Have you noticed that whenever there is an important teaching moment with Jesus, food is often involved? The feeding of the 5,000 plus (Matthew 14:13-21), breakfast on the shore with the fishermen (John 12:12), the Last Supper (Luke 22:19-20) are all meals with important teaching attached. This meal is no different. On the surface Jesus’ comments at the dinner party may have addressed certain behaviour, but Jesus is present, and food is involved so there is a meaty lesson to be learned.

Now the Pharisees had been watching and following Jesus closely. If this was happening today, they would have been following uploaded videos, tweets and posts about Jesus and his miracles. Now the Pharisees were trying to discredit Him somehow. The dinner party would have been perfect. The Pharisee hosting the party might have been hoping to post something himself. The prominent guests he had invited would bear witness to his victory in trapping Jesus and the whole show uploaded to social media for all to see.

BE A GOOD GUEST
To begin with, evites (electronic invites – ed.) were sent out to the influential ‘A’ listers. However, they all made flimsy excuses. Did they know about the trap and want to distance themselves? The host resorted to the lesser known and forgotten contacts in his phone. They were not going to be good for his image, nor a return invite and there was nothing he could gain from them.

Once they had arrived, it was evident that they were not refined diners. They were taking selfies, photobombing each other and constantly posting. They saw the plush seats with memory foam cushions. They smelled the food that would arrive hot and steamy. In their exuberance they were squaring off against each other, fighting to sit next to the host, who was beginning to regret inviting them. All they had in mind was themselves and their growing online viewing numbers. There was no thought for their fellow guests. Not for them the uncomfortable drafty seats near the door usually reserved for the servants. However, Jesus watched from this spot. Jesus watched it all. It would be interesting to see if He was moved to a different place setting. Then He would know what his host really thought of Him.

This passage on the surface may seem to address certain social niceties, but Jesus is present, and food is involved so there is an afterlife lesson to be learned. The humble will be raised up and the rich sent empty away. That’s obvious. As for the afterlife lesson, heaven accepts the humble and meek, those who think of others before themselves. The Pharisee could not guarantee a good spot or any spot in heaven so there was no point in cosying up to him. It’s Jesus who you need to make friends with.

EVITES FROM JESUS FOR ALL
The banquet was a bun fight and Jesus turns his attention to the prominent Pharisee. Now it would be impolite to give him a dressing down as he is the host. I think the Pharisee knew the whole thing was a bust too. The banquet failed to trap Jesus and failed to catapult his career. But then what could he expect when the invitations were not sent with the best intentions.

Like the Pharisee, Jesus also sends out evites. However, unlike him, it is not for his personal gain or influence. Jesus is not looking for a return invite, there are no expectations and no qualifications to get on the guest list. Jesus invites us just as we are to follow him.

DECISION TIME
Who we choose to follow, and which friends’ invitations we accept is a choice we each make. Luckily for us Jesus is persistent. We may continually give flimsy excuses not to accept his invitation, but Jesus is patient and will wait as long as it takes. Many invitations will come our way. Choosing to follow Jesus may open us up to ridicule or loss of standing amongst our friends and family. That is a possibility. There are guarantees though. Our lives will never be the same, Jesus will not unfriend us, we will have a friend for life and someone who will help us to continue to make better life choices.