Dcn Tom Lindell

Greetings my brothers and sisters,

Luke’s passage in today’s Eucharistic lectionary is a parable about humility and hospitality. Jesus counsels his hearers that if you are invited to a banquet, do not to seek out places of honor in case a person of greater importance appears thus obligating the host to seat them in your place, sending you to a lower place.

Our last visit to the UK was a delightful Chaucerian pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. Conveniently, the annual retreat for the Society of Ordained Scientists was held at a retreat house in Leeds immediately after the pilgrimage. We had to check out early on the last day of the retreat and were offered a bagged breakfast meal as we departed. It included freshly baked, still warm, croissants, yogurt, fresh fruit, and coffee.

We taxied to the train station and rushed to get on the next train to London. The woman in charge of boarding told us to get on the last car which happened to be first-class. We grabbed the first seats at the back of the car as the train departed. We immediately began to devour our bagged treats. We noticed that others were being waited upon, being offered breakfast and coffee. We did not need anything because we had brought out own food.

All was well until the conductor came by to check our tickets. He politely informed us that we did not have first-class passage and said we had to move to another car. Thus, we began our “march of shame,” dragging our luggage down the first-class aisle to our second-class car as the other passengers stared at us. It was obvious that we did not belong!

Conversely, on a recent flight, we were offered business class upgrades for no additional cost. Unfortunately, the flights were not long, but the attention was nice. The last leg from Phoenix to Tucson only allowed us to depart the plane early, however, with no amenities.

The rest of the parable counsels us not to invite to a meal those who are likely to feel they must return your hospitality in the future. If you are truly hospitable, you should invite those in need of being fed as they have no means to reciprocate. This is clearly biblical, as hospitality was a cardinal virtue that was honored throughout the Levant.

May we too exercise humility and hospitality as we walk through our own neighborhood with awareness of the very human needs of our neighbors.

—Dcn Tom