Experiencing sound quality issues? Please Click here A Grateful Heart
"Forgiven much, loves much" (Luke 7:47).
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
We all get text unsolicited text and other electronic messages. A lot of times, we are annoyed at the random anonymous messages that we receive from unknown people of winning prizes, join for free dinners, and other offers. Even more scary are the messages, that say that you have an order waiting at UPS or Amazon or your credit card has been charged and then ask to call a number back. Please delete all such messages immediately for your security.
But the modern technology can give us unintended blessings. Jim and Lori were at the hospital for their first baby’s delivery. Jim’s brother texted his uncle that Lori gave birth to a boy. The message went to a wrong number, but the person asked him, "what hospital and room number?." The stranger who received the message, Tony, along with his brother went to the hospital and and saw the baby and parents with a bouquet of flowers. The family had a wrong text that ended up in a life long friendship and blessing.
A woman texted her Thanksgiving dinner invitation to a wrong number that she mistook for her grandson. 8 years later, and their tradition continues. In 2016, Wanda Dench sent a text inviting her grandson to Thanksgiving dinner, not knowing he’d recently changed his phone number. The text instead went to a stranger, Jamal. Jamal didn’t have plans, and so, after clarifying who he was, asked if he could still come to dinner. Wanda said, “Of course you can.” Jamal joined the family dinner in what has since become a yearly tradition for him. A mistaken invitation became an annual blessing.
The kindness in inviting a stranger to dinner reminds me of Jesus’ encouragement in Luke’s gospel. During a dinner party at a “prominent” Pharisee’s house (Luke 14:1), Jesus noticed who was invited and how the guests jostled for the best seats (v. 7). Jesus told His host that inviting people based on what they could do for him in return (v. 12) meant the blessing would be limited. Instead, Jesus told the host that extending hospitality to people without the resources to repay him would bring even greater blessing (v. 14).
Jesus was very interested in the well being of our souls as much as our bodies. He always cared for the physical needs of the people. He was compassionate when he saw people sick, or grieving and when he saw people hungry. He fed the crowds physically and spiritually.
Church and food are closely related. I think it is a relationship made in heaven. Whether it’s coffee and donuts in Sunday School or potlucks with all the fixings, it seems like there’s always something to eat or some discussion about what any given group will be eating. And it makes sense when you think about it. Holy Communion – the breaking of bread together – is an essential part of our Christian tradition. The Beloved Covered Dish and the church potluck are iconic in American culture and was a highlight of community life. Where else can you make a meal of squash casserole, cheesy hashbrowns and lemon pound cake in one big smoked, barbecued and baked chicken? Food unites us, heals us, and sustains us. Churches today continue long-standing food traditions and innovate with new ways of bringing food and fellowship into their ministries.
Sharing a meal brings peace. We need inclusive hospitality that goes beyond the walls of our comfort zones in the world today. Majority of the problems we have in the world can be solved to bring peace over a loving hearty meal with strangers. It is a Counter-Cultural Message to say that you go and invite strangers for dinner. In a society that often values status and reciprocity, Jesus challenges us to rise above cultural norms. Hospitality, according to Christ, is not about self-interest or social standing but is an expression of genuine love and compassion.
The Jewish leaders saw a problem on that dinner on that Sabath day becasue Jesus wanted to heal a person with abnormal swelling of his body. First, if one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day… Look at verse 1. “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.” We do not know exactly why the Pharisee invited Jesus to an eating fellowship at his house on the Sabbath. But the good thing is that he invited Jesus the author of the universe to his house. The indications show that his motive was not pure. But still because he invited Jesus, Jesus was able to teach him and his audience what they needed to learn. Maybe the cost of inviting Jesus such as the grocery bill was only a few dollars. But the words Jesus taught them are pricelessly valuable. Most importantly Jesus is the source of salvation. By inviting Jesus to his house, then, the host and his guests came to have a golden opportunity to see God in Jesus and make their way into the kingdom of God for free.
Verse 2 says that there in front of Jesus was a man suffering from dropsy or edema or swelling of the body. We do not know how this man ended up being seated right in front of Jesus. Was it because someone (possibly the host) “planted” him to see whether or not Jesus would heal the man and thereby break the Sabbath law? Or was he there without the host’s prior knowledge of his medical condition? The indications are that he was “planted”. For example verse 4 says that after healing the man Jesus “sent him away”. The expression “sent him away” suggests that this man did not need to be there; he was there only because someone “planted” him to trap Jesus. If this is indeed the case we can see Jesus’ true greatness, because although Jesus must have known the ill motives of the people, still Jesus responded to the invitation. To Jesus, every challenge serves as the opportunity to reveal God’s glory to men.
