The Audacity of Jesus

We rarely get such clear instructions from the gospels. Why not just try it?

This sermon was preached by Charlotte Elia at Pryor Memorial Presbyterian Church in Crewe, Virginia on Sunday, August 28, 2022. You can listen to the audio of this sermon here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:1, 7-14)

Y’all, the audacity of Jesus! The audacity of Jesus interrupting a meal to offer a message on being a good guest to those seated around him! The audacity of Jesus then turning to his host and offering a message on hospitality! I just love the audacity of Jesus! Whenever someone tries to tell you what you can say and when you can say it and to whom you can say it, I beg you to remember the audacity of Jesus.