Table Manners by Jesus

15^th Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtide) C

September 1, 2013

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon preached at Tanza United Methodist Church, Tanza, Cavite, the Philippines.

An Orthodox icon on the Mystical Supper. (Image courtesy of Iconreader.Wordpress.Com)

Introduction

Today’s Gospel reading contains “table etiquette” by Jesus. We read in the Gospel that Jesus was in “the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the sabbath, to eat bread…” (Luke 14:1, John Wesley New Testament), that is, to eat a Shabbat meal with the Pharisees. (See this article in Wikipedia, which talks about “festive meals” besides havdalah Shabbat, the Shabbat eve dinner that welcomes the Shabbat.) As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper this morning, we see that these “table manners” apply to our ordinary celebratory meals but ultimately how we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

The first part of Luke 14 (vv. 2-6, which is excluded in the pericope today) tells of the healing of a man with dropsy (or in modern day terms, edema). The Pharisees were watching to see if Jesus would heal the man with dropsy (which of course, they knew he would) and thus “prove” that Jesus is indeed a Sabbath-breaker. This is similar to last Sunday’s Gospel reading where Jesus healed a “bent” woman in a synagogue on the Sabbath. His reason in both instances is the same: if they can afford to be “humane” to animals even on the Sabbath, why could they not be humane to another human being on the Sabbath day?

Then Jesus launches out into a “parable” regarding the “table manners” of those who are present. How can we apply the etiquette of Jesus in our everyday lives? But most especially, what are the table manners we are to practice when we gather around his Holy Table?

I. Sitting at the lowest place (Luke 14:7-11)

The Jews have adopted the Roman dining practice of the using triclinum, where guests are arranged around the table on three couches, according to their social status. The couches are arranged in a “U” shaped around the table. The host family reclines on the lectus imus, the couch on the left hand side. The honored guests recline on the lectus media, the couch in the middle. Meanwhile, low-status guests recline on the lectus summus, on the right hand side.

A Roman dinner using the three couches composing the triclinum. (Image courtesy of Bible-History.Com)

We could easily image that people would scramble to occupy the “chief seats” (Greek προτωκλιςια protōklisia, ‘the first couch’, note the similarity to the word triclinum), i.e., the lectus media. This would be equivalent to jockeying for a position at the “presidential” or head table in modern-day wedding receptions—a place normally reserved for the bride and the groom, their parents, the wedding sponsors, and the officiating minister.

Jesus’ tip on table etiquette is actually very practicable (yet counter-intuitive): If you occupy one of the “chief seats” at a banquet, you will suffer embarrassment when you are asked to yield your place should a more important guest arrive (vv. 8-9). But when you are invited, go to the lowest place (εςχατον τοπον eschaton topon, ‘the last place’—other, less-honorable guests do not even get to recline on any of the couches). When your host tells you, “Friend, go up higher”, “then shalt thou have honour in the presence of them that sit at table with thee” (vv. 9-10). Jesus ends with a familiar saw: “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (vv. 10-11)

As for the Holy Communion, there is no “chief seat” or “last place” at the Lord’s Table. The first ones to receive do not immediately mean they are the most pious—or most hypocritical. Let the Lord judge each person’s heart. But since the issue is at the heart, the problem is more difficult to detect. In I Corinthians 11, St. Paul talks about those who partake of the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy” manner (vv. 27-29). Those who were guilty of doing so have fallen sick or some have even “fallen sleep” (i.e., died) v. 3). By “unworthily”, the passage means as those who partake of the bread and cup without examining him/herself first. In other words, the “unworthy” presume themselves to be “worthy”; while the “worthy” consider themselves “unworthy”. Paradoxically, God makes people who consider themselves “unworthy” as “worthy”. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:10-11)

II. Inviting the poor to the table (Luke 14:12-14)

The second part of Jesus’ “table manners” is on who to invite to a dinner or supper: Jesus said, Do not invite your friends, or your brethren, or your kinsmen, or your rich neighbors. When they invite you to their own dinners or suppers, they would have “recompensed” you (v. 12). Instead, Jesus said (quite contrary to common sense), you should invite “the poor, the disabled, the lame, [and] the blind”. You will be blessed because these have no ability recompense you. “But thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (vv. 14).

