TEXT
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?” And they could not reply to this.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 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’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
- Sabbath rules
- Dropsy is now referred to as Edema
- Pope Francis dines with homeless in DC
- On Honor Flights
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- In what ways do you observe the Sabbath?
- What burdens are present around your table on Thanksgiving (ala crippled, lame, etc.)?
- What is the greatest honor you have received?
- In what ways is your understanding of Jesus changed by the fact he was having dinner with Pharisees?
IMAGE
SOUNDTRACK
- Man in the Mirror, by Michael Jackson
- The Valley, The Oh Hellos
- The Refugee, by U2
- Animal Arithmetic, by Jonsi
- 5 Piece Chicken Dinner, by The Beastie Boys
- Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, by The Beastie Boys
- Ashes, by Lindi Ortega
- Nightingale, by Carole King
- Tell Me You Love Me, by The Desert Noises
- The Mother We Share, by CHVRCHES
HAIKU
That’s my seat / good church lady said / Palm slaps face