate anything. And because of the strict focus on remaining ritualistically clean, they would avoid contact with people that did not actively live the same way. This avoidance would lead to shunning, and the shunning would then lead to open condemnation. When Jesus did not reject these sinners, these people that did not live like they did, they began to wonder if Jesus even believed.
This is where I began to wonder what was going on. They were grumbling about Jesus eating with sinners. Jesus listened to the grumbling, and he begins to teach about shepherds and sheep. That is a big leap if you ask me. But then as I studied and as I considered the teachings that Jesus has made in the readings over the past few weeks, I began to see things in a different light. These were the leaders, the most important members of the religious community. These were the ones that had taken on the role of encouraging the people in faith. Throughout the history of Israel there is a word or title for these people. They are the Shepherds of Israel. They are the ones that are to teach and exemplify life with God before the people. And in my study, I was led to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel was a prophet that lived around the time of the exile into Babylon. We know some of the stories that he told, like the vision he had of the wheel within a wheel, which prophecy preachers like to use in sermons quite a bit. I will not get into all of that. We also like the story of the dry bones that miraculously reanimate to become an army for God. And pretty much that is the extent of our knowledge of Ezekiel. At least my knowledge. Ezekiel is a very difficult book to read, and if I want to be honest, it is disturbing. I would not recommend letting children read it unless you are prepared to explain things. Basically, Ezekiel is loved by many of the 2nd temple period religious leaders because it speaks a great deal about the sin that got them into the situation of being exiled, and it also speaks about the restoration of Israel. It is the teaching of Ezekiel that is often used to teach the people to be more righteous so that they will see the restoration of Israel and will not face exile again.
Jesus looks at these religious leaders and he reminds them of their own teachings. He reminds them of Ezekiel, this great prophet they like to point to. And he calls them out yet again. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them…Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.” (Ezekiel 34:1-6)
I read that passage and I was nearly brought to tears. Because I grumble. I get upset when I am not understood, and when people I respect do not listen. I get upset when I see injustice, I get annoyed when people that should care, do not even try to understand. I get annoyed and I grumble. Ezekiel continues and says that God himself will go out and search for the lost sheep. That he will be the shepherd of his own sheep. That he will seek the lost and bring back the stray. That he will bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong he will destroy. That he will feed them in justice.
The Pharisees grumbled. The Pharisees are often given a bad reputation in scripture, but we are not always aware of who they were. These were the guys that helped keep the faith alive during the exile. They were the ones that retained their identity even when there was not a temple to worship in. And they did well. When they returned to Jerusalem the Pharisees were important, they even spread the faith to those around them, and even made converts. The family of Herod were not hereditary Jews, but were from the tribes of Edom, Israel’s brother. And yet Herod’s family was accepted into the community and could worship in the temple, because they became part of Israel in faith, largely due to the work of the Pharisees. They were instrumental in restoring and preserving the worship of the Most High God in the land. The Pharisees were good shepherds for a period. But they had grown fat. They had lost focus and began to look to themselves instead. They devoted their lives to purifying the land to prepare the way for Messiah, but in their work, they lost sight of what God really wanted. He does not need us to be the judge for others, God can do that himself. What God needs is for us to be hospitable.
We often focus on the lost sheep or the lost coin, because we have all been there. But what if that is not the point? What if the point of this whole story is that we should be welcoming, and celebrate with one another?
What if Jesus is telling us to stop grumbling about what the republicans or democrats are doing and instead invite them over for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. What if the point of this whole story is that God is the shepherd not us. God will bring in the lost and we are supposed to celebrate.
We live in a time of division. We live in a world that is at war. We each have our ideas and our opinions. We have our strongly held beliefs and at times those strongly held beliefs are baffling. But what if all God really wants us to do is live our life following him. What if all he wants is for us to notice the injustice and stand with them. What is all he wants us to do is live the love of Christ with others?
