One of the early things I noticed when Sey and I moved to the Berkshires was that people who were homeless did not gather on the streets or sleep in the doorways of churches or stores, or stand near stoplights asking for help. I suspected that the Berkshires was not exempt from the needs of people who lost their places to live through unemployment, illness, addiction, or countless other reasons why rent and insurance become unaffordable. I wanted to know, where these people were. These questions led me to an agency called Construct where I visited with the Rev. Cara Davis. She told me the story of how in the late 1960’s a group of people gathered at the former St. James Episcopal Church to honor the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who had recently been killed. They set about looking at the needs of those who live in Berkshire County.
It was soon recognized that affordable housing was a critical issue and so they began setting up a 501(c)3 nonprofit called Construct, Inc. to help our neighbors in great need. The Rev. Cara Davis has been guiding this work since 1989. Cara, and those who work with her, notice those who are not at the table. She invites and welcomes them to the banquet and then works with them as they regain their self-sufficiency.
In the summer of 2014, Grace Church looked around to see who was missing from the table in the Berkshires. We knew that there were communities who lived in the shadows, but who needed to be invited in to hear their stories, to learn about their struggles, to listen for how God was calling us to walk with them to God’s banquet. We knew that many good things were happening for our neighbors and we wanted to support that work. So a series of Community Network Dinners were offered. Church members invited different communities, prepared a banquet, and listened carefully. By inviting others to join us in breaking bread and hearing their stories and dreams, we have worked together with Multi-Cultural Bridge and Railroad Street Youth Project to offer training for parents, professionals, and youth. We have partnered with Multi-Cultural Bridge to offer a summer camp for children. We have partnered with the Berkshire Immigrant Center to offer counseling and support for neighbors who are immigrants. We have continued to grow our connections between Gideon’s Garden, Taft Farms, Construct, Inc. CHP and WIC, the Guthrie Center, and Elder Services and four local food pantries so that many more neighbors can join in the banquet. Many of these neighbors now join us in working in the garden.
Jesus has come on invitation to the home of a leader of the Pharisees. Guests have already gathered. From the back room where the women prepare the feast, the fragrance of bread and meat fill the room with the anticipation of what is to come. Colorful rugs would be laid about to provide comfortable seating. Lanterns would be lit creating a soft glow. Conversation would have begun amongst those who were present—talk of business arrangements or important events in the village, gossip about rivals and strangers in town. First century middle-eastern dinner parties were political, social, and class affairs. At this dinner party, we may assume that those who were invited were friends, family or rich neighbors. People came to these dinners to close deals and grow relationships that would advance their social, or economic or political well-being.
We are told that the guests at the dinner party are watching Jesus. They are wondering what he will do or say. Will he heal on the Sabbath? (Yes!) Will he follow the rules? With whom will he sit?
Jesus is watching too. But he is not paying attention to the rules, he is noticing God’s people. This is Jesus’ way. He is always noticing God’s people, no matter the chaos around him. In pushing crowds, he feels the touch of a woman in need of healing. At the temple, he sees the widow put all she has in the offering plate. He sees his soon-to-be disciples hauling in nets. He notices Zacchaeus up in the tree. Jesus watches so that he can meet each person where they are to teach, heal, save, and invite them into the work of God’s kingdom. Jesus is watching as the dinner guests cluster about the head of the table hoping for a prime spot to advance their cause. He is watching how this scrum for a place at the table will prevent others from gaining a seat of honor. And so Jesus offers advice—this time on how to avoid the embarrassment of rushing for a seat at the front and then being asked by the host to move farther away from a position of importance. Jesus tells them sit toward the back. Then you may be asked to move closer, receiving honor in front of everyone seated at the banquet. But he warns them, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (14:11)
But Jesus is not teaching good table manners. He is speaking of something much deeper. Jesus is always about making the table larger, including everyone at the feast, making sure that every person is welcomed and fed with the abundant love of God.
Jesus notices God’s people. Jesus notices who serves and who is served. Jesus notices who is missing from the table and who is given honor. Jesus looks around this dining party and considers who is not present at the banquet. More than likely the women would not have been invited to join in the meal they had prepared. And also missing were the poor, the disabled, foreigners, and others who would have been disregarded in the society of this time.
