May 2008

Stories Seldom Heard

105th Edition

Parables and Luke 14: 15-24

Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard.  I would like to especially welcome the women from St. Pius Parish in Redwood City, CA who participated in their annual Women’s Retreat at Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park, CA.

I thought for the next couple of months we would spend some time studying the parables.  Before we begin it might be good to stop and name for ourselves some of the parables we remember.  Many of us could probably name a few parables, but I hope this study will help us give the parables a new hearing.  I hope our common study and prayerful reflections will stimulate our imaginations, deepen our love for one another and God and help us trust more ardently that God’s kingdom – God’s reign - is now and is still coming to fullness.  (1)

Jesus is a master story teller.  He didn’t write the parables in a notepad.  He didn’t carry them with him in an indexed folder labeled for appropriate situations.  Rather, he spoke the parables in response to a conversation or situation he was experiencing.  Often the parables surprised his listeners because these brief stories stimulated the listeners’ imaginations.  The parables are open-ended and encourage curiosity and discussion.  Some of the parables echo the proverbs and wisdom sayings of the Old Testament (First Testament). Many of them have a poetic quality to them.  Each of them holds a mystery that both teases the listeners’ minds and questions their/our conduct, assumptions and attitudes.

The parables Jesus tells describe common everyday elements of life.  There is a realistic quality to them.  They are literally “down to earth”.  We learn a lot about the life and times of Jesus by the examples he uses in his parables.  He talks about farmers sowing seeds, people fishing and finding treasures, and laborers concerned about their daily wages.  He reminds us of the ethnic and religious tensions prevailed in his culture. He also raises issues concerning our attitudes about strangers and immigrants.  He uses images from nature - wild flowers, mustard seeds and sheep going astray.  He raises the issue of taxes and to whom they are to be paid.  These are images from over 2000 years ago, yet they touch into our modern day experiences.

However, even though Jesus uses common images he chooses them carefully.  The images he uses are not like wrapping paper that can be thrown away.  The images themselves tell us something about God and God’s reign.  Notice Jesus doesn’t compare God to a knight in shining armor or a king or queen clothed in fine purple garments.  He doesn’t describe the reign of God as a geographic area guarded by armies on foot or horseback.  Rather Jesus directs our attention to the ordinary events of the life of common people.  Then Jesus connects the ordinary, the common images of daily life to profound truths about God and God’s reign - God’s active power here on earth.  

One of the ways to understand the parables better is to ask ourselves some questions about the context of the parable.  As we listen to the following parable we might want to notice what is happening at the beginning of Chapter 14.  It begins with Jesus being invited to the home of a Pharisee for a meal.  While Jesus is there he cures a man with dropsy even though it is the Sabbath.  That action leads to a discussion.  Then Jesus comments on how people choose their seats at the table.  This parable touches into such a common human practice that even today we often hear warnings concerning what seats we take at important events.  The front rows or tables are usually saved for the family and/or special guests.  (I don’t think Jesus’ comment has contributed to what is often a common Catholic practice - choosing seats in the back rows of the church!!)   Jesus’ comments have a more serious tone to them.

After noticing the context of this parable we might ask ourselves some further questions. To whom is Jesus speaking?  Who is his audience?  Sometimes his audience will be the disciples.  At other times it will be the crowd.  And within the crowd there is a variety of people whose reactions to Jesus’ brief stories are often extremely diverse.  Some of the people are awe struck.  Other listeners question his logic and values.  Some are skeptical and turn away in disbelief – perhaps to return later – perhaps not!   In this parable he is talking to those around the table.  It should not be surprising to find Jesus sitting with a group of people around a table sharing food and drink.  In Jesus’ day, as in our own, meals were important not just to nourish the body, but also to nourish relationships.  In fact, to eat with someone was to have a special bond with them.  It was such a strong bond that if one ate with an enemy the two parties could no longer be at odds with one another.  (2) 

What makes this parable even more poignant is that Jesus tells this parable after he has given a short teaching on whom to invite to lunch or dinner.   Furthermore, Jesus himself is an invited guest.  Even though these stories might not have taken place in the sequence Luke has arranged, Luke is making a point and all of these elements of the chapter need to be taken into account.  Luke has not randomly placed these events together.

So let’s begin and listen to this parable from different perspectives.  First, let’s place ourselves at the table with those listening to Jesus’ response to one of the guests. From this position we can choose to listen to the parable as one of Jesus’ disciples, a woman or a man who has heard Jesus preach before or as a total stranger who is hearing Jesus for the first time.  Let’s listen!

“One of those gathered around the table on hearing this said to him (Jesus), ‘Blessed is the one who will dine in the reign of God.’  He (Jesus) replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.  When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.'   But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.'  And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.'   And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.'   The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.'  The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.  For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"  (Luke 14: 16-24)

What is your response to the parable?  How does it make you feel?  Do you like the parable?  Does it confuse you?  If you were sitting at the table with Jesus what questions would you ask?  What do you think Jesus’ response might be? 

Now let’s leave the scene of the parable and the table for a minute and reflect on the parable from our modern day point of view.  What does it say to our lives right here and now?  In what ways does the parable speak to us?  Are there cautions or directives to which we should pay attention?

