Parables and Place

Sunday, August 29th, 2004
13th Sunday after Pentecost
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton
Luke 14:1, 7-14

1On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely. 2Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?’ 4But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. 5Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day?’ 6And they could not reply to this. 7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place,” and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at 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 the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ 12He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

(Close eyes, point to different parts of the sanctuary and name who is sitting there …or who WOULD be, if they were here)… (Helen Schools, John and Marylou, Jay, Jim and Mary, Florence, Jean, Sam and Annie Mae, Kitty (Hardwick & Lewis), Herbert (& Hilda), Tommy, Ramey, Helen and David, Barbara & Elwood (but they are in the Outer Banks this week), Leslie, Sue, George, William Franklin, William Harrison, Janet and Frankie, Jonathan and Anthony, Ruth, Arlene, Shirley, Allene, Hunter and Gwen … Leslie, and when they’re visiting, Donald and Angela).

As far back as I can remember, if I’ve spent any amount of time attending a given church, there’s a point at which you know where you can expect to see folks on a Sunday morning. And you get to the point where you have a preferred spot to sit. For many years now, our preferred spot to sit when we enter a sanctuary is towards the front on the left side, always to the left (just kidding, Jay).

In the best case scenario, people sit in the expected place simply out of habit – with no particular agenda; it’s just where they always sit.

In the worst-case scenario, it can take an ugly turn… at the age of 64, singer John Charles Thomas, embarked on a three year survey on hospitality or the lack thereof in churches. Two years into the survey, he wrote that of the 195 churches he’d visited, he was spoken to in only one by someone other than an official greeter, and that was to ask him to move his feet.

There seems to be something more along the lines of the second instance going on at this feast to which Jesus has been invited. On first reading, this actually seems to be something like a Ms. Manners column – Jesus as host-educator, teaching his listeners what to do and what not to do when throwing a dinner party. It seems that seating arrangements were as important in first-century Palestine as they are at the next big wedding extravaganza.

We may smile at those people who always insist on sitting in the same pews or seats in church. But in the ancient world, place was guarded by most even more jealously. Society was strongly hierarchical. There was a place on the ladder. For many it was a matter of survival to make sure they either stayed where they were or climbed higher. Position was not just a matter of individual achievement. It was a community value. It was in some sense given by the group. Your value was inseparable from what others thought about you. Most to be feared was to lose your place, to be embarrassed, to be publicly humiliated by having to take a lower place. Losing face could not be shrugged off as easily as for many of us who have grown up in a strongly individualistic culture. Losing face was almost like losing one’s life.

Are we today that far removed from the dynamics of that first-century feast? Do we play the “who is sitting where and what does that mean?” game beyond junior high and high school? From what I remember in church youth group, there was still an element of “who do I need to be sitting with and who do I need to be staying away from” present even there - not that different from the dynamics I found when I walked into the cafeteria at school.

Can we take the passage at face value? Assume a humble approach; let others discover how wonderful you are?

The best seats are those nearest the host. It is so yet today. The boss sits at the head of the table, flanked by top lieutenants. Key staff sits at the table, and lesser staff sits at the back of the room or around the perimeter. A savvy person can walk into the room and determine the rank of participants simply by observing where they sit.

At sporting events, the best seats are closest to the action – or in comfortable boxes elevated above and separated from the crowd. A person with the right connections can always get a good ticket. A person without connections might not be able to purchase a ticket at any price.

We like the best seats. The view is better, but the appeal goes beyond the view. Sitting in the best seats, we feel superior. Our seating tells the crowd of our superior status.

Luke characterizes Jesus' remarks as a parable, cueing us that Jesus is speaking of kingdom issues rather than offering advice about self-promotion. Jesus' advice not to sit uninvited in the place of honor is a restatement of Proverbs 25:6-7. It makes a certain amount of sense, because assertiveness puts one at risk of embarrassment. However, we have seen ambitious people grab the place of honor and hang onto it through thick and thin, bringing into doubt the wisdom of Jesus' advice. Aggressiveness has its risks, but it also has its rewards.

Verse 11, however, makes it clear that Jesus' advice has to do, not with worldly self-promotion, but with life in the kingdom of God. "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." This is a polar reversal, which flip-flops our familiar world, opening up a world in which the rules are very different. "God is at the root of this polar reversal, a theme Luke will not let the readers forget (for example, 1:51-53; 6:20-26; 13:30)" (Cousar, et. al., 495).

By alerting us to this impending reversal, Jesus helps to prepare us for life in God's kingdom, a place that seems at once strange and wonderful and threatening. Just as we would prepare ourselves for life in a foreign land by learning the language and customs, so we can prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God by following Kingdom Rules now. Indeed, the kingdom of God becomes a present reality, not just a future hope, when we acknowledge God as king and live by Kingdom Rules.

The danger is that we might misinterpret Jesus' words, not as a call to humble discipleship, but as a backdoor strategy for self-promotion. "This entire message becomes a cartoon if there is a mad, competitive rush for the lowest place, with ears cocked toward the host, waiting for the call to ascend" (Craddock, Interpretation, 177). God, who will implement the reversal, is not deceived. God knows our hearts, and raises up the humble heart. "Lowliness springs from reverence…. Lowliness springs from knowledge of sins forgiven…. Such lowliness God honors" (Buttrick, 253).

12He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you
give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your
relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you
would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay
you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Now Jesus turns his attention to the host, who is tempted to use the dinner party to curry favor from powerful people. Jesus warns us not to invite the four groups of people (friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors) that we would most like to invite, and tells us to invite the four groups of people (the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind) that we would least like to invite. Note that the crippled, lame and blind were forbidden to serve as priests because of their physical imperfections (Lev 21:17-23).


How can we read this passage and apply it to us in today’s world? What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

Jesus does not encourage remote charity that only sends a check, but calls us to invite the poor and disenfranchised to sit at our table, the second-most intimate place in our home. By doing so, we provide not only food for the body but food for the soul. "Through such activity these marginalized people become members of the group. Symbolically they are no longer outside the circle of power" (Cousar, et. al., 496).

Jesus was invited to eat at the home of a Pharisee on the Sabbath, and a person who needed healing was present. They were watching him again! But Jesus was also watching them. He took note of how they scrambled for position, seeking the best seats at their frequent banquets while neglecting the poor and the sick people in their midst.

The parable about place is a cautionary one – Jesus is telling us to never lose sight of what it REALLY means to be a part of the Kingdom – it’s not about where you’re sitting, it’s about who you are serving.

Let’s pray.


Gilmour, S. MacLean, and Buttrick, George A. George A., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)

Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV–Year C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)

Craddock, Fred B., "Luke," Interpretation (Louisville: John Knox Press,(1990)