We can often get bound in our desire to be righteous. Yes, we need to be righteous, but what is that? Jesus made it his custom to worship in the synagogues with the community. He withdrew often to pray in isolated places. And he ministered to the needs of those within the community. Worship, prayer, and service. Loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. That is all God wants. Let us speak to that of God in all people. Let us encourage the light within all people to burn a little brighter. Let us become people that do not grumble because someone around us sins, but instead let us celebrate when they begin to turn toward God, within their own understanding. Let us stop our grumbling and live the love of Christ with others. Maybe…we just need to celebrate.
If you would like to help support the continued Ministry of Willow Creek Friends Church please consider donating online:
https://ccskc.com/church/donation.htm
To help support the personal ministry of JWQuaker (Jared Warner) online and in the community click to donate.
The Cost
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 4, 2022
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Luke 14:25–33 (ESV)
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
This week my mind has gone several different directions. I started down one path and ended up somewhere totally different. If I want to be totally honest this happens often. I told my brother that we should start a YouTube bible study called squirrel tracks because we both tend to get distracted. And just so you know we are currently distracted because that has yet to happen. Today’s passage is one of those passages that takes you places.
To set the scene a bit, two weeks ago Jesus healed a woman at the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the synagogue ruler got a bit upset. And Jesus looked at the guy and said none of you would deny your donkey a drink on the Sabbath. You would untie your animal and take it to water, yet this daughter of Abraham must wait another day to be unburdened from this disabling spirit? And that is the last time Luke has Jesus in the synagogue.
Then last week Jesus was invited to a ruler of the Pharisees’ house to eat a meal on the Sabbath, and there was a guy that needed healing, so Jesus healed him. Then Jesus turns to the people that were watching him in astonishment because he had just done the very thing he was asked not to do again. Jesus looks at them and he asks why are you guys arguing about where you are going to sit? And why are you inviting all these people that have social status? He was telling them that the things that we value are not always the things that God values. We want social standing. We want recognition. We desire to be known by others, especially by people we think are important. But the host is the one that determines the honor of the guests. And God is the one that can truly bestow that honor.
These two stories were included for a couple of reasons. The first was because the perceived dishonoring of the Sabbath was what prompted the annoyance of many of the religious elites with Jesus. And a second reason is that Jesus was teaching us who is important and what has value in God’s economy.
I often use the term God’s economy, and I am sure you may not understand what I mean by it. My theology teacher would use the term and it annoyed me. It annoyed me because I love the study of economics. I think that economic studies are one of the social sciences that can really help us understand those around us in a greater way. I say this, not because I am fixated on money and wealth, but because what people spend their money on, and what they invest their time and capital in tells us something about what has value within a society. We can know what people value by watching how they pay their employees, what they spend their money on, and where they go when they have free time. Economics is the study of what our culture values. And God also has an economy. There are aspects within creation that God deems valuable.
You are valuable in God’s economy. So valuable that God sent his one unique son to live among humankind: born of a virgin teenaged girl betrothed to Joseph and raised within a community of friends and extended family for thirty years. For seventeen years he worked alongside his father in this blended family, and his uncles in their construction company. He worked with his hand shaping rocks, cutting wood, building houses, and digging wells. I do not fully know what all he did, we say he was a carpenter, but the word could mean stone mason or handy man so basically Jesus was a construction worker. And he did that for seventeen years. We often think of Jesus as being a young man. But in that culture, he would have been more like our middle aged. A master in his trade, and at that time when most men would be teaching the next generation how to do the work while they supervised the labor, Jesus decided to take on a new career in ministry. And he did this because that was his purpose.
He lived a complete life. God knows what it is like at every stage of our human existence. He knows how irritating parents can be. He knows the stress of deadlines and having to come up with an alternative way of doing something because what you planned on doing failed. He even knows what it is like to have to start your career over after working for the same company for over a decade. God understands what it means to be human. And he knows the expectations of a holy God. He brought God’s holiness to humanity, and in him we are lifted to God. And he did this while we were still sinners. While we were still enemies opposing God, Christ died for us. He took on our wages, so that he could restore humanity to their rightful place among God’s created order. We have value.
Jesus looked at the rulers of the synagogues and the Pharisees and he challenged their systems and their norms. He asked why they were treating sons and daughters of Abraham with less dignity than beasts used to pull carts and a plow. He asked why they were more concerned with where they ranked in society yet seemed to be unconcerned with the very things that the God, they claimed to worship valued. They cared about the rules and neglected the people, yet it is the people that retain value in God’s economy. The Kingdom of God, the extent of God’s influence is not based on rules and laws, but in the hearts of the people that bear his image and are called by his name.
