Supper Etiquette
Sermon
Come Dine With Jesus
Ten Sermons And Litanies For Lent And Easter
Worship Focus
A pitcher and a wash basin. A matched set, so common in nineteenth century bedrooms, would be ideal. If that is unavailable, use any large ceramic pitcher and wide flat bowl.
A Litany For The Fifth Meal
Leader: Glorious are you, O God, in your holiness.
People: Holy, holy, holy is our Almighty God.
Leader: Spotless and without blemish, O Christ, are you in your purity.
People: Holy, holy, holy is the Christ, our Redeemer.
Leader: Blameless and without flaw are you, Holy Spirit.
People: Holy, holy, holy is the Holy Spirit who sustains us.
Leader: We thank you, Holy God, that you have reached down to us in our imperfections.
People: Wash us, and we shall be clean.
Leader: We praise you, Gracious God, for forgiveness so freely offered in Jesus Christ.
People: Cleanse us, that we may be your renewed people.
All: Glorious and holy is our God, God of heaven and of earth, who has washed us and made us clean. Keep us, O God, in your way of holiness. Amen.
Supper Etiquette
Luke 11:37-42
When you are invited to dinner,
you probably do not try to embarrass your host
or to scold him.
Yet Jesus did just that,
and I believe he did it
in an effort to help the host.
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
Why should the Pharisee be so astonished?
Weren't Jesus' hands clean?
Remember that this was not just washing
our hands as you and I might do.
The Pharisees had elevated hand-washing
to an elaborate ritual.
Water was kept in special stoneware jars.
The amount of water used must be
at least enough to fill one and a half eggshells.
First the water must be poured over the hands,
beginning at the fingertips
and running to the wrist.
Then each hand must be cleansed
by rubbing with the other fist.
Finally,
water must be poured over the hands again,
this time beginning at the wrist
and running down to the fingertips.
One must not omit even the slightest detail.
Jesus ignored the ritual,
and the Pharisee was amazed.
He expected a religious man,
a teacher,
to observe the proper customs.
Was this a careless breach of etiquette?
I believe Jesus broke the rule deliberately
to show the emptiness of such ceremonies
and to create an opportunity for teaching.
The Pharisee had wanted to get a better look
at this Jesus.
He didn't realize that Jesus
would have a better look at him:
that, in fact,
Jesus would look right through him.
When the Pharisee raised his eyebrows,
Jesus answered with a strong admonition
Then the Lord said to him, ''Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
''But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.''
Was it rude of Jesus to scold his host?
He had to do his father's business;
it would be unfaithful of him
not to correct the Pharisee.
When Jesus was invited to dinner,
he had a way of exposing needs
and bringing healing.
He showed the absurdity of attaching
such importance to the cleansing of the body,
while the cleansing of the spirit was overlooked.
''Give the things that are within you,'' he taught,
''the offering of the inward person.
Give your heart,
your affections,
and your will to God,
as the first great gift;
that is the primary need.
When you have done that,
then all your other actions,
proceeding from a right spirit,
will be an acceptable worship for God.''
The prophets had said this before.
Jesus,
who alone is able to judge our hidden thoughts,
was able to apply it directly
to the person who needed it.
Jesus exposed the need;
and did it lead to healing?
Jesus opened the way.
When he said, ''Woe to you Pharisees,''
he used a word for ''woe''
that can mean sorrow or yearning.
In effect, Jesus said, ''I grieve for you ...''
Jesus called on his host to realize
what is important.
We can hope for this Pharisee,
for wise persons welcome correction
when it is in order.
The Gospels tell us that many of the Pharisees
became believers in Christ.
Certainly we know that there has been healing
in this incident for many generations of souls,
who have learned that if first
the inner person is cleansed,
then outward love will flow
in worship that is rich and true.
What does it mean for you and me
to sit at Christ's table?
When you and I invite guests to dinner,
we want the house clean,
the table attractive,
the food well prepared,
the decorations tasteful.
But to make our guests comfortable,
it is even more important
that we welcome them
with sincere friendship,
with concern for their well-being,
with a desire to please them
and to do what they would like.
Our genuine love and concern
for our guests' feelings
are more important
than the externals of the room.
When we are at table with Jesus,
it is even more important,
not that the externals are right or wrong,
but that they come from inner feelings
that are right.
What matters is our love for Christ,
our inward desire for his forgiveness,
our intention to strive for his holiness,
an inner holiness that comes
only by the grace of God.
We want to worship him with dignity
and with beauty.
This is right; it is very right.