Now Jesus took the challenge and made a move. Look at verse 3. “Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" Here by the word “law” (in the word “lawful”) Jesus was referring to Moses’ Ten Commandments, the fourth commandment in particular, Exodus 20:10 to be precise, for it reads, “[T]he seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.” Jesus knew what they knew. All the information stuffed up inside of all the brains of all the people in the room was fully known to Jesus. When Jesus asked “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” most likely Jesus was referring to their knowledge on the categories of forbidden Sabbath work. In fact according to the Mishnah (Jewish Oral Law) there are 39 categories of work that are forbidden on the Sabbath day: “planting, plowing, reaping, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, whitening it, carding it, dyeing it, spinning, warping, making two slips, weaving two threads, unraveling two threads, knotting, untying, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, trapping a deer, slaughtering it, skinning it, salting it, tanning its skin, scraping it, cutting it, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters, building, demolishing, extinguishing, igniting, striking with a hammer, carrying out from one domain to another.”
I do not know how Jesus planned to heal the man with the edema. Was Jesus going to heal the man by simply speaking to him? Or is he going to use the conventional method? Certainly if Jesus was to use the conventional method such as that of a medical doctor, performing surgery his healing would involve works like opening up wounds, giving him stitches, and/or writing prescriptions on a piece of paper etc. If he was going to heal that way, certainly he would necessarily do the works that are forbidden like sewing more than two stitches, or writing two or more letters, etc. If Jesus did that, Jesus was going to be condemned as a law breaker. He is going to become “a sinner”. If this happens, then Jesus’ career as the Savior would be finished.
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" What is the right answer to the question? The answer is obvious. As Jesus already taught, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). So the answer to Jesus’ question was “Yes. It was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.” But they remained silent. Jesus took their silence as “We don’t know.” So to further enlighten them, taking hold of the man, Jesus healed him and sent him away. Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" And they had nothing to say. They had no choice but to admit that it was lawful to heal the Sabbath.
Let us stop for a moment and think about the point Jesus was making: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” Let us pay attention to three words, “son”, “ox” and “immediately.” To every parent, a son or a daughter is more valuable than the whole universe. Of course an “ox” is also valuable. The word “immediately” indicates how sensitive and absolute we are in protecting our own children or personal property. And these words reveal our “love” for them: we love our own children; we love our own this or our own that.
But here is the problem: when it comes down to the children or properties that belong to someone else, the story becomes different: our love grows thin and cold, and degenerates into the sheer “indifference”. And when someone else’s car is smashed, we “love” to come around and say “what’s going on”, but not with the same sense of pain as the owner has. Here then Jesus is pointing the religious leaders to the spirit of love built into the Law of Moses. And Jesus wants his people to love God and one’s neighbor with the kind of love God has for all people on earth. And love is not “self-centered”: it serves first the needs of the one it chooses to love. In the passage then Jesus wants the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to love the man with a medical condition just as they love their own kids or animals.
The mandate to love others is based on the way God made man, that is, in the image of God. God’s children carry God’s image, and one of the attributes of God’s image is to love all people on earth with a sacrificial love. To God, all peoples on earth are like ten fingers. I have ten fingers. And you do too. And to you and I, each finger is as valuable as all the rest. And I love my fingers equally. The same is true with God in relating himself to all people on earth. God loves Asians. God loves North Americans. God loves South Americans. God loves Africans. God loves people inside of the church. God loves people outside of the church. God loves the saved ones and God loves the ones that are yet to be saved. God loves all people on earth. And he loves each of them equally. This is the kind of love God has for mankind.
Yet, every once in a while we see beautiful examples of people practicing God’s love. One couple I know has 21 children. Of the 21, 8 are naturally born, and the rest were adopted from orphanages. The man who is the head of the household works as an engineer in a small company. His income is moderate. His wife is a homemaker. Yet, by faith the couple adopted 13 orphans. And they love all of them equally. And the mother educates them through home-schooling.
In our ministry as well, God has brought to us some suh people in our community. But like parents, we are to take them as if they are their own sons or daughters. And we need to pray that the Lord would bless us to know the kind of love God has for us.
Jesus asks them to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and the socially marginalized.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day going by the idea of “give and take” or even “take and take.” Jesus came to teach them something different: that is, “give and give.” By definition God is the God of giving. He is the source of all the resources. And God gives to all who are needy through different channels, particularly through people who know Him. Consistent with this purpose, God called Abraham that he would be a source of blessing for all peoples on earth.