Have you ever wondered why one of the ten commandments is do not use the Lord’s name in vain? Does this mean we should not use God as a swear word? No, it is much deeper than that. We bear God’s image, we carry his name, and we should not tarnish his name but instead we should live in a manner that will honor and glorify that name. Have you even wondered why we should not make graven images of God? It is because we are the image of God, we are the containers of God’s Spirit. We are the sacred objects within God’s temple, because he created us to bear His image and to carry his name. We are his most prized creation, and we have value.
But somewhere along humanity’s long journey of life we have devalued the creatures God sees as precious. We lost our way and we decided to value other things, instead of valuing God and God’s precious creatures. And this devaluation has led us into devastating places. Places where can justify the mistreatment of others so that we can have what we want. Jesus looked at the rulers of the systematic society devoted to the worship of God, and he showed them that they were no better than the brutal Roman overlords. We would allow suffering if what we see as important is satisfied.
Jesus leaves that leader’s house, and the crowds accompany him. He is walking toward Jerusalem to face his final trial. He had set the course, he had riled up the opposition, so that redemption could be complete. He took human injustice onto himself, so that he could break the cycles and reverse what humanity lost in their fall. And on that journey toward Jerusalem, Jesus turns to this crowd and says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
This is where the squirrel tracks come. If this verse does not cause you to squirm just a bit, you probably have not read it. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate…” This is coming from the God of love. We want to be a people living the love of Christ with others and he is telling us that we must hate those that we love the most? I remember the first time my son James really read this passage. We were at my mom’s church on the farm, and James was getting tired of making the trip here to Kansas City and back every other weekend. And the pastor read this passage and James looked at me with the biggest question marks in his eyes. He knew that ministry was important and even told me that I should be a pastor again because I was not myself when I was not serving in this role. But he also knew that we bent over backward to make sure he knew that we loved him.
What does Jesus mean when he uses these words? He is using hyperbole. He is not speaking of emotion or passion, but value. We value our parents, our spouse, and our children above any other human beings on this planet. We would die for these people, and we would even kill to protect them. The members of our own family are the ones that we can understand God’s value for. But Jesus is telling us, that to be a disciple, to follow Jesus we must value the things of God at a level greater than our own family. That is why James had the question marks in his eyes that day. He was beginning to understand why I made decisions that I had made. I have not been home for Thanksgiving dinner for over twelve years, and thanksgiving dinner was the most important holiday on my family’s calendar. I have not been home, because Christ is more important.
Jesus goes on and says, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” This is the second time in Luke’s gospel that Jesus speaks of the cross. He mentioned it previously in Luke 9:23, but in that instance he says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Both words, take up and to bear, mean to lift or to carry but to bear denotes a deeper burden. To bear has the idea that it is something that you cannot get away from like the seal of God or the mark of the beast in Revelation, it is part of who we are. We can take up a cross if we want to follow system, but to really be a disciple we must bear it.
This then got my mind going down yet another squirrel track. This is before the cross was set on Jesus’ shoulders why then would he be speaking about the cross? The cross in the first century was not something that people wore on a gold chain around their necks, but it was a familiar symbol. The cross was used to execute those that opposed the authority of the Roman government. The cross was an instrument of terror and oppression to those that were among the minorities within the culture. Just the mention of it would silence and disperse the crowd. There are things like this even today. During the civil rights movement and even more recently with the riots and protests a couple of years ago there were symbolic representations of terror that could be found from people that wished to silence the minority voice. When Jesus says that we must bear our cross, it does not mean that we have endure some minor inconvenience, but we must literally look death in the face. We must face ridicule and threats as we oppose the values of the dominant society that result in the exploitation of others. This is difficult to do. Especially if you are a member of the dominant society. But to be a true disciple of Christ we cannot tolerate injustice or exploitation of any kind within our society. We must speak up even if it means we will lose everything we think is important.
Jesus then has a squirrel moment of his own, probably because everyone was staring at him in shock, and he tells two parables. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost whether he has enough to complete it?” Usually when we hear this parable we tend to think of this as being a skyscraper, something that we ourselves would never build because we do not have the funds to even consider it. This is not what he is speaking of. The tower he is speaking of is most likely a farm building. Either a tower on a wall surrounding a vineyard, or maybe a silo to store grain. Everyone that was listening to him had or will have to consider building something like this. When he says that they would count the cost, they know exactly what Jesus is meaning. It is like when you buy a new car, you want to make sure you will be able to cover the payments because it would be embarrassing to have it repossessed.
He then tells a second parable, “Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.” Jesus in this is not urging us to amass larger armies or improve our weapon systems. He is wanting us to consider what we are getting into. A king that went into battle with an inferior army would likely lose their life. So, it would be better to find an alternate method of resolution if at all possible.
These two parables, teach the same thing. You need to know what you are getting into before you get into it. You need to be aware of what will be asked of you, and what will be required. There will be times where we will have to move forward even when it does not make sense, but we still need to be aware. There are times where a king will be required to face the twenty thousand with an army half the size, because there is not another way, but we must know what it will cost us. There are times where we will have to start building a tower, knowing full well we do not have the funds right now to finish. We might face ridicule but if we do not lay the foundation will we ever build? Jesus is not telling us that we must have perfect knowledge and all our ducks in a row before we start. He is telling us that we need to be aware and be prepared to face the challenges that will come. And along with that we need to be mindful of those around us that face challenges that we ourselves may not face.
This is where yet another squirrel track came into my mind. I do not know what challenges a family will face when they immigrate to this country. I have the privilege of being born here. I do not know what it is like living in a nation that is in the grips of war. I have the privilege of being born in the middle of a continent surrounded by thousands of miles of land that belongs to one nation. We do not always know what struggles someone else is enduring. We do not know what they bear. Maybe the tower could not be completed because illness struck the family. Maybe terms of peace could not be negotiated because the opposing army only desires the annihilation of your kingdom. Maybe we should extend grace because we may not understand. And maybe we should listen and become aware of what is around us.
Jesus continues, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
I want us to just let this soak into your minds and deep into your soul. I want you to think for a moment of the conversation Jesus had with the rich young ruler that asked what he must do to inherit a place in the kingdom. Jesus said that man that he should sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor and come and follow. This is what Jesus is meaning when he says, “you who does not renounce all that he has.” What do you value? I must admit that I am tight fisted when it comes to the things that are mine, but I am also liberal when it comes to ministry. I will refuse to buy new clothes until my last pair of jeans has a hole ripped in them, but I will not hesitate to make a purchase to make sure we are able to encourage people in their faith. I have even stepped away from jobs so that I could spend more time working for the church. This is what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus wants each of us to consider what we value, because things can change in a blink of an eye.
If I put all my value in worldly wealth and neglect the people God loves, what do I have? The richest people in the world live in constant fear. They live in fear because they are aware that what they have built their lives on can be gone in an instant. Walmart was the largest retailer in the world for many years, most of us cannot imagine life without Walmart. Yet they are no longer the largest retailer. Things constantly change around us, and we adapt. And as we adapt, we reevaluate and change. The second largest phone company in the world, Samsung, did not always make electronics. When the company first formed it specialized in manufacturing fertilizers and sweeteners. They adapted. We too must adapt and reevaluate our directions. We need to let go at times, and at other times pick things up. But no matter what we do we need to stay focused on what is most important, the kingdom that resides in the hearts of people that bear God’s image. If we want to be true disciples, we need to renounce or say farewell to things that distract us from Christ. We need to let go of the things preventing us from following Jesus.
What is the Cost of following Jesus? We must reevaluate our most natural social bonds and put Christ before even the ones we love the most. We should be willing to look death in the face while we stand against injustice and oppression. And bear the weight of the least within our society even if we do not have to. To follow Jesus requires us to constantly be aware of what is going on around us so that we can bear God’s name into the world. And be willing to adjust and adapt as needed. And to follow Christ requires us to let go of the things that become an obstacle. Do we know the cost? Have we really thought about what bearing the image and the name of God in this world requires? Have we considered the cost if we don’t?