When the Jewish people celebrate the Passover seder, they make sure they have at least one poor guest. In his A Passover Haggadah (1993), Nobel Prize-winning author Elie Weisel writes,

A memory from my own town, Sighet: Our Seder table was never without a stranger. I remember that we went from one synagogue to the other, from one house of study to another, looking for a stranger without whom our holiday would be incomplete. And it was true of the most Jews in my town and probably most of the Jews in other towns. On Passover eve, the poor, the uprooted, the unhappy were the most sought-after, the most beloved guests…. Without comforting our impoverished guest, our riches would shame us. (p. 24)

Jesus did not mean this as a command to invite only poor people at our parties. John Wesley (in Notes Upon the New Testament) explains that this discourse is called a “parable” “because several parts are not to be understood literally, The general scope of it is, Not only at a marriage feast, but on every occasion…” (note on Luke XIV:7).

In I Corinthians 11, St. Paul rebukes the Corinthian Christians for discriminating against the poor when they gather for the Lord’s Supper:

Therefore when ye come together into one place, it is not eating the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one taketh before another his own supper, and one is hungry, another drinks largely. What! have ye not houses to eat and drink in or do ye despise the church of God, and shame them that have not What shall I say to you shall I praise you in this I praise you not. (I Corinthians 11:20-22)

--Some people get greedy and drunk, while others are left hungry and thirsty.

Are there ways that we—intentionally or not—exclude and discriminate the poor and the stranger from the church?

(Image courtesy of Methodist Memes on Facebook.Com)

 Conclusion

At the Lord’s Table, the barriers of pride and discrimination disappear. No one is above another at the Lord’s Supper; everyone is equal before God. There is distinction between the first and the last. Discrimination has no place at Holy Communion for at the Lord’s Table, we are all one: rich or poor, weak or strong. May Christians heed the invitation of the Lord to his Table in order to strengthen the bond that unites us all.

Food review - Sisig Hooray!

It seems like I’m making up more time for “Eat” posts. Featuring now is my favorite sin indulgence: sisig from Sisig Hooray! And it’s so bad it’s good. Or so good, it’s bad.

According to the almighty Wikipedia, sisig had its origins in Angeles City, Pampanga; where the locals bought pig heads from commissaries at Clark Air Base because these were not used for the meals of US Air Force personnel stationed there. Lucia Cunanan, also known as “Aling Lucing” is credited for bringing sisig to the limelight when she began serving it on sizzling plates. It has since become a favorite accompaniment of alcoholic drinks (which Filipinos call “pulutan”).

The next stage of the evolution of sisig is the leap from the sizzling plate to the styrofoam box (more on this later). According to the company website, Sisig Hooray! is the brainchild of “foodie” Immanuel D. Balce when he opened his first branch at Ever Gotesco Ortigas. There have been many businesses who have been serving sisig with rice but served on a sizzling plate. But Sisig Hooray! is the first to serve it with rice and make it accessible to the masses. The rest, they say, is history.

I first encountered Sisig Hooray! at the Ever Gotesco in Monumento, Caloocan (now defunct, destroyed by fire). Conscious for my health, I first ordered a chicken sisig. (They have the usual pork sisig, plus bangus, squid, and steak variants.)

I was amazed by the characteristic way they prepare the dish. A male cook would chop the pork and the chicken meat with two flashy cleavers using a distinctive chop-chop rhythm. Another crew member (usually a girl) would place the pork or chicken meat into small plastic containers. Slices of onion, peppers, chicharon(!!!) and other ingredients, topped off by a special sauce (which I think is mayonnaise mixed with secret spices).The surprising thing is that the sisig mixture into a microwave oven, “cooked” for a few minutes, dumped into a styrofoam box, and served with a cup of rice.