In the passage, Jesus saw that the people who were gathered in the house of the prominent Pharisee did not practice the will of God in calling each of them. Rather, they all became selfish. In their self seeking desires, they built among themselves a “high society”; they put a high “wall” around it, and there they served only their own interests. In many ways then they were no different than a pricey country club where only the rich and famous can get in.
At first glance living a life like this sounds smart. But it is not smart. In the long run, it will turn out to be the stupidest way to finish one’s life here on earth. In what respect is this so? Look at verses 12-14. “Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." According to Jesus, if anyone lives a self-seeking life, adopting the philosophy of “give and take” or “take and take”, he has no reward waiting for him at the resurrection of the righteous.
Then who are the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind? The answer is obvious: they are the ones who cannot pay you back for what you do for them. Categorically they are the ones who do not know Jesus and his love for all of them. Once one truly repents and believes in Jesus Christ, becomes a child of God. And God’s children are as rich as God is (spiritually, financially or otherwise). When one knows Jesus and opens his eyes on Jesus’ love for him, all of sudden he overcomes his crippled condition. He then can get up, take up his mat, and walk, so he no longer operates as a beggar. Plus, as Jesus opens his spiritual eyes he can see everything clearly. So Jesus’ call to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind is the call for the members of the church to go out to the world, and invite people who are yet to know Jesus Christ. And we must invite them not just to an eating fellowship a couple of times but to the eternal fellowship with God and with his people, all based on the living word.
In conclusion, using every flying minute he had at the Pharisee’s house, Jesus taught the spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day the way of love, the way of humble service, and the need to get out of one’s comfort zone, and reach out to the people who are yet to be saved into God’s sheep pen. And the teachings Jesus gave to his audience are all applicable to the members of the church. May the Lord bless us to consider all of them, overcome our own self-seeking tendency, and practice a Christ-like love to many, particularly to young folks of our generation.
For those who had invited a stranger to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner resulted in the unexpected blessing of a lasting friendship that was a great encouragement for the family. In the early nineties, we were young and raising children and busy with schedules. We used to attend a church in Norcross. On the Sunday before thanksgiving, everyone was joyful, sharing with each other how they were going to celebrate thanksgiving with family, friends and dinners. We noticed a few in the crowd did not seem to be joyful. I approached one of them and asked him what he was going to do for Thanksgiving. He was very sad, and shared a story of how he ended up in the USA from China, with nobody here. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the worst times for him. We invited him to our house for Thanksgiving. He called in the monring that he had another friend in the same situation who wants to join. That started the 'Annual Thanksgiving Feast' at our home. We had been having that for the last 28 years starting in 1995, with the exception of one year of Covid-19. It had grown at times to over seventy people in certain years.
Jesus doesn't merely instruct us to invite the less fortunate; He attaches a promise to this act of hospitality, a Blessing Beyond Measure: "When you give a banquet," Jesus says, "you will be blessed." The blessings He promises are not necessarily material or worldly, but rather the spiritual richness that comes from aligning our actions with God's heart. True fulfillment and joy come when we imitate Christ's love for the vulnerable. This is how we reflect God's love to this world. In inviting the marginalized, we emulate God's character. Throughout the Bible, we see God's heart for the oppressed and downtrodden. By extending hospitality to the least, we participate in God's redemptive plan and become channels of His grace.
Our call to hospitality extends beyond physical banquets; it encompasses the banquet of life. We are challenged to welcome strangers, both in our homes and in our hearts, embracing the diversity of God's creation.
True hospitality involves more than words; it requires action. We are called to serve the less fortunate, meeting both their physical and spiritual needs. This may involve volunteering at shelters, supporting community programs, or simply being attentive to the needs of those around us.
When the marginalized and forgotten of any society are brought into the center of a loving community that worships Christ, powerful things begin to happen. Jesus has called us to care for the poor – both for their sake and our own.
Conclusion:
When we reach out to others, not because of what we might receive, but because of God’s love flowing through us, we receive far greater blessing and encouragement. As followers of Christ, we are called to a radical and transformative hospitality that reflects the love of our Savior. May we heed the words of Jesus in Luke 14:13–14, inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind into the banquet of our lives. In doing so, we not only bless others but experience the abundant blessings promised by our Lord. May our hearts be open, our hands ready to serve, and our lives a testimony to the inclusive love of Christ. Amen.
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