Ordinary 22: Dependent at the Feast (feat. Pr. Vieth)

This sermon reflects on how modern wealth, convenience, and independence have shaped us to expect comfort and repayment, leaving little room for humility or mercy. Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14 exposes our “Pharisee problem”: we grasp for the best seats and avoid the poor, crippled, lame, and blind because they cannot repay us—and because they remind us of our own dependence. Pride blinds us to God’s generosity, but the truth is that we are the broken ones who cannot repay. The good news is that Jesus Himself took the lowest seat on the cross—mocked, beaten, and cast out—so that we might be raised up and seated at His eternal banquet. At His table, honor is given not to the proud but to the humble and dependent. Because we have been welcomed by sheer grace, we are freed to welcome others with the same mercy, especially the overlooked and outcast. Our acts of hospitality become a living picture of God’s hospitality to us in Christ. In the end, the joy is not in repayment but in hearing the Host’s words: “Friend, move up higher.”

August 31, 2025