So where do I sit?

Have you ever noticed that when you attend a wedding reception, go to a restaurant, or even simply visit with some friends over dinner that one question always comes up. "Where do I sit?" Apart from the fact that we often do need to have a place at the table so that we can eat, there is also the need to find our place...our space...and in that way define ourselves and locate ourselves within the particular setting of that moment.

Jesus challenges this attitude and question in Luke 14:7-14. He ties the idea of finding our place with the call of discipleship to deny ourselves. In 1st century Jewish culture, to deny self was to cut yourself off from all that identified you such as family, geographic location, social status. Truth is things are not much different today and so the call to discipleship is just as challenging now as it was 2000 years ago. This challenge also effects the way we perceive ourselves. Luther, in his commentary on Romans, said, "We need to do good works because our neighbor needs them." How often do we do good works because they make us feel good about ourselves? How often do we concern ourselves with being blessed, rather than about being a blessing to others?

Funny how it all seems tied up with the question posed by this story from the life of Jesus... "So where do I sit?"