So Jesus tells the guests at this dinner in the home of the leader of the Pharisees that when they give a banquet, they should invite all. In addition to friends, family, business partners, religious leaders, people of power—invitations should be offered to those who cannot repay their hospitality. They should invite people simply out of “love of neighbor.” And in this way, they will be blessed and remembered as just or righteous.
Jesus’ parable speaks about the Kingdom of God, which often in the gospels is referred to as a wedding feast or banquet. In the Kingdom of God everyone is invited to participate and given a “place of honor.” Everyone is seen as valued. In the Kingdom of God everyone’s presence is welcome, because Jesus knows that each one of God’s precious children is needed at the table. Together the richness of God’s creation is celebrated. Together the gifts, the stories, the struggles are shared. The banquet is ready but the festivities are not complete until every child of God is side by side, receiving God’s abundant gifts of grace.
In Luke’s gospel, the dining table is taken very seriously. Both the Eucharist and revelations of the risen Christ occur there (24: 28-32). It was while eating together that Christ gives his disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit and their commission to go into the world to serve (Acts 1:4-8). And it is through table fellowship that Jews and Gentiles came together to become a church (Acts 10:9-16; 11:1-18). It is at table that the followers of Jesus practice “hospitality” which means literally the “love of the stranger.”[1]
In our reading from the letter to the Hebrews today we hear: “Let love of brother and sister continue; do not forget love of the stranger.” (13:1-2) Hospitality is not just about having over on Friday evenings those who share our sports teams, religious connection, business contacts, or social status. It is also about welcoming those who we have not yet discovered the space we share in common.
It is opening ourselves to the possibility of God’s great surprise coming through contact with another person. We may not just encounter angels, but something even more transforming and perhaps more challenging. The text does not speak of sending food to anyone; rather, the host and guest are to sit at table together. The clear sign of being open to a stranger, of recognizing our common need, of building fellowship, is breaking bread together. In the Christian community all are invited to the table.
I was contacted by one my clergy friends who is interested in developing a group of church folk to offer pastoral care and support to our Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered brothers and sisters. How can we become a part of this invitation to the dining table?
Lee Cheek is working closely with the Diocese of Western Massachusetts to offer opportunities for learning and conversation around individual and systematic racism in our country. How might we sit down with our brothers and sisters of color, share a meal, and begin the work of growing the beloved community.
Many young children, youth, and young adults do not come to Sunday morning worship. Their lives are busy. They may never have heard or felt what it means to be a part of God’s banquet. How can we meet them where they are and invite them to the table?
Today we offer blessings on those who teach, who guide, who learn, who counsel. We offer these blessings as another school year begins full of expectations and dreams, anxieties and fears. We ask God to give each person the strength to know that they are beloved and that each one carries a particular gift from God that they can pass on to others. Every day you have the opportunity to invite others to God’s banquet by sharing fully your love.
Now I am not implying that Jesus is asking each of us to go out and invite people we meet on the street, in the grocery store, or at the laundromat to join us for dinner in our home. But instead, every time you notice and reach out to someone who is lonely or does not seem to have the support of friends, you invite that person to join you at God’s banquet.
Every time you make a special effort to get to know someone who is different from you, you invite that person to join you at God’s banquet.
Every time you stand up for someone to shield them from being bullied or disrespected, you invite that person to join you at God’s banquet.
When you take the time to thank someone by phone, in person, or by note for something you notice and appreciate, you invite that person to join you at God’s banquet.
Every Sunday, we gather at the table of gratitude to taste and see God’s beauty, to remember and share Jesus’s generous love, and to be filled with the Spirit’s expansive gift of wholeness. Being filled with this life giving food, how are we changed? How do our actions beyond this place show our gratitude for what we receive?
Showing up, creating a space, and sharing our abundant blessings is the kind of banquet Jesus invites us all to join. Every place is a place of honor in God’s kingdom. As people who follow Jesus, we are called to bring our lives, our love, and our open hearts to God’s table, ready to share the seat of honor with friends and strangers alike.
[1] Fred B. Craddock. Interpretation: Luke. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990, 178.