Many Christian denominations follow a liturgical calendar.  Last Sunday was the first Sunday of the calendar and the first Sunday of the four-Sunday season called Advent.  The theme of Advent is to get ready to celebrate the incarnation, Christmas, and to think about the 2^nd coming of Christ.  The gospel reading last Sunday was the parable about the master leaving the servants in charge of the house.  The servants need to make sure they are not caught off guard because the master might return at midnight, noon etc.  It is all well and good but the master never left.  Christ is fully present right now, right here always and everywhere.  It is impossible to not be in the presence of Christ.  God is at home.  We are the ones out for a stroll.  We fail to be present to the Presence.  It is a matter of consciousness.  We will encounter the divine in the now.  Unfortunately our thoughts are either focused on the past or the future.  Anywhere but the now.  For me the objective of unguided worship is to be in the now.  To turn off your thinking.  Better said than done.  But I have wandered from my main topic.

Luke 14: 7-11

He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honor. He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honor. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher.” Then, everyone with you at the table will see you honored. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.’

Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbors, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'”

I picked the gospel text from Luke because it is appropriate for December, the month of giving.

“So they cannot repay you.” That is crazy.

Two basic tenets of capitalism:

1. You can’t get something for nothing .
2. You dang well better get more for your something than your something. Profits, dividends, interest.

“So they cannot repay you”.  The First National Bank of Jesus would have gone bust. So they can’t repay you is lousy financial advice but wise spiritual advice. Jesus is talking about not only a meal in return but social recognition, praise, accolades and honors.  That emphasis ties in nicely with the first part of the parable which is all about humility.  Picture a humble person running for political office.  They would not have a snowball’s chance in hell. 

Imagine this scenario. There is a bad storm, golf ball sized hail, horizontal wind and all the windows on the east side of the meeting house are damaged. I come forward and say that I will pay for window replacement. I want my name prominently featured in the bulletin and a plaque displayed in the meeting house that says, “Windows the generous gift of John Kinney”.

I would be doing a good thing for Spokane friends but a hurtful thing for myself. I would be taking my false self, my ego self, to an all-it-can-eat buffet. My need to get praise and my inflated ego would be running the show. “Look at me! I am totally awesome, aren’t I?” 

At the plaque placement ceremony which I insisted on taking place: , ME “ Thank you.  It really wasn’t that big a deal.”  Presenter “You are very humble.” ME ”Yes, humility is just one of my amazing attributes.”

I am feeding the false notion that my validation is dependent on external factors. We don’t need that. We are beloved sons and daughters of that through which we live move and have our being, the ground of all being, that which we name God. Our names are written on the palms of the great mystery’s hands. We are the apples of the divine’s eye.  What could ever top that? A noble prize? In physics?  Lois, I know you are thinking about it. Presidential medal of freedom? An Oscar? Recognition is not bad in and of itself. I want to repeat that. Recognition is not bad in and of itself. It is bad if you seek it or feel hurt if you don’t get it.

But not feeling hurt is easier said than done. I am sure that at one time you worked very hard on a group project. Maybe your role was not prominent, in the background but nevertheless essential. The endeavor is a stunning success. Thanks from the person in charge go out to all except you. You want to shout, “What about me?” Worse than that, some slacker gets the credit for what you did. We need to let it go. Letting go might be half the battle for spiritual growth.  [One exception, this does not apply to youngsters. They need to build a well-grounded positive self-image.] The time to let go of the false self will be later. The false self is not the bad self. It just isn’t your true self.  [Note: Just don’t overdo it where everybody gets a trophy.] 

What about inviting the poor, crippled and lame to dinner?  Is the text saying that inviting friends for dinner who will reciprocate is bad? No. We all do that. It is saying that to grow spiritually we need to get out of our comfort zones.

• I have choices and options. I need to witness the anger of those who don’t.
• The system is working quit well for me, thank you very much. Actually the system during COVID worked really well for the wealthy.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaires in the United States became unfathomably richer to the tune of $637 billion total.  Compensation for CEOs is now 278 times greater than for ordinary workers. That’s a stratospherically larger income gap than the 20-to-1 ratio in 1965.” To understand flaws in the system I need to spend time with those oppressed by the system.
• Did you know that the poor donate more per capita than individuals in higher income brackets and that their generosity tends to remain higher during economic downturns? 

It is easy to think hey, I started with nothing and worked hard to get what I have.  I am entitled to what I have. But think about it.  It is all a gift.  The fact that I got up this morning is a gift.  The fact that I was born in Metaline Falls and not inner city Detroit is a gift.  The fact that my father had a good job and I was able to go to college is a gift.  The fact that my mom was not a single parent, with no education, working two minimum wage jobs to just survive is a gift.  IT IS ALL A GIFT! It is all grace within grace within grace. All we can do is re-gift. All we can do is let the inexhaustible supply of grace flow through us and carry it to others.  We do not need repayment because we never run out.

It is all gift. This community has gifted me in many ways. Thank you. God bless you. Merry Christmas.