The scriptures that I chose from this week’s lectionary readings are Jeremiah 2:4–13 and Luke 14:1, 7–14.

Breaking Promises (Jer. 2:4–13)

After Jeremiah announces that he is bringing the word of God to the “house of Jacob” and the “house of Israel,” we hear God speak. The rest of this passage is God speaking to His people. God is reminding them that they have broken their promise to Him. However, He starts out by accusing their ancestors. He says, “What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?” (Jer. 2:5 NRSV). God is reminding the people that even though God has been faithful from the very beginning, His people have not.

When God made a covenant with the Hebrew people to bring them out of Egypt, he asked of them one thing: that they be faithful to Him. He said in the book of Exodus, “I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:2–3). Well, the former slaves did worship other gods, and now their descendants are doing the same. The setting of this passage is several hundred years after the Exodus from Egypt, and nothing has changed.

These people did not seem to learn from their ancestors’ mistakes, nor did they learn from their own. The question is, have we learned? Are we going after “worthless things?” When times get rough, most people start thinking of God, but how much time do we spend thinking of God when things are going smoothly? If we are honest (I include myself in this statement), we most likely spend much less time thinking of God when everything in our lives is going well than we do when there is a crisis looming on the horizon. During the peaceful times, do we go after “worthless things?” When we are baptized, promises are made. Do we take those promises seriously? God takes his promises very seriously. We all sin and fall short of the “glory of God.” This scripture reminds us of that. That is why we need the redemption offered through Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for that redemption.

Humility and Hospitality (Luke 14:1, 7–14)

In our passage from Luke, Jesus has entered the house of the leader of the Pharisees. He observes the other guests. As people sometimes do, they were all trying to be seated in places of honor. It is hunan nature to want to be recognized, but you get the impression that these people were pushing in front of others to get there.

Once again, Christ had to remind the people to be humble and show hospitality. He tells a story about a banquet in which someone sits in a seat of honor and is asked to move when a “more important” person arrives. He suggests that a better plan would be to sit in the lowest seat, then one may be asked to move to a seat of honor. This is what I call quiet humility. God does not want us to be someone’s doormat, but we also should not think too highly of ourselves. We are all equal in the eyes of God.

In the last part of the passage, Christ gives further advice about hospitality to those who seldom receive any. When we serve others and show hospitality to others (especially those who are on the fringe of society), we are showing it to God. Remember the words of Christ in St. Mathews Gospel: