Sermon - Trinity um.....lots

There are many things that we do to offer hospitality and kindness to strangers and acquaintances in our daily lives. From the smallest kindness, to the things that we find difficult, I am sure we so our best. Or at least we do what we think is best.

We are not being watched closely, most people are not spending time checking if we are behaving in a charitable manner. They are usually too busy with their own problems and difficulties. In general, no-one is keeping a score of rights or wrongs. We are free to be as good or as bad as we like as Christians.

This was not the case for our Lord though. After the event in the Synagogue on the Sabbath, the authorities were looking for a way to trip him up. The tabloid press of the day were encamped on his doorstep, and any news of Jesus was sure to make the front page.

Our Lord was invited to eat at the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees. However, their intention was not sharing, but setting a trap. They were going to watch Jesus closely.

The plan was underway, and they were looking for a weakness, some chink in his armour that they could exploit. This was revenge for the healing in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the humiliation of the Synagogue attendants. (we heard that story last week)

The important meal was starting, and the guests were scrabbling for seats that would befit their status – places of honour. Jesus tells them a parable with a pointed message. This parable communicates the central meaning of his preaching “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The last will be first. This is called the ‘Messianic inversion’: in the perspective of the Kingdom, the despised and insignificant come first.

Of course, the second parable at the dinner table finished this point off quite nicely. Our Lord tells us that we must invite those who are of no worth in the eyes of society – and we should invite them because we will have no hope of being repaid. The ambush had failed – but in the eyes of the Authorities, Jesus was still the primary target.

And that is the lesson for today - the last will be first.

So, that seems to be it – but I still have a bee in my bonnet about the other readings that traditionally appear with this wonderful portion of the Holy Gospel. The small part of the Book Proverbs tells us that ‘it is better to be told COME UP HERE than to be put lower in the presence of noble’ and the reading from the letter to the Hebrews reminds me that I am a miserable sinner, and if I manage to avoid the terrible wrath of God, that will be the greatest miracle. This is all well and good – but it seems at odds with my perception of the Gospel message that tells me that the Kingdom of God is about the abundant generosity of God, and not our own merit.

Our own task is not to secure our place at the banquet, but to ensure that everybody gets an invite. And I mean everybody.

There is a serious problem that arises for some Christians in the Gospel, and it is this;

As the Authorities approach Jesus to talk of hierarchies, he ignores their questions. He seems to want them to forget all they have learned and start again. He seems to want them to be ‘as children’ learning again. Our Lord tells them time and time again in so many words that the compassion and generosity of God completely overturns the old order and brings us infinite justice. Jesus is telling us that the last will be first.

This is their problem. Do they really want to share the kingdom and eternity with those they would rather avoid on earth? Does God really love the sinners and those at the bottom of the pile, socially and morally?

The outcasts in our own nation radiate the love of God. The person addicted to drugs, the older person that no-one wants to visit anymore, and those of all ages who sleep rough and are homeless. I have met these people – and know that in their suffering they are close to God.

All those who are seen as without value, those who are unsavoury or difficult to approach –Jesus is telling us that they will be at the banquet, and he is telling us that God is proud of them.

You see, we either believe what Jesus is saying or we don’t. It has never been right for us to say that ‘we don’t understand’ and that ‘God knows’. It is the simplest of all things to understand, yet it offends the sensibilities of so many.

I caught a part of a radio program in the week, in which a woman said that God in the Bible is forever avoiding religious authority, choosing to hide. Whether it is under the altar because he is so angry with the authorities, or out in the towns talking with prostitutes and tax-collectors.

As a Church community or individually, we need to have a few more moments of madness, where we turn things upside-down and throw caution to the wind. We need to forget the old order for a moment and move forward in faith. We need to sit alongside those whom God loves and see what it feels like.

You never know, we might just catch a glimpse of the kingdom.