Come to the Feast!
Sermon Notes
World Communion Sunday
October 7, 2007
Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor
(480) 895-8766
Luke 14:1-14 NRSV
1On 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. 2Just
then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3And Jesus asked the lawyers and
Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent
him away. 5Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox
that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath
day?” 6And they could not
reply to this.
7When 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;
9and 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. 10But 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. 11For all who exalt themselves will
be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12He 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. 13But
when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the
blind. 14And you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.”
A. Introduction
1. Babette’s
Feast
a.
Do you remember the movie BABETTE’S FEAST by Isak
Dinesen. It takes place in the 1870’s,
and tells the tale of a very stiff and rigid community in northern
b. One
day fortune falls on Babette. She receives money from back home. A friend has been purchasing a lottery ticket
in her name every year since Babette left. And now she has won some money. Babette immediately
decides to throw a feast for the sisters and the community that took her
in. Of course, this puts the little
community into a moral dilemma. The
feast that Babette is planning is going to be a party
with rich food and frivolity. Such a
feast in their minds is sinful. Finally,
they all decide that they will go, but that they will have no fun. Babette had been a
chef in
c.
You and I have been invited to a Feast. It is a feast of great joy and
abundance. It is a feast that will never
end. It is the Banquet in the
2. Today’s Scripture: Luke 14:1-14
a.
In today’s Scripture lesson we see Jesus dining at the house of a
Pharisee. It is the Sabbath day and the
Pharisees are watching Jesus closely.
They are hoping that Jesus will say or do something that they can
condemn. They want to “trap” him. This could not have been a meal with much joy
in it.
b.
Still, Jesus does what he knows is right. He heals a man with swollen arms and
legs. Then Jesus uses a story to explain
to the people what the
B. God’s guest list is inclusive!
1.
Today’s Scripture Lesson: Luke
14:12-14
a. Jesus tells the Pharisees and the
other people that the guest list in the
b.
Now you could look at this as Jesus ruling out the rich and
powerful. I, however, don’t think that’s
what he meant. I believe that Jesus was
pushing us to expand the list! I believe
He wanted us to see just how inclusive God’s list is!
2. Bob Dole and the Jail
Bird
a.
Some years back when Bob Dole was a Senator and the Senate
Minority Leader, he and some other Senators wanted a way to thank people who
had given generously to the Republican Party.
So they hatched up a plan where they invited these big givers to a
meeting with Republican Senators. They
called it “The Republican Inner Circle.”
At these meeting these “average citizens” could join with the Senators
in discussing important issues such as national defense and the war on drugs.
b.
Dole’s last campaign had been generously supported by a man named
Bosko Struminikovski. So Dole asked this man to join “The
Republican Inner Circle” and invited him to their next meeting in
c.
Now we might not want Bosko to be our
Banker, or to teach Sunday School, or to be on our Finance Committee. Our Nominating Team might struggle to find a
place for him. However, Bosko Struminikovski is on God’s
guest list. The Lord Jesus would invite
him to be a part of the
C. God invites only the unworthy!
1. Today’s Scripture: Luke 14:7-9, 13 & 14
a.
In verses seven to nine of today’s Scripture lesson, Jesus warns
against pride. And he verbally paints a
picture of a puffed up man who thinks he deserves not only to be at the
Banquet, but that he deserves the best place and special consideration. No one on his or her own merit deserves
admittance into the
b.
In verses thirteen & fourteen, Jesus calls us to invite the
people who feel unworthy of our invitation, and says, “you will be blessed,
because they are not able to pay you back.” (Luke 14:14 TEV) This is to be a reminder to us that we, also,
are unworthy to be invited to God’s Banquet.
But God invites us just the same!
2. Wilbur Chapman, pastor
and evangelist
a.
The Reverend Wilbur Chapman was invited to be the speaker at a
luncheon meeting of the Screen Actors Guild.
Pastor Chapman sat at a table enjoying the lunch and waiting for his
time to speak. A half a dozen people
were sitting at Chapman’s table. The
president of the guild was there as well as an aging actress, who was known not
only for her on screen acting, but her off screen misadventures and
affairs. This aging actress looked at
the printed program for the meeting and made this comment to the people around
the table: “Oh (expletive), they’ve got
a preacher as the speaker. I suppose the
old bore will go on and on about our sins.”
Chapman responded: Lady, I’m the
old bore, and they’ve only given me ten minutes to speak. In that time, I couldn’t even begin to talk
about your sins…. (The pastor paused as the actress gasped and then went on to
say) or my own!”
b.
No matter how good we might be.
No matter how much better we think we are than someone we deem an awful
sinner, the truth is that we are all sinners.
And the truth is that we fall short of the perfection of God, and are
thus unworthy to be on God’s guest list.
But, Halleluiah, God still invites us!
D. Your name is on God’s guest list!
1. John 3:16
a. I
again this week remind us of those familiar words: “For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
(John 3:16 RSV) And once again hear
three important words in this text: The “World”
means everyone and “Whoever” means you and me!
But we have to receive the gift.
The word “Believes” is mighty important.
b.
Concerning John 3:16, this is what we need to understand: We who are unworthy have been made
worthy. All are worthy because the King
deems us worthy, and clothes us in His righteousness! The only thing that can keep you away from
the
2. Boy misses his own
Birthday Party
a.
Billy acted up on the morning of his Birthday. Mother sent Billy to his room so that she
could finish taking care of the preparations for the party. Mom and dad had planned some fun surprises
for Billy’s day! However, Billy was
angry for being sent to his room and ran off.
Billy thought his party was to be that evening, and boy was he
wrong. The real party was a surprise
party and it was to begin that afternoon!
Uncle Bob and Aunt Jane stayed at Billy’s home, while all afternoon mom
and dad searched the neighborhood trying to find Billy. Meanwhile back at their home all of Billy’s
friends were having a great time. There
were pony rides and a clown. There was a
trampoline and a small Ferris wheel.
b.
Billy finally came home as the amusement operator was hauling off
all the fun rides. Tommy, his buddy from
next-door, smiled and said to Billy, “It sure was a great party! Too bad you missed it.” My friends, you have been invited to the
greatest Banquet of all. You have been
invited by Jesus to be a part of His Kingdom.
Please don’t miss out. Your name
is on the list. Accept the invitation.
E. Conclusion:
Recap
1. God’s guest list is
inclusive!
2. God invites only the
unworthy!
3. Your name is on God’s
guest list!
Come to the Feast!
1. God’s guest list is inclusive!
2. God invites only the unworthy!
3. Your name is on God’s guest list!
Luke 14:1-14 NRSV
1On 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. 2Just
then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3And Jesus asked the lawyers and
Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent
him away. 5Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox
that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath
day?” 6And they could not
reply to this.
7When 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; 9and 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. 10But 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.
11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who
humble themselves will be exalted.”
12He 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. 13But
when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the
blind. 14And you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.”
“When you give a feast,
invite
the poor, the crippled,
the
lame, and the blind;
and you
will be blessed,
because
they are not able
to pay
you back.”
Luke 14:13-14a TEV
“When someone invites you
to a
wedding feast,
do not
sit down
in the
best place.”
Luke 14:8a TEV
“For God so loved the world
that he
gave his only Son,
that
whoever believes in him
should
not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 RSV
Luke 14:1-14 NRSV
1On 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.
2Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had
dropsy.
3And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it
lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?”
4But they were silent.
So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away.
5Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or
an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a
Sabbath day?”
6And they could not reply to this.
7When 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;
9and 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.
10But 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.
11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and
those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12He 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.
13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, and the blind.
14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay
you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”