Luke 14:1-24

We're looking at the Bible, page 873, and we're going to read chapter 14, verses 1 to 24.

There are three stories we're looking at tonight, but they all have one main point.

So, they all happen in the same place, and at the same time, Jesus is eating dinner on

Sabbath, probably after going to synagogue worship for the service this morning, somebody

invited them over for lunch, and the leaders, and this is where the conversation happened.

So, let's read chapter 14.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine in the house of the ruler of the Pharisees, they were

not too good to care for him.

And behold, there was a man before him, and a drop seat.

And Jesus responded to the Lord's comparison, saying, Is it all the people of the Sabbath

were not?

They were made of silence.

Then he took him and healed him, and said, Quick.

And he says to them, Which of you, having a son or an aunt, who is only in the well, except

that they have not immediately blown out, and they have not replied to these things?

Now, he told him, there are a lot of those who were invited.

He noticed how they took a place of honor, saying to them, When you are invited by someone

to a wedding feast, don't sit down in the place of honor.

By someone who are distinguished, then you be invited by.

And he would invite you to go, He will come and say to you, Give your place to this person,

and then you will be with shame, to take the lowest place.

Go anywhere, and write him to the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to

you, Friend, who have fire, and will be honored.

And the brethren who have said, He will give you, For everyone who exalts himself will

be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

He also said to the men who have invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't

invite friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also divide you in

return and you be your king.

For when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will

be blessed, because they did not pay.

For you will be with the resurrection of the house.

And one of those who would find a table with him heard these things, he said, Blessed is

everyone, will eat bread in the kingdom of God.

But Jesus said to him, A man once gave a great banquet, and quite a minute.

And at the time of the banquet, he sent his servants to say to those who have been invited,

not for him, and he is now ready, but they all alike can't make excuses.

The first said, I bought a field, and I must have bought a field, and I said, please have

any excuses.

And another said, I bought five yoke boxes, and I go to the center, and please have any excuses.

And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

So the servant came and reported to this, and he was a master.

So then the master of the house became angry, and said to the servant, go out quickly to the

streets and lay in the city and bring in the floor and purples of wine and laying.

I realized that the wife was unlisted.

So it was a little, that was a little, okay, okay, okay, cool.

I'm just coming over again.

Let's look back a few minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

of Luke is the song of Mary.

And Mary says this.

Mary says, He has scattered the crowd

and come off their hearts.

He has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted but lifted up

those who have humbled the state.

He has filled a hundred good things

and richly extenciated.

So that's Mary's opening song

that's where he opens the book of Luke.

And then, if you look at the first

sermon that Jesus

preaches in the Gospel of Luke,

this is what Jesus says, chapter 4.

Jesus says, The Spirit of the Lord is

upon you because he has appointed me to proclaim

good news to the poor.

He will claim liberty

to the captains and the

poverty of sight to the blind. He said that the

people who are oppressed and

claim to hear the Lord's favor.

So we've already got a hint

by those two things.

The first public

proclamation

that the whole

Gospel is going to be about God

bringing down the crowd and

praise and how it's

for the poor and

love.

And that's what we see

tonight.

So let's look section by section.

The first section of the story

we see Jesus is

on the brain

healing

for the afflicted.

Verse 1-6.

And we

want you to

count it to the

news for this man

with dropsy.

Now, dropsy

is a word that means

swelling

due to excess fluid in the body.

It's usually a problem with your heart

or your kidneys.

We can't be a process of fluid.

And so

it's a sad condition

because you're always thirsty.

But the more you drink,

the more bloated

and so

your body

becomes.

Right?

And back in Jesus' day,

some people

think

people didn't

quite know about

that condition.

And some people thought,

well, maybe that condition

is caused by

excessive

craving

for physical

pleasures.

And so people thought,

maybe that's

that's why

you have this

this experience

where many people

kept their distance

from people

with dropsy

and swelling.

But what we see

with Jesus

is that

he was different.

He was actively

compassionate.

It says he took him

and healed him

and sent him away.

Now,

that word

sent him away

is actually

the best translation

because literally

it means

to release him.

So it would mean

he sent him away

but it would also

just be

he sent him free.

It's actually

the same word

that was used

back in chapter 13

when Jesus healed

as a woman

who had been

punched over

for 18 years

that she straightened

down.

And he talked

about Jesus

as a blue circle

instead of free.

So in both

of these situations

Jesus brings

healing and freedom

to someone

who's been afflicted

by disease

for a long time.

And, you know,

it's actually

not an accident.

And Luke

really likes him

to put two stories

next to each other.

He does a lot.

Two characters

right next to each other

of confidence

one man

and one woman.

So here's a woman

who's healed

in the synagogue

on the Sabbath

in chapter 13

and now here's a man

who's healed

after the worship

of the synagogue

also on the Sabbath.

And Luke

has a lot of these

pairs

throughout his gospel

so like Mary

and Zachariah

and St.

talking praise

and the beginning

and the beginning

or Simeon and Dan

are both standing

in the temple.

