Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Morning Worship, August 31, 2025
Sermon: Doing the Right Thing
Accompanying Scripture: Luke 14:1,7-14
Doing the Right Thing
Luke 14:1, 7-14
I usually don’t give TV ads much notice. The other night was different. I was curious
about an ad for debt consolidation. Most of America’s debt is tied to credit cards. I
admit that in my younger years, I got caught up in the mystical experience of paying
with plastic and the onerous task of paying it off.
As many of you are aware, I worked in the credit card industry for 20 years. I left
because I didn’t want to retire knowing that I helped people increase their debt more
efficiently. So, why would this debt consolidation ad grab my attention?
I was curious. I once knew most of the laws and regulations around credit card
processing. Now, I don’t. A lot has changed. I was curious about the new laws and
regulations that have occurred over the past several years.
And that led to one word: “Change.”
I have seen and experienced changes in the industry. And I wondered, what has
changed in the background that I’m not aware of?
In our scripture reading this morning, Jesus is involved in one of his favorite activities:
eating with friends. I believe he had friends among the Pharisees. Some of the most
interesting questions he received often came from Pharisees. And he loved to eat!
Yet, he notices that everyone has their place at the table. It’s a cultural thing: you
know your place in society and at the table. Everyone in attendance at this meal is
expected to reciprocate by inviting the host to their home. The host is probably
inviting several people who owe him a meal for inviting them to their home.
Jesus challenges the culture, as Jesus loves to do. He talks about a wedding banquet:
a symbol of the coming kingdom. There, everyone has a seat at the table, and the
placement doesn’t matter. The CEO sits with the janitor.
We honor that when we come to the Lord’s Table to sup with him. Everyone has a
place in line, and no one is sent away empty.
Jesus, once again, sets the bar high. Way high. He’s asking these people to give up
their place at the table. Where does the person of high regard sit? And what about
the man who is barely worthy of a place at the table? That is part of their identity. A
part of who they are. And Jesus challenges us to toss that out the window.
This would have been particularly challenging in his day. Middle Eastern culture, even
today, is built on shame and respect. I once worked with a man from Jordan who lied
to me outright. We talked things out, and I told him, “When you’re honest with me, I
can better help you find solutions.” His response was earnest: “I don’t lie.” In
American culture, we would have called it lying. In his culture, it’s called saving face.
And that’s everything for them. Read the gospels through this lens of saving face; it’s
eye-opening.
Jesus asked a lot of them that evening over dinner. I think it might have been more
than they could handle. To give up a precious seat at the table would be not just
humbling but humiliating.
Maybe it was just too much change for them. He asked them to go counter-cultural,
to go against everything they found comfortable to be a different way.
You see, the reason that the TV ad caught my attention is because I, too, am tired of
change. Yes, me, the change agent; the one who loves new things and new ways of
doing church. I’m tired of change.
And I wonder if you are, as well.
We’ve talked about this before. Perhaps we should discuss it again. Change has come
to FPCO in great and small ways.
For 42 years, FPCO has served the Owasso community with joy and energy. It has
seen ups and downs, experienced disappointments, but has always managed to learn
from them and move forward, better than it was. Everything you touch is done well.
We don’t stand for the mediocre.
For example, the pandemic shut down many houses of worship, sometimes for
months. FPCO never missed a Sunday to worship, whether online or outside. FPCO
enhanced its video streaming service in response to COVID-19.
We have a history of phenomenal VBSs. Our creativity soars beyond the usual. God
has been worshiped in different ways that have imbued our congregation with a sense
of God’s presence.
It must have been grueling at times, trying to hold things together when Pastor
Natalie moved to New Jersey. How do you hold a church together when the Head of
Staff’s office is vacant? But you did. You gave it your all, sometimes more than your
all.
Then I arrived. I believe there were sighs of relief that someone was found to serve
you. And a few groans that I didn’t do things the way you were used to doing them.
You were tired and rightfully so.
I brought the necessary leadership and with it, change. Rebranding helped me
understand your values and beliefs. We joyfully celebrated our Covenant during
worship. After that, the energy began to resurface.
And here we are today. Each of our ministries is active and vibrant and busy. Every
one of your sitting elders is busy creating new and fresh ideas in all aspects of our
church life. I’m proud of them and I’m proud of you.
Our scripture reading this morning gives me pause, though. Are we moving at the
right speed?
Those values on the Covenant aren’t just words. They mean something: they define
for us what it means to “Love God and neighbors—all of our neighbors.”
Are they challenging? Yes. Do you wrestle with them? Frankly, I hope so. Because I’m
wrestling, too.
The Good News is that God is present with us, leading us to places old and new. Our
mission emphasis has been enhanced; our outreach recreated. Jesus walks beside us,
encouraging us and affirming our work.
Are you confused? Do you have questions? Please feel free to call or drop by to visit
with me. Let’s clarify and learn from each other. You are part of a community that, in
some ways, is on the cutting edge. And we’re in this together. Your opinion and
concerns matter. Your affirmations matter.
Change isn’t easy. It means viewing issues in a new and different way. We don’t do
change alone; we do it together.
That’s the FPCO way.
More importantly, it’s the way of Jesus, who came to fulfill the law by re-focusing us
on what’s important.
All glory and honor be to God.
Amen.