Proverbs 25:6-7 ⁶ Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great; ⁷ for it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

Hebrews 13:1-15 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?" ⁷ Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

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.

Luke 14:1, 7-14 On 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.

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."
Text: Proverbs 25:6-7; Heb 13:1-8,15-16; Luke 14:1,7-14

Theme: Table Manners

Date: September 2, 2007

Assembly: Zion Lutheran

Well, folks, it has finally happened. Tessa’s favorite word is “no.”

You would think that in the last week and a half

I would have learned not to ask her any yes/or/no question

But it seems I can’t sit at the table with her without saying something like

“do you want beans?” or “do you want more”

And she reminds me each time

what I already should have learned

…as she declares (in such a sweet voice) “no”

When will she learn table manners?

When will we learn table manners?

Jesus taught us about them on this day…Lk 14

As a guest, come humbly

Without expectation of being exalted

As a host, don’t invite to prove or advance your own status

Quite on the contrary, invite those who don’t elevate your prestige

so that you can freely serve them

this is God’s upside-down etiquette

But when will we learn table manners?

As a whole,1 it is taking us a long time…

Jesus shows that meals are a time of inclusive fellowship

-- foreshadowing the inclusiveness of God’s kingdom.

Jesus eats a lot in the Bible

We get to observe lots of meals

Jesus eats with

His disciples

Religious leaders

Sinners

The poor

The destitute

It seems the point could be…

That Jesus eats with everybody

And yet, the greatest crisis the early church faced with whom they ate

Acts 10:28 ²⁸ and he said to them, "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.

Acts 11:2-3 ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, ³ saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?"

Romans 14:1-3 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ² Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³ Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.

When will we learn table manners? Perhaps it is time we learned new table manners too.

We hear it from Jesus

We hear it in the writings of the New Testament

And yet we are slow to learn

We’ve had racial divisions in this country

That have been plain and exposed and defended

And perhaps since the 60s, we’ve gotten more subtle or more sophisticated

But then topics like immigration come up and we hear ugly words

Like us and them

With generalizations attached all over the place

And I heard this recent story from a congregation in Northern Iowa

Several Sudanese immigrants had moved to the town

and had come to this church

Without any harsh words

But also without many warm words

Most of this group quickly stopped attending

Realizing that others did not intend

for them to be there

yet, Marty stuck with it

he, with his dark skin

and his tribal markings

and gentle spirit

kept coming despite the lack of conversation

and Marty went to a church picnic

a meal for the body of Christ

…and he stood, again, alone

(it hurts doesn’t it)

Until one couple saw

And for the body of Christ

(since others seemed unable to do it)

Took steps and conversation

That resulted in revelation and friendship

And they got to know one another

And really communed together…

Perhaps it is time we learned these table manners too.

In North Liberty,

the ministry about which we have been conversing and praying for years

has a name:

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Will begin holding regular worship services in 2 weeks

It’s exciting having another inclusive table

The Lord’s Table in yet another outpost of ministry and mission

People of Zion sensed the Spirit’s calling

And have been faithful participants and supporters

in welcoming this extention of the Lord’s table

Holy Trinity is to be a place that doesn’t just invite the people who have always been invited

—Holy Trinity is seeking to invite those who are unchurched or dechurched.

-God’s calling to inclusive table fellowship

Are we ready for that kind of table manners?

We’ve sensed a ministry calling

We sense an inclusive table where all are welcome

And now our resources are called on to match this ministry and invitation

At our annual meeting we voted to gift this emerging ministry monetarily

-this is a substantial commitment

That we will continue to meet and hopefully exceed

But our Table Manners will go beyond money

Some of our own mission-minded members may discern

God calling you to be temporary “launching members”

Of Holy Trinity

Which is at least a 6month commitment

to full participation at Holy Trinity

and if it is so that some of our members discern this calling

we will commission them for this ministry

like any other missionary.

Table manners do not come without cost

But then neither does any cup of blessing

Or any bread of life

It will be the cost of following Christ

To be present in that room where he teaches us and gives us invitation to this table

To be present at the foot of the cross where he again teaches

and gives invitation to the kingdom of God

And, when that feast to come…has come

We will celebrate with every stranger

As though Brother

As though Sister

Until then we will remember EWALU’s slogan that all are welcome

-we share the gifts of Zion and the warmth of the Holy Spirit

In greeting and inviting each person

In the energy and resources given to ministries we are called into

What a beautiful day it will be when feast has come

And until that day we will practice into table manners that welcome the other.