But let us first offer him our love
and seek his righteousness;
then the beauty and the dignity
will truly be an offering of worship to God.
A pitcher and a wash basin. A matched set, so common in nineteenth century bedrooms, would be ideal. If that is unavailable, use any large ceramic pitcher and wide flat bowl.
A Litany For The Fifth Meal
Leader: Glorious are you, O God, in your holiness.
People: Holy, holy, holy is our Almighty God.
Leader: Spotless and without blemish, O Christ, are you in your purity.
People: Holy, holy, holy is the Christ, our Redeemer.
Leader: Blameless and without flaw are you, Holy Spirit.
People: Holy, holy, holy is the Holy Spirit who sustains us.
Leader: We thank you, Holy God, that you have reached down to us in our imperfections.
People: Wash us, and we shall be clean.
Leader: We praise you, Gracious God, for forgiveness so freely offered in Jesus Christ.
People: Cleanse us, that we may be your renewed people.
All: Glorious and holy is our God, God of heaven and of earth, who has washed us and made us clean. Keep us, O God, in your way of holiness. Amen.
Supper Etiquette
Luke 11:37-42
When you are invited to dinner,
you probably do not try to embarrass your host
or to scold him.
Yet Jesus did just that,
and I believe he did it
in an effort to help the host.
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
Why should the Pharisee be so astonished?
Weren't Jesus' hands clean?
Remember that this was not just washing
our hands as you and I might do.
The Pharisees had elevated hand-washing
to an elaborate ritual.
Water was kept in special stoneware jars.
The amount of water used must be
at least enough to fill one and a half eggshells.
First the water must be poured over the hands,
beginning at the fingertips
and running to the wrist.
Then each hand must be cleansed
by rubbing with the other fist.
Finally,
water must be poured over the hands again,
this time beginning at the wrist
and running down to the fingertips.
One must not omit even the slightest detail.
Jesus ignored the ritual,
and the Pharisee was amazed.
He expected a religious man,
a teacher,
to observe the proper customs.
Was this a careless breach of etiquette?
I believe Jesus broke the rule deliberately
to show the emptiness of such ceremonies
and to create an opportunity for teaching.
The Pharisee had wanted to get a better look
at this Jesus.
He didn't realize that Jesus
would have a better look at him:
that, in fact,
Jesus would look right through him.
When the Pharisee raised his eyebrows,
Jesus answered with a strong admonition
Then the Lord said to him, ''Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
''But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.''
Was it rude of Jesus to scold his host?
He had to do his father's business;
it would be unfaithful of him
not to correct the Pharisee.
When Jesus was invited to dinner,
he had a way of exposing needs
and bringing healing.
He showed the absurdity of attaching
such importance to the cleansing of the body,
while the cleansing of the spirit was overlooked.
''Give the things that are within you,'' he taught,
''the offering of the inward person.
Give your heart,
your affections,
and your will to God,
as the first great gift;
that is the primary need.
When you have done that,
then all your other actions,
proceeding from a right spirit,
will be an acceptable worship for God.''
The prophets had said this before.
Jesus,
who alone is able to judge our hidden thoughts,
was able to apply it directly
to the person who needed it.
Jesus exposed the need;
and did it lead to healing?
Jesus opened the way.
When he said, ''Woe to you Pharisees,''
he used a word for ''woe''
that can mean sorrow or yearning.
In effect, Jesus said, ''I grieve for you ...''
Jesus called on his host to realize
what is important.
We can hope for this Pharisee,
for wise persons welcome correction
when it is in order.
The Gospels tell us that many of the Pharisees
became believers in Christ.
Certainly we know that there has been healing
in this incident for many generations of souls,
who have learned that if first
the inner person is cleansed,
then outward love will flow
in worship that is rich and true.
What does it mean for you and me
to sit at Christ's table?
When you and I invite guests to dinner,
we want the house clean,
the table attractive,
the food well prepared,
the decorations tasteful.
But to make our guests comfortable,
it is even more important
that we welcome them
with sincere friendship,
with concern for their well-being,
with a desire to please them
and to do what they would like.
Our genuine love and concern
for our guests' feelings
are more important
than the externals of the room.
When we are at table with Jesus,
it is even more important,
not that the externals are right or wrong,
but that they come from inner feelings
that are right.
What matters is our love for Christ,
our inward desire for his forgiveness,
our intention to strive for his holiness,
an inner holiness that comes
only by the grace of God.
We want to worship him with dignity
and with beauty.
This is right; it is very right.
But let us first offer him our love
and seek his righteousness;
then the beauty and the dignity
will truly be an offering of worship to God.
