The Good News Is... All Are Welcome -- Luke 15:15-24 (2nd Sunday in Lent)

Artwork: "There Is Still Room" by Lauren Wright Pittman, 

used with copyright permission 

A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

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INTRO TO THE SCRIPTURE:

This week, we find Jesus back at a banquet. Last week, it was the Wedding at Cana. This week, it is dinner on the Sabbath, at a Pharisee’s house.^[1] And Jesus is stirring things up. As they’re gathering, he heals someone on the Sabbath. (That always gets folks agitated.) And then as the dinner progresses, Jesus offers a commentary on how it’s unfolding – he points out how all the guests have rather ridiculously scrambled to get the best seats for themselves, and then how if the host is having a dinner, he might want to try feeding people who are actually hungry. That’s Jesus... just commenting on the way the world works. And in the awkward silence that follows at that banquet, here’s what happens, and the story that Jesus tells:

SCRIPTURE – Luke 14:15-24

¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

SERMON:

This is quite the awkward dinner party. Folks are gathered; they are feasting; food is being served; wine is being poured. And then: Jesus is that guy. Jesus is that guy who starts saying things that make everyone in the room uncomfortable. It gets quiet. Folks put their forks down. Maybe stare at their plates. The feasting grinds to a hard stop. Jesus is saying things that one just doesn’t say at a dinner party.

And this is no small thing. In the world of the gospel, meals and feasting are big in their culture – as they are in most cultures.^[2] Throwing a feast was an act of hospitality – an important social occasion. It was caught up and embedded in the broader culture – there were protocols and norms. What one did (and what one didn’t do) carried meaning. And people noticed. People noticed “where one ate, with whom one ate, whether one washed before eating, and where one sat.”^[3] They noticed who was in the room, and who should not be. There were rules – in their world as a whole, and at the banquet table.

And this banquet that Jesus attends, it would have been no different. Invitations went out – to some, and not to others. On the appointed night, they all gathered together; feet were washed when they arrived; people took their place – negotiated their place, and then the feasting began.

Now before we get to the parable that Jesus tells – let’s say a little more about this specific dinner party where he tells the story. The dinner is at the home of a Pharisee – it’s on the Sabbath – and Jesus is being watched.

As folks are heading to the party – or maybe just as they arrive – the first thing that we find out is that one among them is very ill. This person has what some translations call dropsy or edema.^[4] This person would have been visibly swollen up, and in a substantial amount of pain. As everyone is heading to the feasting table – there this person is – somewhat inconveniently for a banquet... and for the Sabbath... visibly in pain.

And no one says a thing. Until Jesus asks what no one else will, “What is the right thing to do heal on the Sabbath or not?” And there’s silence. You see, one is not supposed to point out these things. And it’s the Sabbath, one isn’t supposed to do anything. Nevertheless, Jesus asks the revelers: “What is the right thing to do heal on the Sabbath or not?” Silence. So Jesus reaches over – touches this hurting human being, ever so gently, and heals him. On the Sabbath.

Next thing at this dinner party: Jesus notices how folks are choosing their seats – jockeying for the best position at the table. And when they all get settled in, Jesus says, “You know, when you arrive at a party, you really shouldn’t take the best seat for yourself. Because it’s just inevitable that someone with a higher rank than you – someone better than you – is going to show up and ask you to move to your proper place. Just a thought. Everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled.” More awkward silence. One just doesn’t say things like that, at a dinner party.

Folks start eating again, the conversation gradually picks back up, and then Jesus – having critiqued his fellow guests now turns to the host: “Oh, and here’s another thought: When you are giving a party like this, maybe you shouldn’t invite just the people you know can return the favor – your siblings, your family, your friends, and rich neighbors – they already have enough to eat. When you are throwing a dinner party, maybe you should invite those who need to eat: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Oh, I’m sorry. Y’all keep eating.” Again. Awkward. Silence. You can hear the forks clinking on the plates.

As we’re moving through Lent, looking for Good News – good news that catches us by surprise – maybe we should pause and notice that sometimes the Good News... makes us squirm.

Back at the dinner party, because folks can’t abide a silence – someone decides to be helpful, and says, “Oh, Jesus, blessed are those who will feast in the Kingdom of God.”  Bless his heart – this guy is trying.

And that’s when Jesus tells this parable.

A certain man decided to throw a big feast. And when all was ready he called his servant and said, “Go tell all the guests I have invited that all is ready – Come to the feast!” The servant goes out – and to a person – the invited guests decline the invitation – they make excuses:

·      Oh, I just bought a field and need to go see it. Please excuse me, I won’t be there.

·      Oh, I just bought 5 yoke of oxen, and I need to go and check them out. Please excuse me, I won’t be there.

·      And, oh, I just got married. Not coming.

And the servant takes that news back to the host, who is furious, and who then says, “Go out into the streets and alleyways of this city and bring the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”  And the servant does.

And then the servant does all that, and then says, “There is still more room.”

So the host says, “Go out into the hedgerows and the country lanes, and bring everyone you find there. Even if they protest that they shouldn’t be invited, compel them to come – so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who had been invited will taste this banquet.”

So let’s talk first about those folks who never get invited, but who are welcomed into this banquet. At the dinner party where Jesus tells this parable, all the separation and hierarchy of their culture is on full display.^[5] The folks who are gathered are on the richer side of things; everybody knows everybody. A-listers. Gathered at the table – everyone wants the best seat – to show their place in the pecking order. Some folks get moved up; others pushed down. No one is there who shouldn’t be – not the poor, or the working classes; not the disabled. They ignore the one person at the table in obvious excruciating pain. Where are the women? Probably in a separate room, if they are there at all. No women at this table. No servants sitting at the table feasting – they’re actually slaves, and busy bring more food to those who already have enough. Who is not at the table? Anyone who is actually hungry.