We can look at history and we can find every negative where religion has failed. But we can also look at history and see where religion caused humanity to improve. Our world would not be what it is without both. It is when we become people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others that we lift the sons and daughters of Abraham. But we bind and condemn those loved by God when we focus on ourselves and our systems. Will we count the cost and bear his name? Will we ask ourselves as we live our lives among our neighbors, “am I reflecting the truth of Christ’s love in my actions?”
If you would like to help support the continued Ministry of Willow Creek Friends Church please consider donating online:
https://ccskc.com/church/donation.htm
To help support the personal ministry of JWQuaker (Jared Warner) online and in the community click to donate.
Honored or Damned
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
August 28, 2022
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Luke 14:1, 7-14 (ESV)
1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Last Sunday as we met together for worship, we joined the disciples as they remembered the last Sabbath Jesus went into a synagogue. I say it was his last time, we do not know this for certain, but we do know that this is the last time Luke mentions that Jesus was within one. We might not see this a being something significant but since meeting together with the community in worship was one of the three pillars of Jesus’s holy rhythm it is.
Jesus had irritated the religious elite to the point that he was no longer welcome. I want us to really consider that statement. Jesus, the visual incarnation of the invisible God, was no longer welcome within the space sanctified for worship. And he was no longer welcome because of the application of an interpretation of scripture. I want us all to really let that sink into our minds. In their desire to bring glory and honor to God, they actively opposed him, and we can also unknowingly fall into a similar situation. This should cause us to be careful when we are dealing with others. I am not claiming that anyone alive today is the God Incarnate, but we interact with people loved by Christ every moment of every day.
Today we meet Jesus again on a Sabbath. This time he is not in the Synagogue but instead is invited to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees for a meal. I will pause for a moment to discuss what it means to be a ruler of the Pharisees. We do not use this term today, but there are similarities in other social systems. A ruler of the synagogue or a Pharisee is most likely the senior member of the respective council, we might equate them with elders within a church or a member of the corporate board. In a synagogue this is usually a council of ten, but the ruler of the Pharisees may be a bit different. During the trial of Jesus, we are told about the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin is a Greek term for council. According to my bible dictionary we are not exactly sure as to the makeup or nature of this council, only that it was the governing body or the liaison between the people of Judea and the Roman government.
Although the term is Greek in nature, there is a historic precedent for a council. During the Exodus, Moses’ father-in-law encouraged Moses to appoint elders from within each tribe to handle various disputes. After the Exile and resettlement of Palestine, because ten of the tribes were considered lost, it became necessary for the council or the Judges to take a different form. Some believe there may have been two councils, one that dealt with political concerns within the secular realms and the other that dealt with Religion. This is an interesting theory but since much of the lifestyle of Israel were not divided between sacred and secular aspects of life, it is more likely that there was one council and certain individuals within the council were regarded as experts in various fields.
We are unsure of how the members of this council were selected. All we really know is that the chief priest was the head of the body, and he most likely appointed people from the various rabbinical schools of thought that would serve in these roles.
The next thing that we should consider is that the religious understanding within the various schools of thought were not always the same. We know that there were Pharisees and Sadducees. But within these groups there were different schools of thought. We see this within the various questions that Jesus was asked, at times we are told that particular groups were bringing him into an argument, but at other times we are told that only scribes and teachers were present. This is most likely a discussion between two various understandings within one of the larger groups.
I know that this is getting a bit deep but there is a reason for it. These groups all had different teachings and interpretations of scripture. They varied almost as much as the various theological points with the Church today. Unity has always been a struggle within faith communities. This Sabbath Jesus was invited to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. Jesus was invited to one of the most prestigious homes in all Roman Palestine. He was invited to the seminary president’s invitation only luncheon. And they did this for a reason, they wanted to watch him carefully.
He had made a great stir by healing on the Sabbath, and they wanted to make sure he was not continuing this trajectory. They watched him closely because if he continued to heal on the Sabbath, it would not be long before they would have to speak to the issue. If people are freed from bondage on the Sabbath, why would they oppose it? These leaders simply wanted people to not ask questions. The healing on the Sabbath, the restoration of dignity to the sons and daughters of Abraham that were held in bondage by a disabling spirit is the beginning of Jesus’s condemnation by the council.
Jesus did not hold back. He knew they were watching him closely, and he was returning the favor. They challenged his interpretation, and he call out their own. He went to this prominent member of society’s house for a meal, and he watched how the people acted.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.” Jesus says as the people stood around him listening because he had just healed a person on the Sabbath yet again, so he had their attention.
There is something within our human nature that desires recognition. We want to be near greatness. We have in our mind that the closer we are to important people the better we will be seen within our society. This is why scandals in Hollywood are often bigger news than actual news, like say a war in Ukraine. We want to know where celebrities are and what they do. If we use their products we feel as if we are closer to them and people around us will know our worth. We even take it one step further; we go to events where these people might be. It does not matter if it is Comic Con or a political party’s convention we want to be at the event where the people we perceive as great will be. And we tell people about it, so that they will know just where we stand.
Jesus looks at the people at this ruler’s house and he says to them why are you all crowded around the table of honor? You all know good and well there are a limited number of seats at that table and more than likely none of you are going to be sitting there. The person that delivered the invitations will choose who the honored guests will be. The host will choose not those that were invited.
This is significant. As much as I would like to be recognized by the people I respect, the reality is that most of them do not even know I exist. Celebrities are in all practicality, pointless. The people that are truly important are the ones you interact with every day. Our community, the people around us, are most important. How we encourage our neighbor has more lasting and greater long-term effects than who we vote for in a national election. The people teaching our children and grandchildren in our schools are more important. Who we hire to trim the trees or where we buy our groceries effect the lives of people in our community more than any celebrity we may respect. Are we honoring them? Are we encouraging and engaging in a relationship with them? Are we letting them know how important they truly are?
Jesus tells us be honest with yourself. Do not expect respect without relationship. If you are not actively engaging in the lives of those within your community then you should not expect them to know who you are. And if you are active in their lives, more than likely you are not expecting honor because you are more focused on them than yourself. Those that are truly honest with themselves and humble within the community are not concerned with their status or their personal profit. Their concern is their community. All that they do, from their charitable giving to their business practices, from their speech too their family life have the same trajectory. In their mind we rise together.
The problem is that we will always have celebrities. There will always be the people within our society that garner greater recognition than most. And we each desire to be near that greatness. I admit that I have those feelings also. I will stand in line to get autographs at hockey games. I do this so that I can encourage my son to try his best in the game that he loves, knowing full well that it is unlikely that he will ever reach that level, but he should still try. I have books in my personal library that I cherish more than others. I own a printing of Barclay’s Apology, which is the first and one of the few theological texts of Friends, that is older than our Yearly Meeting. It is one of the few books that I display, and I do this for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I am proud of my heritage, and the second is that I want you all to think that I am smart. Along side that book is my great grandfather’s bible, the one that he used when he spoke as a pastor in this yearly meeting as well as others across our nation. I also get excited when my favorite authors publish a new book. And I am even more excited if I have an opportunity to have that book signed. There are even times where I will look at a calendar to see if I could squeeze in a trip to a conference where they will be present. I look but I have yet to go to one of those conferences.
It is part of our human nature to be attracted to great people. It is not sinful, unless we allow those celebrity figures to distract us from God. And it is also not wrong to have honor, respect, or even fame. The question is how do you live your life?
Jesus first spoke to the people in the banquet hall, his fellow guests. He chided them for their social acrobatics. In all our attempts to be known we often miss the whole point of why we are even here. Why do we attend a wedding? Why do we go to a memorial service? Why do we think it is important to go to a conference or even attend any gathering? Jesus then turns his attention to the host.
“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, let they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”
I want to stop for a moment and just say that Jesus is using hyperbole. He is speaking to the extremes of a situation. If I know you and you do not invite me to your wedding I will be upset, and you better believe if your mom is not in the guest list you will have problems. This is not what Jesus is saying in a concrete form. He knows that you will invite people close to you. But he wants us to think beyond our little social circles. Remember who the host is. The host is a ruler of the Pharisees. A high-ranking member of the Sanhedrin, and possibly one of the greatest Rabbis of all time.
