August 29, 2010

The Epistle:   Hebrews 13: 1 - 6, 15 - 16

 ¹ Let mutual love continue.  ² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ³ Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. ⁴ Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said,  "I will never leave you or forsake you." ⁶ So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?"

¹⁵ Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 Gospel:   Luke 14: 1, 7 - 14

 ¹ On one occasion when Jesus a was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

 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; ⁹ and 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. ¹⁰ But 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. ¹¹ For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

 ¹² He 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. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

 Sermon:   "A Ministry of Hospitality"

 Last week Jesus healed a poor woman on the Sabbath and it created controversy with the priest, but that the people celebrated what Jesus did...  We learned about having "Less fear and more Rejoicing!" in our lives

 In our lesson today, from Luke's Gospel, Jesus went to the house of a Pharisee for a meal on the Sabbath.  He created more controversy by healing a man with dropsy. The man with dropsy was one of the elite guests; he was the social opposite of the crippled poor woman. His illness wasn't the result of crushing poverty.  The term dropsy comes from the Greek hydrops, referring to water.  It was a term that appeared in ancient Greek literature when they refer to someone who had the affliction that when they drank the thirstier they would become.  Jesus used these opportunities for healing as examples for teaching, and Jesus modeled compassion for both the rich and the poor.

 Jesus taught the disciples about the life of hospitality.  He used the example of the people who were at the dinner.  Jesus said, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner do not invite your friends or your relatives, or rich neighbors in order to improve your position.  When you give a banquet invite, the poor.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you."