Ordinary 22C (Luke 14:1, 7-14)
Jesus offers his unsolicited advice fully aware of the jousting for prominence that occurs in our social spaces. He sees our mad dash to the front row so that we can be seen by the chief executive officer, the potential major donor, or the bishop.
The District of Columbia is awash in banquets. On more than one occasion, I have mistakenly opened a door at a hotel or conference center only to disrupt a fabulous feast to which I had not been invited. There are as many banquets here as there are lobbyists influencing public policy, politicians filling their coffers, social-sector organizations dismantling injustice, and churches launching capital campaigns. Hardly a day goes by that our church is not invited to buy a table at some affair. Will we purchase at the “platinum” rate? Surely a church of our perceived prominence would only want to be associated with precious metals.
The scene is often the same. There is instrumental music that some would call jazz. A local celebrity, maybe a news anchor or an elected official, is the mistress of ceremonies. Food of middling quality is served by anxious, dutiful people who are as aware as those being served of the social inequality that punctuates these affairs. The most prominent people present are on the dais, where they leverage the relational capital they have with those who would like to one day occupy the dais. There is celebration, mingling, and polite applause. There is an anecdote or video designed to meet you at the intersection of heart and wallet. There are pledge cards.
This week’s Gospel text lives. My presiding elder, Ronald Eugene Braxton, previously served my congregation with distinction for 14 years. I was his 39-year-old successor, and he showed me this passage in the flesh.
