Reservations for dinner

I had a wonderful vacation last week and am only beginning to accomplish "re-entry" into a normal routine. So, blogging has been slow. Two things I really enjoyed on vacation: being at the beach with my family and lots of great food. So, it's not surprising that my thoughts this week have been on a passage in Luke 14. This is a chapter that is rich in teaching from Jesus in the context of a meal. Jesus went to eat at the house of a Pharisee on the Sabbath. Ahhh, I have pictured a great Sunday meal. The food may have been great, but I'm not so sure about the company that surrounded Jesus. The Pharisees, we are told, watched Jesus suspiciously during the meal. Sure enough, Jesus gave them plenty of cause for concern. He healed a sick man on the Sabbath! This event gave him a great intro to some Sunday storytelling. The first story is about another meal. It has to do with the tendency of the Pharisees to seat themselves in places of prominence. Jesus proceeded to let them know that the "host" (God himself) is prepared to remove the proud and arrogant self-promoters and then promote the humble. Sunday, I look forward to exploring some of the implications for our lives. Not only is self-promotion at epidemic levels in our culture, I have noticed a growing tendency to watch "God" with suspicious eyes.