October 30 - Luke 14-16: Dinner Plans

To those of you who know me - and to those reading the blog long enough - you may have figured out that I enjoy food.   I like to cook, I like to try different foods and I look forward to trying new restaurants.  In fact, tonight Eric is taking me out to eat at a place we haven't tried before and I was just looking at the online menu and wine list in anticipation of the evening.  And last weekend, we held a large dinner party in our home - it was one of the top experiences of my life to share that time with dear friends and family.  Sharing meals and enjoying good food and meaningful conversation is an important part of my life.

It's no wonder, then, that the stories Jesus told in these chapters about dinner invitations caught my attention.

When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place.... if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.... Then next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor.  Invite some people who never get invited out....They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be return - oh, how it will be returned! - at the resurrection of God's people.  (14: 7-14)

That triggered a response from one of the guests: 'How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God's kingdom!'  Jesus followed up. 'Yes.  For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many.  When it was time for dinner, eh sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, 'Come on in; the food's on the table.'  Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses.... The master said, '...Whoever you find, drag them in.  I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.'  (14:15-24)

When he was a long way off, his father saw him.  His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.  The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'  But the father wasn't listening.  He was calling to his servants, 'Quick.... get a grain-fed heifer and roast it.  We're going to feast!  We're going to have a wonderful time!  My son is here.... The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in.  His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.  (15:11-32)

Feasts, dinners, and celebrations are obviously also important to Jesus.  He knows the appetites He has created in me.  He knows the desires for shared experiences and meaningful relational moments that these events represent.  He speaks to these in these parables:  Calling me to put myself in the last place and to simply be myself (no pretenses, no image-management).  Urging me to invite those who might make me uncomfortable or who can never return the invitation.  Reminding me to quickly accept His invitation and to not let earthly concerns get in the way.  Appealing to me to not be the "older brother" who misses the celebration out of envy or self-absorption.  Inviting me to feast on Him.

"Until we develop a taste for God, we prefer a better life of blessings from God over a better hope of intimacy with Him."  (Crabb, The Pressure's Off)