The parable is about the reign of God.  The host of the banquet is not God.  Rather Jesus is telling a story about an ordinary wealthy person who is angered at the fact that he has planned a great banquet and his invitations have been rejected.  It’s not hard to imagine the prepared feast, perhaps even a wedding banquet.  In fact, Matthew puts this parable or a similar parable into the context of a wedding banquet. (Mt 22: 1-10)  Even in our modern times, this parable has a contemporary feeling.  It’s easy to imagine this happening to us.  I’m sure many of us have been invited to holiday dinners, anniversary parties or a special birthday celebration and have had to refuse the invitation because of a prior commitment.  Even though this is an ancient story some of their excuses sound rather modern. 

The host is not very gracious, but his disappointment is understandable.  He has a prepared list of special guests and is angry with those who decline the invitation.  This parable, however, illustrates what Jesus has said about inviting those who could “not repay your courtesy by inviting you in return.”  (Lk 14:13)  The host ends up inviting “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,” (LK 14:14) but that was not his original plan.  The original guest list has changed dramatically from what the host first intended.  If we look around the host’s house with these new guests who have arrived from the “open road and in the hedgerows,” (LK 14:22) the scene would be quite incredible.  So let’s stop here for a minute.  Reread the parable and change our perspective.

Instead of viewing ourselves as sitting at the table with Jesus listening to the parable, or from our own modern point of view, let’s enter into the parable.  Let’s be one of the newly invited guests, or perhaps one of the household servants, or even the host.  What would the banquet scene look like?  Fine linens, huge long tables filled with food – meats, poultry, breads, sweets and fine wines!   There would be lanterns burning, music playing and perhaps a large gathering of strangers.  Remember, too, originally this was a banquet for wealthy people.  The first invited guests had land, oxen to tend and enough money to throw a respectable wedding.  But these newly arrived guests, of whom we are a part, came from the other side of the tracks.  What would they (we) look like?  Certainly we are not dressed for the occasion unless we chose the character of a household servant or the host.  Most of us have just come in from the hedgerows and highways.  Many of us probably have never attended a banquet with such luxurious food and drink. 

I wonder if we would pinch ourselves to see if we were dreaming.  When would we begin to feel enough at home to dance to the music, to relax and enjoy ourselves?  Would we rush to invite a few other friends to the party?   If there were a more boisterous crowd of people would we join them or would we try to quietly move away from them so we would not be conspicuous?  Can we imagine wandering through the hallways and laughing at ourselves as we see our reflections in the mirrors or window glass?   Would we wrap extra food in the fine linens and shove it into our pockets or satchels when no one was looking?  We don’t hear any of this.  We don’t even hear that the host is concerned about his property or the conduct of his visitors.  In fact, it sounds like it was a perfect party – especially from our point of view. 

It’s a good parable.  There are lots of possibilities for our imaginations.   There is also a great sense of joy and surprise especially when it is read from the point of view of one of the uninvited guests.  What a surprise!  What a joy to be invited to such a celebration and enjoy such a banquet.  This story also echoes other parables and sayings of Jesus about the first being last and the last first.  It is the “last” who fill the house with laughter and song. 

Joy is one of Luke’s major themes.  Those who realize what God has done for them, Luke reminds us, cannot help but to be filled with appreciation and gratitude.  The most precious gifts we have – our lives, our families, those who stand by us in good and difficult times, our beautiful world with its changing seasons, our faith – are all “gift”. Like the uninvited guests in the parable we have done nothing to deserve all of the life and grace that has been given to us.  We, like the uninvited guests, have been invited to a banquet even before we knew the host.  We have been warmly welcomed even though we might not be properly attired.  We who were once outsiders are now insiders.  If we really understand this mystery it will change our lives. 

The question, then, for us, is have we experienced this parable or have we just read it?  If we have truly experienced it, it will have huge ramifications for our lives.  It’s more than just including those who are seldom invited to our family, social and/or professional gatherings.  If we realize what God has done for us out of God’s generosity then we will not be able to stop ourselves from doing the same for others.  Out of a spirit of justice that is ignited by generosity, we will find ourselves asking questions at our family dinner tables, our Pastoral Councils, School Board meetings and our voting places:  Who will be affected by this decision?  What difference will the decision make in the lives of the poor? 

 1.  I have chosen to use the word “reign” in place of “kingdom”.  Reign encourages us to think in broader terms, beyond boundaries.  Reign speaks of God’s presence as a power.  God’s reign is where God’s power is shown.  God’s reign is happening when our attitudes move us to actions that reflect God’s ways God’s will, God’s desire for us to act mercifully and justly towards all of creation.

2.  There is a wonderful story in the First Testament about the inhabitants of Gibeon.  The Gibeonites had heard such fierce stories of the powerful tribe of Joshua that they did not want to meet the tribe of Joshua in battle.  Thus, the Gibeonites under false pretences spent three days with Joshua’s army.  Because the two tribes had eaten together Joshua’s army could not harm any member of the tribe of Gibeon.   Joshua 9: 1-27

Special thanks to Mary Ellen Green who has helped in editing this article.

"Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P.  Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, California.  This service is offered to the Christian community to enrich one's personal and spiritual life.  The articles can be used for individual or group reflection.  If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend, please send a note to "purple115@juno.com".  If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, c/o Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P., 1520 Grand Avenue, San Rafael, CA,   94901