12^th Sunday after Pentecost C | August 31, 2025 | Luke 14:1,7-14 | by Luther H. Thoresen |

Scripture quotations from: New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. All scripture quotes in this sermon are from the NRSVue.)

Note: The initial paragraphs in italics of this sermon might be used as the basis for a Children’s message. If not used that way, one might adapt it as the beginning of the “usual” sermon, or insert part of it later in the sermon…or earlier in the service.

Do you like birthday parties? (engage brief conversation with children) There is time for games, for play, for cake and ice cream. That’s fun. But do you ever feel pressure as a guest to bring the best gift? (brief conversation) Or, when it’s your party, do you feel pressure to plan the best party? Or have the most popular party so that others will invite you to their birthday party? (brief conversation) Yet, when we think like that, we leave out some of the less popular children, or the children whose families can’t afford to provide a nice party. Right? Well, what if? What if you threw a party and invited all the less popular kids…the kids everyone seems to leave out of their parties? (brief conversation, knowing this may not be a welcome idea) And, what if your invitation said, “No gifts please” so the poorer kids didn’t feel like they could come without a gift and not be ashamed? (brief conversation) What if, instead, you provided a craft for everyone to make at your party and take home as a gift for them and their family? Sounds crazy, right?

Well, Jesus suggests something like that in today’s gospel reading. “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you…” (v 13-14a) Jesus’ words are not just about birthdays and banquets. What if neglected kids became your friends? Also, in the letter to the Hebrews today we heard, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (v 2) Maybe for today, we could restate that something like this, “Do not neglect to welcome unpopular kids into your life, for by doing that you might be playing with an angel without knowing it.” Would you pray with me? God, thank you for birthdays and birthday parties. Thank you for different people to share our birthdays with. Thank you for the gifts we receive on our birthdays. Most of all, thank you for the gift of your Son and the gift of life he shares with us now and forever.  Amen

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus’ words today are about behaving at a banquet and Jesus’ words are about inviting others to our banquets. But, it is not limited to those settings, to meals. These are examples of the lifestyle Jesus expects. Along the way Jesus says, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (v 11) Today’s Gospel reading has 2 episodes, and Jesus’ words about exalting and humbling are stuck between those two episodes. Those words are like a “hinge” connecting the two episodes, and connected to each of those episodes.

In the first episode, Jesus observes the guests at a banquet and responds. In the second episode Jesus observes the host at the banquet and responds. In between Jesus says, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

We might say “Guess who’s coming to dinner” with today’s Gospel. That phrase was the title of a classic movie in 1969. It was about race relations in a family, with actors like Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier. The basic plot is that Joanna is the daughter of a wealthy white couple. Joanna meets Dr. John on a beach in Havana. He’s African American. Romance develops and Joanna takes Dr. John home to meet her parents at dinner…and the drama develops.

Anyway, today with the Gospel reading, we could say, “Guess who’s coming to dinner” but the story is not about race nor romance. But, if we say, “Guess who’s coming to dinner” it may cause either excitement or dread or everything in between.

Jesus is at the home of a Pharisee. There is a banquet at the home of the upright and popular. Who’s coming? Good question. Jesus sees the guests seeking the places of honor. Has much changed in 2000 years? Who doesn’t want to be in a skybox at a baseball field to watch the Minnesota Twins, or the St. Louis Cardinals…or whoever is your team? Who doesn’t want seats at the 50 yard line to watch the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, or the Iowa State Cyclones…or whoever is your favorite college or pro football team? Who doesn’t want center court seats at a basketball game for your favorite college or pro team?

Am I right? We expect the winning quarterback to have the place of honor at the athletic banquet. We expect the volleyball player who spiked the ball many times to have the place of honor. Places of honor we seek, even if we can’t afford the tickets. Places of honor we think are deserved. “Put yourself forward,” we say, “It’s the only way to get ahead.” “Toot your own horn,’ we say. We seek places of honor or we want to look good – maybe with style or name brand clothes or big boy toys or whatever.

In the text, Jesus is at a banquet. People are seeking the places of honor. Jesus says, 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.”