This is why they call themselves as "The First and Original Freshly-Prepared Sisig".

The experience was so enlightening. The meat was cooked just right; it was moist from the secret sauce; the peppers and onions gave a terrific taste; and the chicharon gave a crunch to every bite. One cup of rice is not enough!

I got to know another Sisig Hooray! branch at Starmall Muntinlupa. I used to (repeat, used to) go there and get sisig every Sunday! (I have since repented of my wicked ways.) I would buy it from their kiosk, sit in one of those plastic chairs and tables at the foodcourt, and order extra rice from the other food stalls. (Most of the food stalls there serve halal meals, but eating halal rice doesn’t make a haram dish of sisig halal.) (The last time I was at Starmall, the Sisig Hooray kiosk has disappeared from the foodcourt.)

Sisig in a cardboard box: Eases some of the guilt. (Starmall Muntinlupa)

Sisig Hooray! used to serve their meals in styrofoam boxes—I call the substance “the work of the Devil”. At the time, Muntinlupa City was spearheading a charge against plastic bags and containers. So Sisig Hooray! (and other food establishments) began serving their meals on cardboard boxes (sometimes lined with aluminum, at other times wax paper). That eased the burden of guilt at bit.

Nothing to see here. Keep on reading... (SM City Manila)

I once had to bend over backwards to do a favor for a friend (it was more like my fault so the deed seemed more like penance) then this friend of mine treated me to—my surprise—at a Sisig Hooray! at SM City Manila! Instead of a kiosk, it is now occupying a stall in the foodcourt, alongside other mainstream food joints. I was also delightfully surprised that they also served sisig on regular ceramic plates!

Like a beacon beckoning me from afar. (SM Megamall)

My last brush with Sisig Hooray! was after I attended a seminar somewhere in Ortigas. I was looking for a place to eat at SM Megamall when I recognized a familiar orange sign signaling like a beacon. I haven’t had sisig for some time so I decided, why not? I ordered some pork sisig which was served to me in a cardboard box. As I enjoyed my meal, I thought, Just like old times.

Pork sisig + large ice tea = ENLIGHTENMENT!

With Sisig Hooray!, extra rice is not an option. It's a necessity!

Of course, I have to be cautious. I need to stay away from my favorite indulgence for long periods if I want to enjoy it (and life) longer.

* * *

For a blog review with the concern about the use of styrofoam boxes, see this entry from The Products Blog.

For a review of Sisig Hooray!’s branch at SM City Fairview, see this blog entry from Lette’s Haven.

For an article on tourism in Pampanga, including the origins of sisig and Angeles’ “Sisig Festival”, see this page from the Department of Tourism.

"Woman, Thou Art Loosed"

14^th Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtde)

August 25, 2013

Luke 13:10-17

Introduction

Today we have the healing of a “bowed” woman when Jesus was teaching at a synagogue during the Sabbath day. It has al the marks of a typical miracle story. But it also tells of a clash between Jesus and the religious leaders during his time. The story shows us that Jesus, in the words of Bishop Emerito Nacpil, got “in the horns of a dilemma” and how he was able to extricate himself from that dilemma.

I. The marks of a miracle story (Luke 13:10-13)

Miracle stories always have three parts: 1) the human situation, which shows us the human need for the healing of sickness, the deliverance from demons, the feeding of the hungry, & c.; 2) the action of Jesus, which includes the healing of the sick, the expulsion of unclean spirits, the provision of food for the hungry, & c.; and 3) the people’s reaction to the miracle, including wonder, fear, or awe.

The healing of the “bowed” woman is told only in the Gospel of Luke, with his emphasis on “the last, the least, and the lost”:

1) The human situation. The woman was “bowed together and utterly unable to lift up herself” (v. 10). Perhaps the woman has severely hunchbacked by a condition called kyphosis. The text also clearly states that the origin of the woman’s condition is demonic in origin: she had had a “spirit of infirmity”. There are certain cases in the Bible were the text was clear that the sickness was caused by unclean spirits. However, there are also certain cases where the Bible is silent on the origin of the disease, which may well have natural causes. The woman has also been sick for eighteen years—a very long time.

