(Ref. Texts: Sir 3:17–18.20.28–29; Ps 67⁄68; Heb 12:18–19.22–24; Luke 14:1.7–14)
“The contemporary society especially, Nigeria is structured according to those the Pharisee should invite and those he should not invite. The invitees and the host are reflections of us. We are the rich who invite our fellow rich friends and family members. Unfortunately, our society has been designed into the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ The desire for power leads to many evil both in the civil and religious settings. It is this attitude that has continued to multiply on daily basis the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, the homeless, the depressed, the poisoned, and the dead. Until we learn to avoid this evil, we shall always be faced with conflicts, wars and auto-destruction.”
Prologue
Following Jesus’ warning on the danger of not entering through the narrow door, and on the provoking saying that many who are first will be last while many who are last will be first, some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked him to leave because Herod intends killing him. Jesus summarises his fearlessness, commitment and conviction with his strong reply “go and tell that fox, behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:32–33). Jesus describes Herod Antipas tetrarch of Galilee and Perea as a dog. Probably, Jesus was teaching within this region (cf. Luke 3:1; Matt 14:1). Every deceitful and cunning person or ruler is a dog. And we have so many dogs in the world especially here in Nigeria both in the civil and religious contexts. After this, Jesus continued his teachings and journey to Jerusalem. Herod (or whoever) cannot stop him. He must accomplish the mission entrusted unto him by the Father.
In the society in which Jesus lived and did his mission, meals played an important role. In that society, meals were more than a time for sharing nourishment. They were a time to share ideas and to deliberate on different aspects of social relationships and religious issues. In the Gospel according to Luke, the places of these meals: (at the home of a tax collector, cf. Luke 5:29); the people with whom a person eats (sinners, cf. Luke 5:30); whether a person washes his or hands before eating (cf. Luke 11:38); and, as is in this Sunday Gospel, the place that a person during meal, are all important. Luke says that during this meal, Jesus tells a parable. Such parable is wise advice to both guests and hosts about finding true happiness at the heavenly banquet.
In these sayings, Jesus gives us not only advice on how to approach the end times but also on how to live according to Jesus’ vision of a just and functional society. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus also advises us how the Church must be part of bringing about this society. That presupposes that the church itself is just, functional and at the service of the people.
This is the context of Luke 14:1.7–14. This Sunday Gospel provides further reason some people could be denied entrance into eternal life. After the introductory verse, Luke inserts another passage (technically called intercalation) before giving the details of Jesus’ activities in the house of the Pharisee. It was on the Jewish day of rest (Shabat) that Jesus went to dine in the house of the Pharisee. Before sitting at the table, Jesus provoked the Jewish authority by doing what was prohibited on the day of rest – the healing of a man with dropsy (edema). To the question “is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” (Luke 14:3), the Scribes and the Pharisees preferred silence. Naturally, Jesus went ahead and restored the man’s health. And to show them how unjust and selfish they are, he asked to them “who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 14:5). Of course, they could not answer the question (cf. Luke 14:6) because they knew they were not innocent. This is the third and last of Jesus’ healings on a Shabat according to Luke (for the other two, cf. Luke 6:6–11 and 13:10–17). It was at this point that Jesus told them the parable in Luke 14:7–14). How did they react to this?
The parable
Jesus uses every occasion to indicate to people the best ingredients for a better society, and for a better and happier life. He goes to the house of an illustrious Pharisee to dine with him. And as an uncomfortable personality, those who think he constitutes obstacle to them kept following him not to learn from him but, to find fault with him. This is clearly underlined in verse one which reads: One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. He was carefully watched by the presumed holy Jewish authority and by the self-acclaimed righteous Jews. Foolish and childish behaviour indeed! Luke explains that the parable became unavoidable when Jesus saw how those invited by the Pharisee were choosing places of honour at the table. One would have expected Jesus to ignore those people. But how could he when teaching and bringing people on the right track was and still remains (through the Gospels) his mission? Furthermore, besides proving that he does not discriminate against anyone, Jesus might have accepted the invitation of the Pharisee because it would offer him the opportunity to interact with the Jewish authority, since many of them were present for the dinner. Definitely, they were not expecting this. As usual, Jesus goes off script and does the unexpected.