Hammond Street Congregational Church

Rev. Dr. Mark Allen Doty, Senior

Hammond Street Congregational Church, UCC

Bangor, Maine

August 29, 2010

OPEN TABLE

LUKE 14:1, 7-14

DURING THIS PAST WEEK, A FRIEND AND I ATTENDED OUR FIRST MEETING AS MEMBERS OF THE PENOBSCOT COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE BOARD. HE AND I ARRIVED EARLY FOR THE BOARD MEETING. ONLY ONE OTHER PERSON WAS IN THE BOARD ROOM, ----AN EMPLOYEE OF PCHC--WHO WAS PREPARING FOR THE MEETING. AS THE TWO OF US ENTERED THE ROOM, WE SAW A LARGE SERIES OF TABLES SET IN THE SHAPE OF A HORSESHOE WITH CHAIRS AROUND THE PERIMETER. TO THE LEFT AND AT THE TOP OF THE HORSESHOE WERE JUST THREE CHAIRS. IN FRONT OF ONE OF THEM WAS A CARDBOARD BOX FILLED WITH FILES. SOMETHING TOLD ME THAT THOSE THREE SEATS WERE RESERVED FOR THE OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION, AND SO I TOOK A SEAT AT THE TABLE IN FRONT OF ME. MY FRIEND, HOWEVER, OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T THINK THAT THERE WERE ANY RESERVED SEATS, AND SO HE PUT HIS LAPTOP AND BRIEFCASE IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE CHAIRS. BUT JUST AS SOON AS HE DID THAT, THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM SAID, "OH, THOSE PLACES ARE RESERVED FOR THE CEO AND THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD CHAIR. YOU CAN SIT ANYWHERE ELSE."

WHEN THE WOMAN SAID THOSE WORDS, I WAS IMMEDIATELY REMINDED OF TODAY'S GOSPEL LESSON FROM LUKE WHICH IS ABOUT PICKING ONE'S SPOT AT THE TABLE. THE PARABLE ABOUT "HUMILITY AND HOSPITALITY" IS INTRODUCED IN THE FIRST VERSE OF CHAPTER 14 BY TELLING US THAT JESUS HAS BEEN INVITED TO BE A DINNER GUEST IN THE HOME OF THE LEADER OF THE PHARISEES ON THE SABBATH. LUKE ADDS, SOMEWHAT OMINOUSLY, THAT "THEY WERE WATCHING HIM CLOSELY." SO JESUS KNOWS THAT ALL EYES ARE TRAINED ON HIM. AND SO WHAT BETTER TIME TO HEAL A MAN WITH DROPSY! THIS FELLOW APPEARS RIGHT BEFORE HIM, JUST AS THE BENT OVER WOMAN APPEARED BEFORE JESUS ON THE SABBATH--THE SUBJECT OF LAST SUNDAY'S LESSON. WHILE THIS PORTION OF THE SCRIPTURE IS NOT PART OF TODAY'S PASSAGE, THE HEALING OF THE MAN WITH DROPSY HELPS TO SET THE SCENE FOR THAT WHICH IS TO COME. JESUS ASKS THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES, "IS IT LAWFUL TO CURE PEOPLE ON THE SABBATH, OR NOT?" THEY SAY NOTHING, AND SO JESUS HEALS THE MAN. WHILE THE PRESIDENT OF THE TEMPLE HAD TAKEN JESUS TO TASK FOR HEALING THE CRIPPLED WOMAN, JESUS AGAIN REITERATES HIS POSITION AT THE PHARISEE'S' HOME. HE ASKS A RHETORICAL QUESTION: "IF ONE OF YOU HAS A CHILD OR AN OX THAT HAS FALLEN INTO A WELL, WILL YOU NOT IMMEDIATELY PULL IT OUT ON THE SABBATH DAY?" AGAIN THERE WAS SILENCE.

IF THE PHARISEES WERE HOSTILE TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS, HE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT THEM; IMMEDIATELY HE JUMPS INTO CONTROVERSY. THE CHAPTER ALSO CONTAINS THE FAMOUS PARABLE OF THE GREAT DINNER. WITH GOOD REASON, THEN, CHAPTER 14 HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE "TABLE TALK" OF JESUS. TABLE FELLOWSHIP WAS AN EXCEEDINGLY IMPORTANT TIME FOR LUKE. THE GOSPEL WRITER LUKE N.T. WRIGHT OBSERVES THAT "LUKE'S GOSPEL HAS MORE MEAL-TIME SCENES THAN ALL THE OTHERS" (Luke for Everyone). PERHAPS BECAUSE OF THIS FACT, FRED CRADDOCK SAYS THAT "NOTHING CAN BE FOR LUKE MORE SERIOUS THAN A DINING TABLE." TABLE FELLOWSHIP FOR LUKE IS WHERE THE EUCHARIST TAKES PLACE, WHERE CHRIST IS REVEALED, AND WHERE JESUS GAVE THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THE DISCIPLES, AS WELL AS THEIR COMMISSION. IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, TABLE FELLOWSHIP WAS THE MEANS BY WHICH JEWS AND GENTILES WERE ABLE TO BE THE CHURCH (Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation: Luke).

