12th Sunday after Pentecost

Don’t expect to be repaid. That’s mercy.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus is dining with some Pharisees and we hear a series of snippets

from the dinner conversation.

It's the Sabbath, which means no work. Period.

But in walks a man with dropsy, and Jesus uses the opportunity to unveil their legalism. “Is it

lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” Of course, the Pharisees had previously objected to Jesus'

miracles on the Sabbath, classifying them as “work.” But who is truly Lord of the Sabbath?

Next Jesus gives them this odd bit of advice: always take the worst seat at the table. Jesus goes

even further: don't just take the worst seat, but invite people who couldn't possibly pay you back:

the poor and the crippled and the blind. These, of course, could not pay you back because they

could never afford to have a feast in the first place. This is Jesus' peculiar way of teaching us about

mercy—getting what you don't deserve. Just as we are given seats at Jesus' table that we don't

deserve, our life should be characterized by a similar generosity. Don't worry about getting paid

back. Jesus squares up everything at the resurrection of the dead. And if you are found in Christ,

you'll receive what you could never repay. That's how things work at Jesus' table.