September 12, 2004: Pentecost 15 C
 
Texts: Luke 14:7-14, Hebrews 13:1-8
 
Prepared to Eat at the King’s Feast
 
Have you ever been invited to a formal dinner? I remember a wedding 
dinner where there were eight pieces of silverware surrounding the plate. 
I felt somewhat out of place because I did not know what was meant for 
what. My neighbour must have noticed my awkwardness and kindly offered 
me some helpful advice on formal dining etiquette: “Begin with those 
closest to the plate and work your way out.” 
 
In our Gospel reading for today we find Jesus dining at the home of a 
prominent Pharisee. He uses this occasion as an opportunity to teach us 
something about “meal etiquette” when it comes to eating in God’s 
kingdom. Are you prepared to eat at God’s table? Have you learned the proper 
meal etiquette for that great and illustrious event? Let us see what 
Jesus has to teach us about the table manners expected in God’s kingdom.
 
Formal dinners usually require a certain dress code. In contrast, the 
heavenly banquet requires a proper attitude. Jesus illustrates it by 
pointing out how the guests at the Pharisees party chose to sit in places 
of honour. They wanted to make sure their importance in the community 
be reflected in the place they got at the table. Jesus says that this 
kind of attitude is not advisable at the heavenly feast. There “everyone 
who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be 
exalted” (14:11). 
 
In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul tells us how Jesus 
practiced what he preached: “Your attitude should be the same as that of 
Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality 
with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the 
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found 
in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to 
death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest 
place…” (2:5-9). It was for our sakes that God’s Son took the lowest seat. 
Because He embraced the cross and was willing to be counted as a criminal 
we who are sinners are now welcomed to dine at the heavenly feast.
 
A humble attitude is required for the guests at Jesus table. In a few 
minutes Jesus invites us to feast on His celestial food, on the Bread of 
Life. We must note that this food is not for the righteous or “good” 
people. Jesus table fellowship is with outcasts and sinners. We must come 
as humble, repentant, believing sinners. There a great reversal of 
roles takes place. By God’s great mercy, through the body and blood of His 
Son, we are transformed into His Holy people. 
 
This transformation is the greatest of all miracles! Sinners are made 
saints, transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of 
light! This miracle is greater than what happened when God created the 
universe out of nothing. Creating stuff is easy for God. But giving up His 
only Son to suffer and die on a cross – that was an event that plumbed 
the depths of God’s longsuffering heart towards us. That is what it 
took to make you a saint! This is the greatest of all miracles.
 
And yet, when Jesus gives us His body and blood, we hardly notice that 
anything of importance is taking place. We don’t necessarily feel 
anything special. We just hear the words, “…my body…my blood…given for the 
forgiveness of your sins.” Now, it may help us to remember that these 
are not merely my (the Pastors) words but God who is speaking to you. 
Still, we find it difficult to take in the full significance of what God 
is working in us as we approach His table.
 
The humility it takes to come before God’s table, both now in the 
Lord’s Supper and then at the feast in Heaven, is not just a religious kind 
of humility that can be feigned while one is in church. No, the kind of 
humility God expects is one that is part of your life, one that 
characterizes who you are. Jesus gives his dinner-host a very practical 
example of what that kind of humility looks like: “When you give a luncheon 
or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or 
your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will 
be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, 
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot 
repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” 
(14:12-14).
 
In our Epistle reading from the book of Hebrews we are given several 
more examples of how this humility shows itself in our relationships with 
other people. “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to 
entertain strangers for by so doing some people have entertained angels 
without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their 
fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were 
suffering.” 
 
Here Jesus would have us consider: What is your attitude to such 
people? Towards refugees? Illegal immigrants? Convicts? Outcasts? Do you 
regard people like these with disdain? Then listen carefully. If there is 
anyone in this world that you consider more unworthy than yourself, you 
reject the Lord Jesus! For Jesus identifies Himself with sinners and 
outcasts. He says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the 
least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). If I 
fail to see the face of Jesus in anyone I come across, it means I still 
do not have the right attitude required for fellowship at the Lord’s 
Table. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles 
himself will be exalted.”
 
We see the humility God expects is not really directed towards other 
people, but to Him. The reason we humble ourselves in serving each other 
is because the One we are really serving is the Lord. We see Him in 
those we serve. In the same way, the Lord lives in us. Our bodies do not 
belong to ourselves. As Christians we are people who have been bought 
with a price. We belong to God. The letter to the Hebrews tells us a 
couple of practical ways we show our humility to the Lord in how we live 
our own lives: 
 
“Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, 
for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your 
lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…” 
(13:4, 5). Here we hit on the two big ones: Sex and money. These are the 
two biggest idols (false gods) in our world. Those who bow to them are 
promised happiness, but in reality are left only with a deep emptiness 
and a craving for more. Mick Jagger (of the Rolling Stones) expressed 
it well: “I try and I try and I try, but I can’t get no satisfaction…” 
(And pardon the poor grammar!)
 
If you find yourself entertaining impure thoughts and failing to find 
satisfaction in relationships, or if you find yourself overworked or 
worrying about making ends meet and failing to find fulfillment in your 
work, I encourage you to humble yourself before the Lord. For God has 
said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” And may you also 
be able to say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be 
afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5, 6).
 
Humility is the sign of God’s kingdom. The kingdom did not belong to 
the Pharisees of Jesus time. Even though they were the most respected 
people, they excluded themselves by their self-righteous attitude. Rather, 
the kingdom of God belongs to outcasts and sinners. That is the good 
news! Jesus welcomes humble and repentant sinners. Wherever there is true 
humility and faith, there God’s kingdom is. The world cannot see any 
evidence of this kingdom. It ridicules any notion of such a kingdom. But 
when Jesus returns, the glory and power of that kingdom will be 
revealed. Now it will take faith to accept Jesus statement that “everyone who 
exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be 
exalted,” but in time it will become reality. Then the tables will be turned 
as the humble ones “will be repaid at the resurrection of the 
righteous” and take their seats at the heavenly feast. (Luke 14:14). Amen.