SO WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TABLE FELLOWSHIP PREPARES THE WAY FOR TODAY'S SCRIPTURE LESSON. AS I OPENED ONE OF THE MY FILE FOLDERS THIS WEEK, A SMALL SLIP OF PAPER FELL OUT; IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING I HAD WRITTEN DOWN YEARS AGO--I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN. BUT AT THE TOP OF THE PAPER WERE THE UNDERLINED WORDS "THEOLOGY OF EATING." THEN FOLLOWED THREE POINTS: "1. EATING IS A PERSONAL ACT. 2. EATING IS A SOCIAL ACT. 3. EATING IS A SPIRITUAL ACT." INDEED, THOSE THREE CATEGORIES ARE AS TRUE TODAY AS THEY WERE IN THE TIME OF JESUS. EATING IS PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL.

BEARING ALL THIS IN MIND, THEN, JESUS BEGINS IN VERSE SEVEN WITH A PARABLE. HE TELLS HIS HEARERS AT THE PHARISEE'S HOME, THAT YOU SHOULD NOT SIT DOWN IN THE PLACE OF HONOR AT A WEDDING BANQUET, IN CASE A MORE DISTINGUISHED GUEST HAS ALSO BEEN INVITED.

THIS HARKENS BACK TO MY OPENING STORY. AND IT ALSO CALLS TO MIND A WEEK AGO WHEN I PERFORMED A HOLY UNION. I WAS INVITED TO JOIN THE WEDDING GUESTS AT THE RECEPTION HALL IN BREWER. WHEN I WALKED INTO THE ROOM, THERE WAS TO MY RIGHT A HEAD TABLE. THE WAY IT WAS DECORATED, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY DESIGNATED FOR THE BRIDAL PARTY. SO I TOOK MY PLACE, ALONG WITH THE GUESTS, AT ONE OF THE OTHER TABLES. IN JESUS' STORY, HE ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO BE BOTH HUMBLE AND HOSPITABLE: "BUT WHEN YOU ARE INVITED, GO AND SIT DOWN AT THE LOWEST PLACE, SO THAT WHEN YOUR HOST COMES, HE MAY SAY TO YOU, 'FRIEND, MOVE UP HIGHER.'"

NOW JESUS IS SAYING THIS TO THE PHARISEES WHO ARE AROUND HIM. THESE PEOPLE WERE CONSIDERED TO BE THE GOOD FOLKS OF THAT DAY AND TIME: "THEY NEVER MISSED A RELIGIOUS MEETING, THEY STUDIED THE SCRIPTURES, THEY TITHED, AND THEY SET THE MORAL STANDARD FOR THEIR CULTURES." IN TODAY'S WORLD, THE PHARISEES WOULD BE FAITHFUL, ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERS. AND YET, JESUS DOESN'T CONSIDER INVITING PEOPLE OF ONE'S SOCIAL STATION TO BE WORTHY OF A DINNER INVITATION (Raymond Bailey, The Lectionary Commentary). IN "THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT DINNER" WHICH FOLLOWS THIS LESSON, JESUS MEMORABLY SPEAKS ABOUT PURPOSEFULLY NOT INVITING THE PEOPLE WHO CAN REPAY YOU. RATHER YOU SHOULD INVITE "THE POOR, THE CRIPPLED THE BLIND, THE LAME." THE WATCHWORD OF JESUS IS, "DON'T GO FOR RECIPROCITY. BE EXTRAVAGANTLY, FORGETFULLY GENEROUS. INVITE THE MOST UNLIKELY, MOST UNEXPECTED OF GUESTS INTO YOUR HOME AND SHARE THAT MOST NECESSARY, MOST ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE OF EATING TOGETHER" (Kate Huey, "Open Table," Sermon Seeds, ucc.org).