Mary and Joseph

together obey

God's commands.

And it's interesting

to notice this pattern.

I think there's two things

this is just a bit

of a side note

but I think there's

two things

that Luke is doing

with this.

One is

there's the principle

of two witnesses

establish a valid testimony.

In the Old Testament

it says every man

must be established

by a testimony

of two or three witnesses.

And so Luke often

gives us

two people

often men

who went side by side

who are both

testifying to

in this case

the healing

and liberating

power of Jesus.

And that's a reminder

of how

God originally

made human beings

in his image

male and female

and Jesus

comes to restore

and heal

male and female

alike.

So I think

that's why we see

these pairs

in the gospel.

So we see

there's good news

for the conflicted man.

We also see

in this section

there's bad news

for the passive

Pharisees, right?

Notice the Pharisees

what they do

in this section.

In verse 1 it says

they were watching

and careful

but then they

don't do anything

and they don't say anything.

And most likely

they invited this guy

with swelling

in his body

to test Jesus.

Most likely

they probably

wouldn't have

invited him

to their house

otherwise

they wanted

to put him there

and they said

watch with Jesus

carefully.

Oh, right in front

of Jesus

there's this man.

Right?

They're testing him.

And then Jesus

asks them a question.

He says,

Paul,

is it right to get

on the seventh

or not?

They can't

really say anything.

And then Jesus

reminds them

and he reminds them

of something

that the law said

in New York

it says,

you shall not

see your brother's

donkey or ox

fallen down

by the way

and be born

and you shall

help him

to lift him up

again.

Because of the man

in the Old Testament

law

and Jesus

reminding him

that we have to say

well,

would you obey

that command

on the Saturday?

And how much more

should I lift

someone up

who has been

afflicted

and marginalised

and lift them

up again?

Isn't that what

the Sabbath

is about to restore

and heal

God through creation

especially God's people?

And in the end,

I can't say a thing.

There's nothing

they can say.

They're sort of

in order

because Jesus

has been faithful

to the scriptures

and they just

can't say anything

against him.

So,

for each of these sessions

I'm going to draw

one point.

One practical

discipleship point

because it makes,

as we said,

this whole session

include Jesus

teaching us

how to be his followers

what he used to be

in disciples.

So the point

I'm going to draw

from this section

is Jesus

teaching his disciples

that he shows

active compassion

rather than

passive indifference

when he sees people

have faith.

He sees people

grow afloat.

And he wants

his disciples

to learn from them

and share that

same heart

of active compassion

rather than

passive indifference.

That's the first section.

Second section.

Second section,

I mean,

second section

is actually

7 through 14.

There's two parts

to this.

In verse 7

it says,

Jesus told a parable

to those who were

invited,

that is to the guest.

then you look at verse 12

it says,

he also says

to the man

who had invited him

presumably the host.

So Jesus had

verse of the guest

in 7 to 11

and verse of the host

in verse 18.

And they're talking

about

sacred and evil.

So we see this section,

the first section

we saw

giving for the afflicted

and here we see

honor for the humble.

So

going through this section

in verse 7

it's interesting

in the beginning

it says people

were watching Jesus

carefully

but he was also

watching them carefully.

He noticed

that some of them

chose the best seats

and they wanted to sit

at the end of the table

and they wanted to sit

next to the host

that was really

the best seat

because then the host

would introduce you

to his best friends

and he would sort

of make connections.

That's what he would do

at these inner parties.

That's why

a lot of people

would have these parties

and attend these parties

because he wanted

to make connections

and he wanted

to sort of advance

your social status

without that.

So I'm going to buy

some of his house

I'll go there

maybe I'll meet

somebody else

maybe I'll help

you get a better job

maybe I'll connect

with so-and-so

right as the ancient

version of networking

is going to these

dinner parties

and people

of course

were trying

to touch

what they could

to get as close

to the top

as they could

and Jesus challenged

them.

He says

don't promote

yourself

it's better

to take a worse seat

and be invited

to move up

than take the best seat

and be embarrassed

to have to move down.

Now at first

that advice

seems

it almost seems

calculated

right?

You know

it's sort of like

well

you may know

you might get

a little boosted

you may be too high

you might get

to come down

so you don't need

to come down

now that's sort of

proverbial advice

in a lot of

cultures

Proverbs

25

6

7

but Jesus

is actually

verse 11

Jesus is actually

going to eat

so I'm just

saying

well

okay

so

put yourself

in a lower

place

and most

most

will serve

on God

and that'll

make you better

right?