But we’re in the Gospel of Luke – the Gospel where Jesus says from the very start: I’ve come to bring Good News to the poor; healing to the hurting; release to the captive; freedom to all who are oppressed; and forgiveness of every debt.

At this mess of a table, Jesus tells this little parable, and look who gets welcomed in:

First, the poor. And also, those who are "crippled, blind, and lame." Writing from a disabilities studies perspective, Amos Yong notes that this parable of Jesus “depicts people with impairments at this feast just as they are – not with their impairments erased or made invisible.”^[6] They are fully at this table – fully who they are. The table in the parable is the exact opposite of the table at that dinner party – remember, where they ignored the obvious pain of the guy with edema. Not at the banquet of this parable – where those who are usually left hurting on the margins are welcomed in, celebrated, and fed.

Now, notice a couple things. Did you notice that moment in the parable where the host tells the servant to compel those on the margins to come in? Now at first that felt a bit strange – a bit heavy-handed to me. But think about it – I want to name this dynamic. The folks on the margins – they know that there are rules – and they know that there are consequences for breaking the rules – and that those consequences are usually meted out against the powerless, not the powerful.^[7] The poor and the vulnerable might be justifiably reluctant to come to a dinner where they are being asked to transgress the separations that society has set up. But in this parable, the invitation is emphatic. And the invitation comes without the need for fear, because there is no more separation – entreat them, encourage them, compel them to come.

And the host in the parable doesn’t send that invitation around just once... did you notice that? The host sends the servant to get those out on the margins. And after the first round, there is still room, and the host invites more people. There is still room. The host keeps inviting until the table full to overflowing. There is still room. The Good News is... all are welcome.

Now we know that the separations and systems that Jesus takes down at that able aren’t just an artifact from long ago. We know the systems of our own day that for too long have harmed and excluded many to protect the few – that have pushed so many to the margins, and kept them from the table. We know the active hostility and inhospitality directed toward our immigrant neighbors. We know the meanness and cruelty of our day.

In the midst of the troubled tables of Jesus’ day – and ours, this parable opens up an entirely different world. Good news for the poor, and the hurting, and the oppressed. All are welcome. Good news for everyone.

This is a “God loves everybody” sermon – and that is my very favorite type of sermon to preach – because I know what it is to be told that I am not welcomed to the table, and I know what it is to then be welcomed in, and I know what it is then to have the privilege to extend that welcome to others. And I think you know that too. I think each of us in our lives has experienced what it is to be left out or excluded. I hope we have, at some point, each experienced what it is to be welcomed in. And from those experiences, Jesus invites us to keep inviting, to keep making room, to keep saying yes.

At the banquet where Jesus tells this story, it’s all about who is in and who is out, but in the parable he tells – at the banquet that matters most – the “in” reaches out to the streets and the alley ways – and there is still more room – it reaches out to the hedgerows and the country lanes – and there is still more room.

Last week, we said that whatever you are thinking about God right now, God always loves us more. Same thing with God’s welcome – no matter how expansive you think God’s welcome is – there always is still more room.

Now, that would be a good place to end the sermon. But we haven’t talked yet about those folks in the parable who decline the invitation. Why would anyone say no? Well, think back. For the guests in the parable, they are consumed with their possessions, their stuff. Sorry, I just bought a new field. I just bought a few oxen. They are too caught up in their consumerist culture to come and enjoy a true feast.  And ... they also are too busy... too distracted. “Sorry host, I’ve just got too much going on right now, to enjoy a feast.”

For the folks who are at the table where Jesus tells the story, well, he makes that pretty clear. They are too caught up participating in the oppressive systems of their day – maybe without even noticing. They’re at the table, but not enjoying it. They are shoving each other around, ignoring each others’ hurt, and making sure that they are keeping others out.

So as we are moving through Lent looking for Good News – and as it catches us by surprise – reminding us that the Good News is for everyone – all are welcome – good news for you, and for me, and for others – I thought I’d just put some questions out there for this week:

·      What is distracting you from enjoying and sharing Good News? (on these beautiful spring mornings, why would I ever pick up that phone?)

·      What Good News are you leaving on the table?

·      What Good News are we keeping to ourselves?

·      What invitation are we declining?

·      Who is not at our tables, and whom could we invite?

Whichever of those questions is tugging at you,

the Good News of this story is... there is still room.

Back in the day, there Jesus was telling stories around a table. Those stories had so much good news in them that they have been handed down through the generations, down through the centuries, and they have made their way to us. And so we gather at this table, around the Living Word, and break bread, and share a life... and look for Good News here.

The invitation is for everyone – ours to embrace, and ours to extend.

The first part of the good news today is... all are welcome.

The second part of that good news is... there is still room.

© 2026 Scott Clark

^[1] For general background on this passage and on the Gospel of Luke, see R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. ix (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995); Justo L. González, Luke (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010); Barbara E. Reid, OP, and Shelly Matthews, Wisdom Commentary – Luke 10-24 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021 (Barbara E. Reid, OP, Gen. Ed.)); Sharon Ringe, Luke (Louisville, KY:  Westminster John Knox Press, 1995); Mitzi Smith and Yung Suk Kim, “Gospel of Luke,” Toward Decentering the New Testament: A Reintroduction (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018).

^[2] See Culpepper, pp.286-89; Reid & Matthews, pp.131-32.

^[3] See id.

^[4] See Reid & Matthews, p.122 (also suggesting that, in their culture, dropsy also may have been symbolically understood as greed; I address the disability as disability).

^[5] See Culpepper, pp.286-89; Reid & Matthews, pp.131-32.

^[6] Quoted in Reid & Matthews, p.133.

^[7] See González, p.181.