Initially this sounds good…but then we may think, “Really? Seek the low place? If we don’t know who else is coming, we don’t know who should have the high or low places! Is Jesus playing into their game?” So, if you really want honor, seek a low place so that everyone sees you escorted higher? That seems like false humility. But, what if? What if Jesus says that to poke fun at self-seeking promotion however it is done? Maybe this is a “gotcha moment.” Maybe Jesus has his tongue stuck in his cheek. I can see the newspaper cartoon now. There is a self-important person waiting to be escorted to a higher table.

I read about an event in a small congregation in a small town.¹ Tim and Jennifer were getting married. Weddings are a big thing in small towns and this wedding would be no exception. At the reception there would be a buffet of finger sandwiches, brownies and more, prepared by family members. Tables were set up and guests could find a place after going through the buffet line.

Now, Mrs. Clark was a matriarch in the congregation, and a widow who attended every wedding in the church. She had done so for all 45 years of her adult life. She made a stately entrance into the reception and moved to a place at a table near the rear of the hall…farthest from the head table for the bridal party. Pastor Carlson was new in town, and this was her first wedding among the people of this congregation. She was standing near the rear of the hall talking to a council member when Mrs. Clark came in. The council member went over and encouraged Mrs. Clark to move closer to the front, but she declined. “Oh no. This is good enough for me. They will want their friends near to them.” Pastor Carlson overheard the conversation and was impressed. Mrs. Clark seemed to show thoughtfulness in her comments. The reception concluded and the dance ensued. Pastor Carlson headed home for the day.

A month later the pastor stopped by the home of Mrs. Clark. The subject of weddings came up. Quickly Mrs. Clark became angry with tears streaming down her face. “Did you see how I was ignored? Did you see how I was left to sit at the back of the hall? I taught Jennifer’s mother in Sunday School! They should have known better.”

Pastor Carlson was taken aback. “But I remember that one of our council members invited you to move up to a closer table.” Mrs. Clark replied, “No! It wasn’t his place. Jennifer’s father should have asked me to move forward. I am the eldest member of the congregation and my late husband was president of the congregation for over 20 years.” The pastor listened, but didn’t say much. However, she did remember Jesus’ words in today’s reading, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Though Pastor Carlson didn’t say the words aloud, Jesus did. Apparently the words just hung in the air.

I wonder, “Guess who’s coming to dinner.” In the early verses of the text Jesus addresses the guests. Later Jesus speaks to the host, the one inviting others. Jesus says what NOT to do, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.” What Jesus does not do is what is normally expected, then or now. What Jesus does not do is the usual way to maintain place in social relationships, the way to climb – banquets for others and attend theirs.  For us, these might be parties to watch football or basketball games on TV, holiday parties, big summer BBQs, and so forth.

Instead, what did Jesus say? “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” (v 13) Guess who’s coming to dinner. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Sounds like a plan. NOT! Someone said, “Christians obey Jesus in many ways, but I don’t see them doing that!”

To help us think about possibilities, you received an “invitation” with your bulletin today. It has two sides…two invitations. (sample “invitations” are at the end of this that could be formatted and printed for your locale) Let’s start with the banquet at the community center. Do you see the guests, meal, costs? Sounds good? (skim those things aloud while holding a copy of the invitation). Now, let’s look at the invitation to the picnic shelter in the park. (again, skim the list of guests, menu, cost, etc. on that side). OK. Now the hard questions, “Which one do you prefer? Which one enhances your social standing or the standing of the congregation in our community?” Now, “Which invitation is one Jesus would suggest?” Ouch.

Not so many do as Jesus said. Yes, there are Soup Kitchens for the homeless, and there are sometimes “Free” Thanksgiving or Christmas meals for a community or neighborhood. But what about a banquet you or I might plan for those who cannot repay the favor?

