DON’T END UP IN EUCKER’S SEAT
Our passage today encourages us to be humble and to see that we are no better/worse and no more/less important than all of the others whom God has created and blessed with grace. It reminds us that we are not at the center of all things and it urges us to quit judging who should be welcomed and who should be avoided. According to Luke, Jesus was a guest at the home of a Pharisee and 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, don’t take the place of honor, for you may be told to move if a more distinguished person shows up.10 Instead, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say, ‘Friend, move up to a better seat. 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 dinner, don’t invite your friends, your rich neighbors, or others who may repay you, but invite the poor, and the lame, 14 and you will be blessed.” (Luke 14:7-14)
This passage ranges from social strategy tips to the toxic effects of judging and scorekeeping, and it says at least this much to me.
1. It is not about us! We are not the directors in some sort of play in which we are the star. We have an illusion of control, but it’s only an illusion! We are not in charge! God is in charge and we are blessed to assist to the extent that our gifts and talents allow! We are saved by grace and called to service by our Lord! If we hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we ought to praise God for that too.
2. We should be wise enough to stay out of “Uecker’s seat.” I am old enough to recall the Miller Lite commercials in which the Milwaukee Brewers announcer, Bob Uecker, is preparing to watch a baseball game. He is sitting near the field, pretty much by himself, when an usher informs him that he is in the wrong seat and needs to move! And Uecker pompously replies, “I must be in the front row!" A man of my ilk must be in the front row. Then, we see Uecker sitting in the farthest corner of the upper deck. Uecker’s seat was a cheap seat in the “nosebleed section,” and for years, cheap seats were called "Uecker seats." Be careful where you sit because you may be asked to move to one of "Uecker’s seats.”
3. We should follow our Lord’s lead and walk humbly through life. Not considering divinity worth clinging to if God’s people were lost, Jesus chose to leave heaven and come down, down, down to earth in the form of a servant. He spent his life ministering to people in need, preaching good news to the poor, and equipping disciples who were slow to learn. In the end, he took his seat in the middle of two thieves … and saved our souls by dying on Calvary’s cross! Let this be our standard and our calling!
4. We need to let go of the notion that love we
live in a world where some people deserve to be invited and included… and
others don’t! I recently read a sermon in which a pastor in Atlanta
confessed that, in her heart of hearts, she had a list of people whom she would
not invite to a special event. She had an unwritten list of people whom she
didn’t want in her world. She noted that anyone who abused women and children
would not be welcome, nor would any person who thought they knew… who was going
to heaven and who wasn’t. She went on to say people who “know it all,” holocaust
deniers, and people who blame victims for their situation in life would not be
invited to any gathering of hers. But the more important point is this: who is on your list of people who would not
be welcome in your world? And why are they on your list? Could they be on God’s
list? Could anyone be?
cI will
close with some of the reflective words of Michael Coffey: “she entered the party room like a caped queen.
Her heels lifted herself up to thinner air, almost to where she wanted to be. On
the far end of the gathering she saw the out-of-fashioned, the rough-handed,
and the wrong spoken. (A motley crew
of misfits and neer-do-wells) On the near
end she saw well-labeled suits, handbags with leather and metal clasps, wine
for every occasion, and the look of confidence in the eyes of the highly
educated. (There was one empty chair)
so she sat and mingled, and sipped wine. She showed that she knew which fork to
us for the appetizers, and she laughed controllably. Then the host came over
and thanked her for taking the seat she took, and assured her that someday, she
too could join him at the other end! Amen!