AS I THINK ABOUT THAT UNCOMPROMISING WORD, I THINK TO MYSELF, BUT NO ONE DOES THAT! BUT THERE WAS A STORY IN THE AUGUST 15^TH EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ABOUT A WOMAN WHO DID, IN FACT, DO JUST THAT. IN FRANK RICH'S OP-ED PIECE CALLED "ANGELS IN AMERICA," HE WROTE OF THE RECENT DEATH OF A PROMINENT, WEALTHY NEW YORKER, JUDITH DUNNINGTON PEABODY. SHE WAS A WOMAN WHO SAT AT MANY HEAD TABLES DURING HER LIFETIME OF DOING CHARITY WORK. BUT MRS. PEABODY ALSO DID WORK THAT WAS FAR FROM TRADITIONAL FOR A SOCIETY MATRON, OR FOR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. JUDITH PEABODY'S HUSBAND RECALLED HER WORKING WITH A GANG OF HISPANIC YOUTH IN EAST HARLEM. ONE NIGHT SHE INVITED ALL OF THEM TO DINNER IN THEIR APARTMENT. MR. PEABODY SAID, "THE DOORMEN WERE, WELL, A LITTLE SURPRISED. IT WAS A GREAT NIGHT." DURING THE 1980'S, WHEN PEOPLE WERE TERRIFIED OF BEING IN THE COMPANY OF GAY MEN WITH HIV/AIDS, MRS. PEABODY SET A DIFFERENT STANDARD. MARJORIE HILL, THE DIRECTOR OF THE GAY MEN'S HEALTH CRISIS IN NEW YORK, SAID THAT WITH JUDITH PEABODY HER GREAT CONSTANT WAS "CONSOLING AND HOLDING PEOPLE'S HANDS." THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW THIS REMARKABLE LADY BEST SAID THAT …THE FOLKS IN HER PARTICULAR VILLAGE WERE 'THE MOST MARGINALIZED, AND OFTEN THOSE FURTHEST FROM HER OWN MILIEU OF 'INCREDIBLE SOCIAL PRIVILEGE." WHAT MADE MRS. PEABODY EXCEPTIONAL WAS THAT SHE WAS ALWAYS GOING INTO AREAS WHERE POLITE PEOPLE DIDN'T GO. HER FRIENDS WOULD SAY, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE DOING THAT. WE DON'T KNOW PEOPLE LIKE THAT" (Trebay, NYT, August 4, 2010). BUT JUDITH DUNNINGTON PEABODY DID. THIS WOMAN WAS A TRUE "ANGEL IN AMERICA." SHE WAS SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY PRACTICED WHAT JESUS TALKED ABOUT. MRS. PEABODY HAS MY VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO NEEDS TO BE CALLED UP HIGHER AT THE HEAVENLY BANQUET!

EVER SINCE I HAVE BEEN A CHILD, I HAVE HAD A GREAT FASCINATION WITH THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY VISITING MY PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS, I FOUND A COPY OF WALTER LORD'S A NIGHT TO REMEMBER IN THEIR ATTIC. THE BOOK DETAILED THE GREAT OCEAN LINER HITTING AN ICEBERG ON A CHILLY APRIL NIGHT IN 1912 AND SINKING IN THE WATERS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC. EVER SINCE I BREATHLESSLY READ LORD'S BOOK, I HAVE READ EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON ABOUT THIS TRAGEDY. FOR SOME YEARS, I WAS A MEMBER OF THE TITANIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW EXCITED I WAS WHEN ROBERT BALLARD AND HIS CREW DISCOVERED THE WRECK SOME YEARS AGO. I OFTEN THOUGHT TO MYSELF THAT I DIDN'T NEED TO PHYSICALLY SEE THE SHIP, I ONLY WANTED TO BE AT THE PLACE ON THE WATER WHERE IT WENT DOWN.

IN 2004 MY PARENTS AND I WERE PASSENGERS ON THE QUEEN MARY 2, AS IT SAILED FROM NEW YORK TO SOUTHAMPTON DURING ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE YEAR. ON THE FIRST MORNING AT SEA, I WAS UTTERLY FLABBERGASTED TO HEAR THE CAPTAIN SAY OVER THE INTERCOM, "WE ARE NOW PASSING OVER THE SPOT WHERE THE TITANIC SANK." I RAN TO THE RAILING TO HAVE A LOOK. LATER I HEARD THE CAPTAIN SAY--WITH A LAUGH--THAT HE COULDN'T IMAGINE WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT TO TAKE PICTURES THERE. "ALL YOU SEE IS THE OCEAN," HE SAID. BUT I UNDERSTOOD.

THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC HAS HAD A GREAT HOLD OVER US FOR GENERATIONS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME, ON THE WORLD'S LONGEST AND FASTEST OCEAN LINER. NOT EVEN GOD, THE LINE WENT, COULD SINK THIS SHIP. AND YET WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT ILL-FATED MAIDEN VOYAGE.