I read about a couple, ²Sally and Chris. They were to be married in Waco, TX. They were close to congregation members and wanted to invite everyone. They counted their pennies, the cost of the reception hall, a catered meal, a DJ for music and so forth. They could not afford to invite the whole congregation. What were they to do? Here’s what they decided. They took their budgeted funds, asked the police if they could close off one block of the street by the church. They asked Baskin Robbins to serve ice cream and a DJ to play for a street dance. They invited the congregation. Chris connected with a homeless shelter in one part of Waco and asked some of them to do a few odd jobs at the church. Sally invited some poorer neighbors – a three generation household. She invited an elder neighbor who became the life of the party. The bridesmaids lined up to dance with a 78 year old member. Did Chris and Sally live the good news? Yes, they did something on a grand scale, but there may be ways for each of us to live the good news on a small scale.

You might recall that for the Passover, some Jews keep a door open to their home, and an empty chair at the table…both are to welcome Elijah, in case he shows up. What if we set an extra place at our home tables and kept an empty chair for whoever? Better yet, maybe we could invite someone who is poor or disabled in any way to our homes once or twice a month. You will be blessed because they cannot repay.

Is not this what God has done for us? Without Christ, we are “poor” sinners. We have nothing to bring to God to save ourselves.  Without Christ, we are disabled by the power of sin, curved in ourselves, unable to walk the way of God. Without Christ, we are blinded, unable to see the truth about ourselves, unable to see the work of God in the world or our lives.

Yet, through Christ, God comes to us and invites us into relationship through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We cannot repay that! God invites us to the table of Holy Communion where Jesus gives us himself, his body, his lifeblood. We cannot repay that! God invites us to share in the kingdom, and in the kingdom we may see the face of Jesus in the poor, the disabled and the blind. God comes to us in Word and Sacrament. In the holy scriptures heard and proclaimed, God comes to us. In the water and word of Baptism, in the bread, wine and word of Communion God comes to us. God comes to us, to speak, to touch us with the invitation of grace. We cannot repay that! God comes to us because we cannot walk to God. We cannot repay that!

A colleague of mine, Pr. Matthew Voyer wrote this (I think in a Facebook comment a few years ago), “In the incarnation God is both the host inviting the poor and the crippled to the banquet; and [God is] the guest sitting in the lowest seat, reserving the places of honor for the poor and crippled.”

Remember, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Guess who IS coming to dinner. Wouldn’t you like to know.

Amen

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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©Pr. Luther H. Thoresen, ELCA, STS, retired; thoresenluther54@gmail.com; Grundy Center, IA, USA

¹ This story was published online by the late Pr Tim Zingale. The site, www.dodgenet.com is no longer available. There was not a source citation, and may have been the creation of Pr Zingale, or simply found and shared by him. I have edited it for brevity.

² I do not now know the source of this anecdote found in my lectionary notes.

 

You Are Invited! Invited to What? To a BBQ at the City Park Picnic Shelter, 6:00 pm, August 31, 2025 Guest Speakers:   Ø  Susan, a homeless person from a nearby community Ø  John, an HIV/AIDS patient from our area Ø  Jeri and Sally, a resident and a worker at the local Supported Community Living apartments for Disabled adults Ø  Dick, a former inmate at our state prison, and part of the “inside” congregation supported by our congregation Each speaker will share briefly about God’s work in their lives. Topic: “Missing the Ball altogether…and then dropping the ball” Music provided by all gathered persons – it’s a “Sing along” Menu: Soup, Bread, Salads and mini-sandwiches Meal served by members of First Lutheran Church Public Invited ~ Free Will Donation

You Are Invited! Invited to What? To a Banquet at the Community Center, 6:00 pm, August 31, 2025 Guest Speakers: ü  John Cassis, retired, former baseball player with the California Angels, professional racquetball player, and former chaplain for the Chicago Bears ü  US Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst ü  Tom Brokaw, retired NBC news anchor and reporter ü  Carrie Underwood, singer and actress Each speaker will share briefly about God’s work in their lives Topic: “Striking out…and Hitting a homer to downtown” Music provided by Maddie Poppe, winner of the 2018 season of American Idol (and one song with Carrie) Advance Tickets only: $45 each Meal Catered by Applebee’s Menu: Soup & Salad, Bread & Potato, Corn or peas, Ribeye Steak or Grilled Chicken, Pie and Ice Cream