Is it my imagination, or do others also see and feel it? I’m talking about what I observe as an obsession with status. It appears to me that no one wants to start at the beginning any more. Highschool students don’t want to take on menial labor jobs for the summer – they want to be the cook, not the dish washer or buss-person; the projectionist, not the ticket taker or usher; the record keeper, not the floor sweeper or garbage can emptier. They want to go right to the top of the work ladder, or at least start somewhere in the middle, but never at the bottom which is the practical place for beginners to start. That, for such minded individuals, is no place for someone who has status to work.

Now I’m not saying that all highschool students are like that for I know they are not; or all college graduates, either. But it seems there are many more than when I was in highschool, or first came out of college. It’s almost as if for this group of individuals that the upper employment position or financial standing of parents in the workforce, is supposed to be a guarantee that they will never have to start at the beginning, but always be privileged to skipping that position and beginning higher up.

This is Peer Status at its worst. It’s what happens when an advanced position opens up on the job for which you are qualified both in length of service time and true knowledge of the advanced position.

But then there is the individual who assumes that he/she is more qualified for the position not because she/he possesses greater knowledge, or have greater right to advancement simply because of family position and status. I have to say I saw many times when the better qualified was overlooked for a position because the “other person” pulled “family status” privilege into play. And just as often I have seen such behavior result in the one who “won” soon leave the position because they failed to meet the required qualifications and could not handle most of the responsibilities of the position.

Today’s Gospel lesson does not involve peer status, but rather something else. In the time of Jesus and his disciples, there were many levels of social status, and you were expected not to try and assume a status above you without have actually attained that status. But even this was not that to which Jesus is pointing with his words to the pharisees at this gathering to which he had been invited. He was more concerned with the misuse of status for self-gain.

As I read over the Rev. Kate Huey’s reflection on this passage, the more I kept hearing “Walk Humbly with your God” echoing in my head. I googled that phrase and finally saw what it was I was attempting to recall.

From the New International Version, Micah 6:8, reads:

For me, this single verse from the Old Testament book of Micah speaks with authority, and seems to more clearly point to what Jesus is saying here in Luke’s Gospel.

Our reading begins with Jesus heading to the home of a Pharisee who has extended the honor of hospitality to Jesus. It is apparently a feast that has been prepared for those invited to join in the meal.

The four verses omitted by the Lectionary reading refer to, "a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body” (the NRSV calls it dropsy) who appears before Jesus, He seemed to think it would be a good conversation starter to ask about the lawfulness of curing someone on the Sabbath. When he gets no response, he goes ahead and heals the man, and then points out that any one of the guests obviously would have helped their child or their ox if either had fallen in a well, even if it were on the Sabbath. Again, they say nothing. As alluded to by Ms. Huey, Jesus turns to one of my favorite pastimes – people-watching.

Jesus was a people watcher. He observed the way people, whom he saw on a daily basis, lived and reacted to their situations in life. And though he frequently faulted the Pharisees for the way they accused others for mis-deeds of faith, they were actually considered the most faithful of all the Jewish leaders. I am sure many of his parables were composites of situations he was observing. So what better way could he bring his story, his mission for God, into the world than to take that with which the people were already familiar and show them how to make it better and more pleasing to God? But it was not an easy task. It was, in fact, very risky.

Eating – that most human and most necessary of activities – and all that we associate with it are entwined with our spiritual lives. It's no surprise then that meals and food are significant themes in the Bible, including the Gospel of Luke. So sitting there at dinner in the home of a Pharisee, with a dinner crowd of "good church members," Jesus I watched with suspicion. When Jesus makes observations and gives that advice, he is really giving clear instruction to all of us about how to live in the reign of God. When making up our guest lists and deciding how to share the blessings we've received, don't be so calculating. Don't go for reciprocity. Instead, be extravagantly, forgetfully generous. Invite the most unlikely, most unexpected of guests into your home and share that most necessary, most enjoyable experience of eating together. "You will be blessed," Jesus says, repaid at the resurrection, for sure, but we sense that he's referring to more immediate blessings as well.

One way that I hope you will use the statement is in taking a look at your organizational structure. Last week at the Annual Meeting, you voted to reduce the total number of elected church officers from 27 to 21, from 9 on a board to 7. This was, I believe, a needed improvement. But 21 is still a lot of people, especially when you are routinely having around 40-45 people coming to worship. 50% of your worshiping congregation holding office is a lot. Jesus does not call us to sit on committees or boards. Jesus calls us to be his disciples, and to follow him with our lives. Now, sitting on boards may be one necessary part of our lives of discipleship, but sitting on boards does not, in and of itself, comprise the life of discipleship. When we get to heaven, I think it is unlikely that Jesus is going to be asking us how many boards or committees we served on here on earth. I doubt he’ll be that impressed by how many nights we spent in committee meetings. In fact, he might be rather unhappy if we spent all of our time in church meetings, rather than being out, serving the poor and sharing the gospel.

As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, let us remember it is not what we give materialistic that brings us to the Lord’s Table; it is what we give of the Spirit that draws us to it. It is not some lofty social status that makes us ready to come to the table, it is the recognition of our unworthiness that brings the table to us. It is not what we assume, but what we confess that opens this gift from God to uplift our souls and refresh our spirits. It is in believing and living by these words of Micah 6:8,

that God grants us his favor and leads us to this table of sacrifice, obedience, and love.

Assuming Status – or accepting God’s Status – which will it be?

AMEN.