Luke 14:7–14 (NIV)

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Context

Luke repeatedly portrays Jesus at banquets, where he confronts pride and hypocrisy and uses these meals to reveal the upside-down nature of God’s Kingdom. Jesus’ ministry consistently brings good news to people on the margins, those who are poor, socially excluded, or overlooked. In Luke’s Gospel, the banquet becomes an image of God’s Kingdom: a place where God welcomes people into a new family and where ordinary systems of status and social rank are reordered by grace.- BibleProject, Book of Luke: Guide with Key Information and Resources; “Parables as Subversive Critique.”

Low Anthropology

David Zahl’s Low Anthropology argues that we all carry an underlying idea of what people are like. A “high anthropology” assumes people are basically defined by their best selves, their potential, achievements, dreams, and aspirations. A “low anthropology” starts with a more honest picture: human beings are limited, conflicted, and self-centered. We struggle. We carry wounds and insecurities. We often want the right thing and still fail to do it. And once we recognize that in ourselves, we become more compassionate and curious toward others.

“The only reason another person (or couple, or family) seems to have it all together is because we don’t know them very well.”— David Zahl, Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others

Prayer

Dear God, I cannot love Thee the way I want to. You are the slim crescent of a moon that I see, and myself is the earth’s shadow that keeps me from seeing all the moon. The crescent is very beautiful, and perhaps that is all one like I am should or could see; but what I am afraid of, dear God, is that my self-shadow will grow so large that it blocks the whole moon, and that I will judge myself by the shadow that is nothing.

I do not know you, God, because I am in the way. Please help me to push myself aside. Flannery O’Connor, A Prayer Journal

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 



Before beginning your time in the passage this week, consider the following prompt as a conversation starter: Share about a recent gathering. Did you find yourself gravitating toward certain seats or people? Why do you think that was?

CONNECT WITH GOD 

The Widespread Mercy:  “A Simple Regimen of Private Prayer” from George Buttrick. This week, we will focus our attention on noticing, naming, and receiving the wide mercy of God. Read the section on “widespread mercy” from the link below. Then, spend a few minutes in silence before intentionally turning to the gifts of God in your life. You might also say this is a time for a prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving. Hold the mercies of God, receiving each one as a gracious gift. After an extended time of quiet contemplation, close with the words below: 

“We need deliberately to call to mind the joys of our journey. Perhaps we should try to write down the blessings of one day. We might begin: we could never end: there are not pens or paper enough in all the world. The attempt would remind us of our ​’vast treasure of content’.” 

https://renovare.org/articles/hints-for-how-to-pray

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER

• Together: Pray in expectation of the passage being read. Read together Luke 14:7-14.

• Alone: Read the passage once more, individually.   
• Reflect/journal on one of the following prompt:
• Where in your life do you find yourself seeking honor, recognition, or a “higher seat” in social, professional, or even church circles? 
• Have you ever felt excluded or overlooked? How does it shape your perspective on Jesus’ parable? 

• Together: Share your reflections in pairs or as a whole group. 

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read the passage again. Consider also reading Luke 14:15-24 so that you may also reflect on the parable and the whole context of the teaching of Jesus here. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.

• Review the message notes. 
• What stands out to you about Jesus’ teaching? 
• Notice and name the imagery or themes present in this passage. Can you name other times imagery or themes like this are present in the Bible?
• Also read Luke 14:15-24. There are two parables in Luke 14. How do these parables reinforce each other? What is the central message they convey?
• Share what you know about the honor/shame culture of Jesus’ time period. Does that change how you think about the passage? Does it create new understanding for you? 
• What parallels do you see between the honor culture of Jesus’ day and our contemporary cultures? 
• What does this passage reveal about how the kingdom of God reorders our social instincts? 
• What questions or curiosities do you still have about the passage and its implications for your life today? 

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: explore the quote below, using the following prompts to deepen your conversation. Is there a risk to hospitality the way Jesus describes it? What is that risk? What does a beloved community look like?  

“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” - Martin Luther King Jr. 

PRAYER 

Pray together for hearts open to invitation, for eyes ready to see and invite the uninvited, and for a spirit of welcome to the least of these, even when it puts our own lives or seat at the table at risk. Pray specifically for those who are at the margins and ask for the Holy Spirit to teach you how to make room.