The correct way to behave
From Helen
I always like to think of myself as someone who knows how to behave well and correctly when in public. Some people may disagree.... But we do all know how we should behave in certain situations. It is never correct to go to somebody else's house for a meal and complain about the food, nor is it correct to turn up for a posh dinner party wearing scruffy, ripped clothes.
There was once a competition in America to win a large amount of money. The way to win the competition was to do something ridiculous. There was a man who decided that he would eat a tree, not a small tree but quite a sizeable one. The competition runners were a radio station who thought that this could be worth pursuing, so they challenged the man. The man decided that he would make this challenge a very interesting one and thought that he should behave correctly. So he set up his challenge as a dinner party for one. He wore a dinner suit, had a large dining table which he laid with a beautiful tablecloth, silver cutlery and bone china plates. He then proceeded to saw bits of the tree off and eat them in turn, he worked his way through the branches and after twenty four hours had demolished the whole tree including the trunk. He won the money and when asked afterwards how he felt he complained of a tummy upset, obviously the bark was worse than his bite!
In our readings this morning we have heard something of the correct way to behave. In Hebrews we were reminded of the time when Abraham welcomed some strangers, showed them great hospitality and ended up entertaining angels. What a great reminder of the importance of good hospitality and the correct way to behave. By giving of ourselves we may gain something more than we ever expected.
Welcoming people, loving them, can always turn up some surprises for us, as in the case of Abraham.
But then we come to the gospel reading. The gospel reading to me is a bit like a reality tv show. Jesus had been invited for a meal, he went and one would assume He behaved in a correct manner.
There was once a competition in America to win a large amount of money. The way to win the competition was to do something ridiculous. There was a man who decided that he would eat a tree, not a small tree but quite a sizeable one. The competition runners were a radio station who thought that this could be worth pursuing, so they challenged the man. The man decided that he would make this challenge a very interesting one and thought that he should behave correctly. So he set up his challenge as a dinner party for one. He wore a dinner suit, had a large dining table which he laid with a beautiful tablecloth, silver cutlery and bone china plates. He then proceeded to saw bits of the tree off and eat them in turn, he worked his way through the branches and after twenty four hours had demolished the whole tree including the trunk. He won the money and when asked afterwards how he felt he complained of a tummy upset, obviously the bark was worse than his bite!
In our readings this morning we have heard something of the correct way to behave. In Hebrews we were reminded of the time when Abraham welcomed some strangers, showed them great hospitality and ended up entertaining angels. What a great reminder of the importance of good hospitality and the correct way to behave. By giving of ourselves we may gain something more than we ever expected.
Welcoming people, loving them, can always turn up some surprises for us, as in the case of Abraham.
But then we come to the gospel reading. The gospel reading to me is a bit like a reality tv show. Jesus had been invited for a meal, he went and one would assume He behaved in a correct manner.
Imagine what it would have been like to watch this scene from a distance. A Pharisee had invited this well known teacher, a teacher who did not always do things the way that the Pharisees as a group liked, but had built up a huge array of followers. This was not a simple meal though, and this is where the reality tv show gets very interesting.
Jesus had been invited for a meal by the Pharisees so that they could try and catch Him out. They wished to keep an eye on Jesus and He in turn wished to point out the foolishness of their ways. As usual the Pharisees were trying to outsmart Jesus and catch Him out. This was not very bright, after all how could anyone possibly outsmart God ? Jesus turned their view of correct behaviour upside down by challenging them to think of their view of their own importance.
Jesus did not do the expected, He behaved incorrectly by questioning and challenging His hosts who were seeking to make a spectacle of Him. He in fact made a spectacle of them, and it is almost laughable that He pointed out the ways that people get puffed up with their own importance by talking of an embarrassing social faux pas when you sit in someone else's seat and it is pointed out to you.
Jesus was not playing a game here about how to be a gentleman rather He was making the point that the correct way to behave is actually to humble yourself and welcome everyone regardless of who they are and whether they fit your expectation of what is correct or not.
I remember once reading a book called, ‘God’s great banquet', this book looked at the way that the Church welcomes those who are different, it looked at people with issues that were described as disabilities and made the point that being different or less able does not make a person any less aware of the love of God. The book went to talk then of how the banqueting table of God could look with people who are deemed as different socially and somehow unacceptable.
The table sounded a lot of fun !!! I am so happy that I worship God who breaks conventions and says that everyone is welcome and everyone has the right to be included. Jesus turned conventions upside down, by saying something as simple as everyone is important and we should change our attitude by not just including those with whom we are comfortable, who behave correctly in the way that we would perceive things but by including everyone because God loves us all.
This is a challenge to us, how prepared are we to cope with people who may do things differently to us, and see things in a different way to us, people who may be a little annoying because they are different.
We need never be surprised by Jesus' behaviour, because He is always the same, He is always there to welcome and love everyone. We are to be imitators of Him, welcoming everyone, loving everyone.... And not just because we will be blessed, and not just because we may accidentally entertain angels but because sometimes the people we least expect are the ones who can challenge and change us.
Jesus had been invited for a meal by the Pharisees so that they could try and catch Him out. They wished to keep an eye on Jesus and He in turn wished to point out the foolishness of their ways. As usual the Pharisees were trying to outsmart Jesus and catch Him out. This was not very bright, after all how could anyone possibly outsmart God ? Jesus turned their view of correct behaviour upside down by challenging them to think of their view of their own importance.
Jesus did not do the expected, He behaved incorrectly by questioning and challenging His hosts who were seeking to make a spectacle of Him. He in fact made a spectacle of them, and it is almost laughable that He pointed out the ways that people get puffed up with their own importance by talking of an embarrassing social faux pas when you sit in someone else's seat and it is pointed out to you.
Jesus was not playing a game here about how to be a gentleman rather He was making the point that the correct way to behave is actually to humble yourself and welcome everyone regardless of who they are and whether they fit your expectation of what is correct or not.
I remember once reading a book called, ‘God’s great banquet', this book looked at the way that the Church welcomes those who are different, it looked at people with issues that were described as disabilities and made the point that being different or less able does not make a person any less aware of the love of God. The book went to talk then of how the banqueting table of God could look with people who are deemed as different socially and somehow unacceptable.
The table sounded a lot of fun !!! I am so happy that I worship God who breaks conventions and says that everyone is welcome and everyone has the right to be included. Jesus turned conventions upside down, by saying something as simple as everyone is important and we should change our attitude by not just including those with whom we are comfortable, who behave correctly in the way that we would perceive things but by including everyone because God loves us all.
This is a challenge to us, how prepared are we to cope with people who may do things differently to us, and see things in a different way to us, people who may be a little annoying because they are different.
We need never be surprised by Jesus' behaviour, because He is always the same, He is always there to welcome and love everyone. We are to be imitators of Him, welcoming everyone, loving everyone.... And not just because we will be blessed, and not just because we may accidentally entertain angels but because sometimes the people we least expect are the ones who can challenge and change us.
There was a Church once where a man walked into Church who was wearing a scruffy hat and a long scruffy coat, he walked in and everyone looked a bit shocked by his appearance. He walked straight to the front and sat in the seat that was reserved for the minister. No one knew what to do, after all he looked odd so they couldn’t just talk to him, plus he was sat in the wrong seat. They decided to wait for the minister, when the service was due to begin the man stood up and took off his hat and scruffy coat and they all realised that the man was in fact their minister who had decided it was time to think about love and welcome even to those who seemed to break convention.
May we be ready to be challenged and changed, to be correct for Jesus, even if that makes us incorrect in the eyes of others.AMEN
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