Dear friends and members of Grace Baptist,

We continue our Lenten journey with Jesus to Jerusalem.  Last week, we experienced an “unexpected conversation” as we pondered the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer.  This week, we will listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 14:1-24, spoken at a dinner party at the house of a leader of the Pharisees.  Jesus is at a banquet and the topics of his parables are great banquets.

I think almost all of us can recall a time or two where we attended a great banquet or dinner.  I invite you to take a moment and reflect on that experience, what made the banquet great?  Was it the quality of the food and drink?  Was it the quantity?  Was it the guest list?  Was it the actions of the host and hostess, or the chef?  A combination of any of these can make for a great dinner, but they are not the only characteristics of a great banquet.

In our scripture for this Sunday, Jesus speaks to us about three characteristics that make a banquet great.  They are humility, hospitality, and healing.  When these are present, the quality and quantity of food and the names on the guest list lose their importance.   As we journey closer to Jerusalem this Sunday, we’ll seek to deepen our understanding of these three characteristics of a great banquet and ponder a few ways we may put them into practice in our personal and communal life.

See you on Sunday,

Pastor David