Proper 17

Lucas 14:1, 7-14

Rev. Neli Miranda 

Honor and shame… two pivotal values that ruled Jewish society in the first century.  An honorable person was distinguished for belonging to a recognized family, for holding a high position for being wise, for having good health, abundant offspring and material possessions, all of which were continually exhibited in many ways. Honor meant esteem, respect, and reputation among the community. Shame, on the other way, meant humiliation and loss of standing, and in Jesus’ time most of the population lived on the side of shame: the poor, the sick, the despised like the prostitutes and tax collectors, and those considered criminals; in general, all those who did not belong to the elite.

To gain honor and avoid falling into shame ruled people’s behavior. It was a strong incentive that marked people’s daily actions to step over others to maintain their own status. An important way to maintain or increase self-honor was to build relationships with prominent people, those considered honorable in the community. Offering and being invited to great banquets was a sign of honor. So, when people offered a banquet, they took care to invite distinguished guests who would exalt them with honor. On the other hand, guests desperately sought to occupy the closest seats at the head of the table, the position of honor. What about those considered despised? Naturally, they were never invited to these banquets because sharing with the despised meant losing honor. In a previous text, Luke tells us that one of the pharisees had invited Jesus to eat with him, and a “sinner woman” entered the house and anointed Jesus’ feet. This woman displeased the host pharisee who repudiated her, but Jesus accepted her. Shame on Jesus! 

This Sunday, we read that Jesus was invited, once again, for a meal at the house of a leader of the pharisees, and while he was there, he noticed the guests jockeying for the most honorable place. Banquets were an opportunity for philosophers and teachers to impart their wisdom, and it seems that Jesus has been invited as a Rabbi, a teacher.  So, seizing the moment, Jesus teaches the host and the guests—who were seeking honor—how to break down the power struggle manifested at the table. He recommends that they show humility by sitting at the lowest place which will give them the chance to be moved up higher by the host; thus being honored in the presence of all who sit at the table. This is more than a lesson about table manners. It is about one of the Kingdom of God’s values, humility: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (14,11). Let’s imagine that no one is interested in sitting in the “important” seats… VIP seats would lose their power and the community would share freely and peacefully without any social barriers. This is the Kingdom of God!

After addressing the guests, Jesus directs his attention to the host (a pharisee), who surely had invited only prominent people to his table with the expectation that they would reciprocate in the future. Jesus encourages him to revert the system that divides people into honorable and despised.  Jesus tells him that in the honor-shame system, people seek honor by inviting family, friends, rich and prominent neighbors to a meal; however, in the Kingdom of God system, God honors people when they invite the despised, the poor, the blind, and the crippled and lame.  Those who offer such generosity, Jesus adds, will be blessed and repaid in the life to come: “And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous" (14,14).

Dear sisters and brothers, this ancient social system of honor-shame seems to still rule our lives today, honoring and privileging some and despising and shaming others. However, we clear read in the Gospel that Jesus was not ruled by the social conventions of his time but by the values of the Kingdom of God. He openly broke with the honor-shame system and honored the despised of his time.  As Jesus’ disciples, how can we change this unjust system? Do we participate in the struggle for the most honorable places in our community?  Who do we invite to have a meal with us? Are they those whose company honors us with social prestige and can reciprocate an invitation?  Jesus tells us today that in the Kingdom of God blessings, honor and exaltation come from being humble, by sitting and sharing with the despised, by inviting to our table those who cannot return an invitation, by breaking with social injustice!

May we hear Jesus’ teachings and break with the practices that create shame in our midst. Let us honor our sisters and brothers! Amen.