Jesus – the controversial dinner guest

In today’s gospel, Jesus is dining at the house of a Pharisee. He says to his host, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends…or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors [because they will repay you]…Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.“

I often wonder about what Jesus was witnessing that made him say the things he said?

Who did he see at the dinner party? Or who didn’t he see?

What were the interactions like?

Why would he say something like this – especially to his host?

Bottom line: Jesus is not everyone’s favorite dinner guest!

Jesus always seemed to be concerned with the social structures of his day and the real world implications of those structures. And in today’s reading, he’s directly taking on the system of “favors” that help people preserve access, influence and privilege. He knows that dinner parties (like so many other events) are not just occasions to socialize. They serve other functions as well. They connect certain people to each other for certain purposes.

Recently I was passing an upscale Rochester bar and the person in my car, who directs a local non-profit, remarked, “that’s where so many deals go down with non-profit executives and people in the business community.”

Given that I did not know this suggests a bit of how closely I am connected to the people who make the deals and decisions!

That’s not to say that I do not already have a great deal of privilege in my life, but it underscores that certain parties, social circles and “invite-only” places help to maintain separations between groups of people.

And that’s what Jesus wanted to comment on.

He knew that if you threw a party for people who had no influence, couldn’t pay you back or could not advance your social standing, you would be undermining deeply entrenched social structures. Moreover, you’d be undermining your own credibility within the circles that you move in. In fact, that’s what they said of Jesus, right? “He eats with tax collectors and sinners.” This was intended to be both an insult and a statement about Jesus lowering himself (and thus undermining his credibility) to another social class.

In my 10/23/23 blog post, I mentioned an article called “Social Service or Social Change” by one of my favorite authors, Paul Kivel. In the original version of the article (published in 2000), he asks the reader to reflect on two central questions: “What do you stand for?” (meaning what are your values in this world) and “Who do you stand with?” (meaning which groups do you align with).

For most of us, we have all kinds of values that we profess and identify with. We might even see ourselves in certain ways due to the values we believe in. But Jesus wasn’t just concerned about what values we might hold. He wanted to know whose interests we aligned ourselves with. With whom are we in solidarity?

I think Jesus is pushing this envelope today. I do not doubt that the Pharisee at whose house he was dining would say that he stood for justice, fairness, equality, etc. I mean, he had even invited Jesus! But as Jesus looked around the party guests, he might have seen that this Pharisee did not stand with those most impacted by injustice, unfairness, inequality, etc.

Maybe we can reflect on the same today.

What do we stand for?

Who do we stand with?

What would it look like – in our lives – to undermine the social structures that tend to govern so many of our interactions on a daily basis? What would it mean to do for others with no expectation of pay back or advancing our status in any way?

And who is regularly part of our social circles? Who is not?

Like so many other teachings from the Christian scriptures, there are not “answers” so much as deepening questions and invitations. Just see where this reflection takes you today.