Coffee With God

Reflection: Luke14:1,7-11

In Israel lunch on a Sabbath used to be an occasion for relatives and friends to meet and have a time of socialisation. After the time of liturgy in the synagogue, family and friends would move to a house and have their time of chat and meal together. Today’s passage is to be placed in this context of the sabbath lunch. At the end of the liturgy in the synagogue, a leader of the Pharisee invited Jesus for the meal. Jews followed a rigid etiquette at the table. Seats were allocated very carefully: people of honour always get the prominent seating. Seeing the inequality and discrimination even within a family setting, Jesus teaches not crave for places of honour. Respect is not something that can be demanded, rather it is to be earned. When we read this passage, do not misunderstand that Jesus is giving his listeners a lesson on how to achieve honour and respect. Jesus has never cared for public honour and admiration. And he would not teach his listeners a crafty method to achieve glory. Imagine, if you go to a public function and occupy the last seat with the hope of someone leading you to a better position, your behaviour is hypocrisy. This is not the meaning of the Gospel. Take a closer look at the passage and we realise, Jesus is talking to his listeners as if he is the host, and not as guest. In fact, Luke has used this setting of the Sabbath meal to put on the mouth of the Lord a lesson for the Christians of his community. Luke was facing dissensions and disagreements among the leaders of his community. The heads of the various ministries had the desire to occupy the “first places.” It is the eternal problem of the Church: everyone should serve, but, in practice, there is always someone who carries the attitude of the pharisee and aspires for honorary titles, wants to excel, swells with pride and even uses celebration of the Eucharist as an occasion for self-celebration. This is the cancer that destroys our communities! It is not Jesus who is seated at a meal who is giving this lesson today, but the Risen Lord who turns to the Pharisee present in the communities of Luke. This lesson is for the disciples who act as Pharisees, who discriminate. And what does he say? He says that “When you give a feast invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind” (v. 13). The poor, the blind, the crippled, the lame, represent those who walk without the light of the Gospel and stumble, fall, hurt themselves and, others, switching from one error to another. Jesus reminds his disciples that the feast was organized just for them. Woe to exclude them.