Imagine NT Wright was giving a feast. NT Wright is one of the most famous Christian teachers today. If you are watching any program on church history or beliefs, you will often see NT Wright being interviewed. This man is giving a feast. Who do you think will be at that event? You would see other authors, maybe you will see bishops, you may even potentially see members of the Royal family of the United Kingdom. That is to be expected when famous people throw a party, even if the person is famous for religious reasons. I have great respect for NT Wright, and I imagine that if he were to throw a party there would be people at that party that were not dignitaries, because he is a man that lives his faith. But what about other prominent teachers and leaders? How many of us have ever been invited to the Governor’s mansion or the White House?
Jesus is warning us in this parable. Yes, you must invite those that are close to you and those within your social class, but where is your focus? If we are only inviting people that can increase our standing within a group, we are just like the guests seeking the honored seats. I found this in the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary:
Jesus lists four groups one should not invite—precisely those groups most often invited: your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, and your rich neighbors … Balancing this list is another list of four groups who should be invited: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Such persons were explicitly forbidden to serve as priests (Lev 21:17–23) and were barred from entry into the Qumran community:
And let no person smitten with any human impurity whatever enter the Assembly of God. And every person smitten with these impurities, unfit to occupy a place in the midst of the Congregation, and every (person) smitten in his flesh, paralysed in his feet or hands, lame or blind or deaf, or dumb or smitten in his flesh with a blemish visible to the eye, or any aged person that totters and is unable to stand firm in the midst of the Congregation: let these persons not enter.
The contrast between such restrictions and the spirit of Jesus’ teachings could hardly be more striking. Jesus does not merely prohibit inviting those in a position to benefit us if our reason for inviting them is to curry their favor. He advises not to invite the powerful or well-to-do because they might return the invitation. Instead, we should invite those who have never had such a meal, who could never return the favor, who will never be our superiors.[1]
Culpepper, R. Alan. “The Gospel of Luke.” New Interpreter’s Bible
That section in the commentary ends by saying, “God is ultimately the only one who can bless us or whose praise matters.[2]”
Culpepper, R. Alan. “The Gospel of Luke.” New Interpreter’s Bible
The teachings of the day barred or forbid some, Jesus tells those that propagate those teachings that they are wrong. Jesus seemingly contradicts the very teachings within Torah. But is that what is being said? No, the crippled and lame may not be able to serve in the Temple, but that does not condemn them from participation in the community. They are still people loved by the Most High God, they too bear God’s image.
Today there is a great deal of discussion about Equality. Friends have been concerned with this from their beginnings in the 17th century. We believe that all people bear the image of God, and that we all carry the light of God within us. We might even say something like love that of God within someone. We are sometimes criticized for this, and some may say are universalists because of that claim, my answer to that is that does not matter. God is the one that judges, not us. Our place is to live in the light and to encourage the light to shine greater in all that we meet. When we begin to limit access, when we make judgements and restrictions, we come very close to condemnation. Those that have been discouraged will look at our faith, our lifestyle, and say that they want nothing to do with God. We effectively close the door and damn them to a life without God. We do this for many reasons, some of those reason may even be supported by scripture. But are they right? Do they reflect God’s mercy and Grace?
Jesus looks at the guests and the host of this banquet. He observes their actions, and he reviews their guest list. And he encourages them. He is asking them to consider their actions. He encourages them to question their intentions. He queries whether their actions and the words that they speak truly reflect the God they acknowledge. And as he questions them, he questions us. Are we being a blessing to those around us? Are our homes and our meeting places able to provide hospitality to those with disabilities? Do our words encourage those around us to strive for something greater? And do we reflect and draw people to the love of Christ? Are we seeking honor for ourselves or are we Loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the love of Christ with others?
[1] Culpepper, R. Alan. “The Gospel of Luke.” New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 9, Abingdon Press, 1994–2004, p. 287.
[2] Culpepper, R. Alan. “The Gospel of Luke.” New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 9, Abingdon Press, 1994–2004, p. 287.
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