SOME OF THE GREATEST NAMES IN AMERICA WERE ON THEIR WAY HOME TO THE UNITED STATES: THE GUGGENHEIMS, THE ASTORS, THE STRAUSSES. THEY WERE THE FIRST OF THE FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS ON A SHIP WHERE THE CLASSES DIDN'T MIX AT ALL. THEY AND THEIR MILLIONAIRE FRIENDS OCCUPIED THE TOP DECKS, OF COURSE. BELOW THEM WERE THE SECOND OR MIDDLE CLASS PASSENGERS--THE ONES WHO HOPED TO BECOME RICH, AND FINALLY THERE WERE THE THIRD CLASS PASSENGERS, THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR WHO WERE IN SERVICE TO THE WEALTHY. THEY ALSO CAME TO AMERICA FROM EUROPE, HOPING TO START A NEW LIFE.

WELL, AFTER THE GREAT LINER HIT THE ICEBERG, THE PASSENGERS WERE THROWN INTO CHAOS. ALL THE PRIORITIES CHANGED. AS THE SHIP BEGAN TO SINK, I ONCE REMEMBER READING ABOUT A WOMAN WHO DASHED BACK TO HER STATEROOM. SHE PASSED OVER HER BAGS OF JEWELRY FILLED WITH DIAMONDS AND GRABBED THREE ORANGES INSTEAD. SHE KNEW SHE WOULD NEED THEM IN THE LIFEBOAT.

IN THE MUSICAL, TITANIC, MR. ANDREWS, THE DESIGNER OF THE SHIP, DESCRIBES PEOPLE RUNNING IN PANIC FROM THE FREEZING WATER: "THEY'LL LOSE ALL SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG, IT WILL BE EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF, ALL RIGHT, THE WEAK THROWN IN WITH THE ALL THE STRONG--FIRST CLASS AND SECOND WILL MEAN NOTHING! AND SHEER HUMANITY ALONE WILL PREVAIL--ONE SINGLE CLASS…" (Lyrics by Maury Yeston, quoted by Kate Huey).

ONE SINGLE CLASS IS WHAT JESUS HAS IN MIND, AN OPEN TABLE AND NOT A CLOSED ONE. A TABLE LIKE THE ONE JUDITH PEABODY SET IN HER APARTMENT. FOR IN THE END, THAT IS WHO WE ARE--"SHEER HUMANITY ALONE."

KATE HUEY IS A UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PASTOR WHO WRITES A COMMENTARY EACH WEEK ON THE LECTIONS FOR THE DAY. AT THE CLOSE OF HER TREATMENT OF LUKE 14, THIS IS WHAT KATE HAS WRITTEN:

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN A FAMILY OF ELEVEN, MEALS WERE A BIG DEAL. MY MOTHER SAT AT ONE END OF THE TABLE, AND MY FATHER AT THE OTHER. MY FOUR BIG BROTHERS SAT ALONG ONE SIDE OF THE TABLE, AND THE FIVE YOUNGEST, BEGINNING WITH ME, FACED THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE. WE ALWAYS ATE TOGETHER, NO MATTER HOW LATE MY FATHER HAD TO WORK. OFTEN, MY PARENTS WOULD TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BUSINESS, BUT MY FATHER ALWAYS ASKED EACH ONE OF US 'HOW OUR DAY WENT.' AND OCCASIONALLY, OUT OF THE BLUE, HE WOULD DO A RATHER WONDERFUL THING, AS I LOOK BACK ON IT NOW. EACH OF US COULD GET LOST IN A SEA OF SO MANY FACES. BUT MY DAD WOULD SAY, IN A VERY SERIOUS TONE, 'HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WE HAVE JOHN [OR LIBBY, OR CHUCK, AND SO ON], RAISE YOUR HAND." AND WE WOULD ALL RAISE OUR HANDS. (YOU MADE SURE YOU ALWAYS RAISED YOUR HAND, BECAUSE YOU WANTED EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME WHEN IT WAS YOUR TURN…) I CAN'T DESCRIBE THE EFFECT IT HAD ON EACH OF US TO SEE TEN HANDS GO UP IN THE AIR (SOME DAYS PEOPLE WOULD PUT BOTH HANDS UP--THAT WAS REALLY SOMETHING!)

"'WELL," SAID KATE HUEY, "I THINK IN THAT HEAVENLY BANQUET IN THE ETERNAL CITY, GOD WILL BE LIKE MY DAD. GOD WILL SAY, 'HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GLAD WE HAVE JEFF AND RUTH AND MAE ALICE AND LLOYD AND NANCY AND BILL AND IRMA…RAISE YOUR HAND.' AND WE WILL" (Kate Huey, "Open Table.")

AMEN AND AMEN!