In any case, the bent woman is a picture of the human condition of sickness. There are those who are sick because of natural causes; others because of the oppression of evil spirits. And there are those who have been infirm for several years. All of these are in need of help from Jesus.

2) The action of Jesus. Jesus does not wait for the woman to come and ask him to heal her. By his sovereign will he tells the woman to come him. He declares, “Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmity!” (v. 12). The Greek word used for “loosed”—απολελυσαι,  apolelusai—has an image of being released from captivity. According to Jesus, this woman has been bound by Satan for eighteen years (v. 16); but with one word (and laying his hand upon her), Jesus has loosed her from her infirmity!

3) The reaction of the people. When Jesus laid his hand upon her, “immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (v. 13). Upon being loosed from her infirmity, the woman gave glory to God, which the natural human response upon an encounter of supernatural healing.

II. Opposition along the way (Luke 13:14-16)

The “ruler of the synagogue”, upon seeing that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, was very “much displeased”. A synagogue ruler (in Hebrew, rosh beth-knesset) is not the rabbi. Rather, he is the administrator of the synagogue, the one in charge of the synagogue’s operations. Nowadays, he is called “president of the synagogue”. The synagogue ruler reasoned that since healing is considered “work”, which is forbidden in the Sabbath, one cannot heal on the Sabbath. In effect, the synagogue ruler is accusing Jesus of Sabbath breaking!

However, a closer inspection of halakah, Jewish law, reveals that it is not prohibited to heal on the Sabbath. One passage that appears to forbid healing on the Sabbath is:

You must not…induce vomiting, or straighten an infant['s limbs], or set a broken bone. If one's hand or foot is dislocated, he must not agitate it violently in cold water but may bathe it in the usual way, and if it heals, it heals. (Tractate Shabbat 147a, Babylonian Talmud)

In fact, traditional Judaism permits the breaking of the Sabbath if it involves the saving of a life, which takes precedence over all the commandments:

An objection is raised: How do we know that the saving of life supersedes the Sabbath? R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah said: If circumcision, which is [performed on but] one of the limbs of man, supersedes the Sabbath, the saving of life, a minori, must supersede the Sabbath. (Tractate Shabbat 132a)

III. Jesus’ answer to the opposition. (Luke 13:15-17)

Jesus answered the accusation of being a Sabbath-breaker with a two-pronged approach.

1) First, he called the synagogue ruler a “hypocrite”—John Wesley explains, “For the real motive of his speaking was envy, not (as he pretended) pure zeal for the glory of God” (Note on Luke xiii:15). Then Jesus reasoned that people can untie their farm animals and take them away to water—without breaking the Sabbath! (v. 15).

This is not a point from the Torah, but common sense. The closest parallel in the Torah is a little more shocking: it’s about helping an animal owned by an enemy!

If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him. (Exodus 23:4-5, Jewish Publication Society)

2) Next, Jesus reasoned, If animals can be untie (loosened) on the Sabbath so that it can drink, how much more the woman, who is a human being, be unloosed from Satan for eighteen years, even if it’s on the Sabbath!

This is the difficult thing about being a hypocrite—one is free to speak dishonesty, even if it’s self-contradictory, because one does not have the obligation to tell the truth!

Conclusion: Giving glory to God (Luke 13:17)

The Gospel reading ends with the multitude, seeing that all of his adversaries were ashamed (for Jesus exposed their hypocrisy), rejoicing “for all the glorious things that were done by him” (v. 17). Miracles give glory to God if we acknowledge that it is he who performs miracles. God is not glorified when we pretend to give him glory but are envious of others instead. God is given glory when we help and save lives; as the Mishnah says,

Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:9)

Icon courtesy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GoArch.Org)