Jesus says

everyone

who exalts

himself

and promotes

himself

to become

brought down

and the one

who promos

himself

to be exalted

and in that

verse

Jesus is speaking

in what is

sometimes called

the divine

acid

so it's a

passive voice

basically saying

the active voice

would be saying

God will humble

those who exalt

himself

Jesus just says

everyone who exalts

themselves

they will be

humbled

the question is

by who?

and the

application is

by God

right?

so if there was

a common fact

speaking

and you were

speaking

they will be

humbled

they will be

exalted

and you knew

oh he speaks

about God

and that's

what Jesus

is speaking

about in

verse 11

and so what

he's really

challenging us

to say

is where

do you get

your honor

and security?

are you trying

to sort of

advance

a level

by your

connection

to other

people

or are you

seeking

the honor

that comes

from God?

and he's

really telling

me

the Pharisees

because the Pharisees

as we've seen

in other parts

try to exalt

themselves

and try to

appear

as rulers

and models

and Jesus

warning them

you're trying

to exalt

yourself

about a

holy

but we see

that Jesus

confident in

his identity

from God

Jesus

is willing

to humble

himself

Jesus

had this

complete security

and so he

could humble

himself

in the lowest

place

without despairing

addressing

that God

would exalt him

so this is

the discipleship

point from

this section

which he is

teaching his

disciples

he's reminding

us

again

who he is

that he is

willing to

follow himself

and in

his resurrection

he will be

a father

but he's

saying

as followers

of Jesus

we call

to humble

ourselves

instead of

promote

ourselves

because

we will be

secure

in who we

are in

Jesus

part of

following

Jesus

is learning

to be

comfortable

in being

who you

are

and not

try to be

somebody else

because

you're secure

in who you're not

being

and you're

comfortable

being

that person

because

you know

that comes

to me

and you

know

that's

God's

child

and you

know

that he's

never

going to

take

more

for

safety

so you

can be

secure

and strong

and so you

can humble

yourself

without losing

yourself

and then

Jesus

goes on

verse 12

14

he's

applying

the same

principle

honor

for the

humble

and he

applies

that to

the

host

right

he's

talking

to

the

guests

7-11

now he

talks

to the

host

of

14

and

I mean

just imagine

this

Jesus

has been

invited

to this

man's

house

and here's

what he

says

to the

man

who

invites

him

when you

have a

dinner

go and

invite

friends

or your

brothers

or your

relatives

or rich

neighbors

let's

say

you

invite

you

to

return

go

when you

get

a

feast

invite

the

poor

cripple

the

name

and

the

lion

and

you'll

be

blessed

as

a

can

evade

you

now

that was

like

the

opposite

advice

of

what

almost

anyone

else

will

give

right

why

don't

throw

a

heartache

I

throw

a

heartache

to

hang

up with

people

they

like

and

then

they'll

invite

them

to

their

house

or

you

can

invite

them

strategically

so you

can network

and connect

with them

maybe get

associated

with people

you want to

associate

with so you

can feel

a little

bit more

secure

and Jesus

says

don't

look

back

I

would

just

imagine

saying

have

had

somebody

saying

that

to

the

person

who

invited

them

for

dinner

like

don't

invite

all

people

you

just

invite

them

invite

the

poor

the

people

of

the

women

of

money

what do you

say

right

what do you

say

for those

who are

like

whoa

who is

this

guy

now

doesn't

Jesus

mean

that we

should

literally

never

invite

friends

family

or

wealthy

people

for

dinner

no

I

think

sometimes

Jesus

uses

hyperbole or overstated

to make a point. You look down in verse 26

Jesus talks about

you have to hate your father and mother

and in order to follow me.

Now that does not mean

that you should hate your mother and father.

That's what Bible says. Honor your mother and father.

But it means you should love Jesus more

than anyone else.

Right? And so Jesus

needs to be a strong language

to make a point.

Right? That we need to love him

more than anyone else. And so he

needs to be a strong language here to make a point.

I think one of the reasons Jesus

uses strong language is that if he states

everything more politely, he would

just politely ignore it.

And so he says it strongly so that we

have to deal with it

and have to really

press with what he's saying.

So Jesus is saying, but what he's saying

in Paul 14 is he's saying you should

love people generously

and trust God and take him back.

You should love people without calculating

how much they can pay you back

and what benefits they can give you

if you're connected to them.

You should love people without

measuring any of that.

And trust that God will repay you again

in the resurrection of the righteous.

That's a challenge.

I think it's really easy to get into a rut and

basically default into living as if this world is

mostly all there is.

You think, oh yes, you believe in eternal life,

I guess we'll sort of figure out what that's like

when you get there.

But I want to try to make as much of this life

as I can, but I haven't.

Jesus is saying,

my kingdom is about loving people generously

and trusting God and bring faith in the end.

And then there will be a resurrection

and that will be,

that will outweigh everything else

on the scales of history.

That will outweigh everything else.

What I think Jesus is trying to teach us

as his disciples

is something like this.

Invite people

who can't pay for themselves,

who can't pay back,

men who can't get there on their own,

you need to go and pick them up.

I've been through a blind person like that,

but I think it's something to lead them

wherever the party is.

People who you can't imagine

how associated with them

would help you advance in society

and might those people be your parties.

You see, Jesus, Jesus,

I think a lot of us think,

well, okay,

showing compassion to people

who are indeed beings,

that's sort of part of my work.

But when I want to have fun,

I'm going to go have fun with my friends.

And people might all have to be burdened

with their difficulties.

And Jesus says,

actually,

you're going to have fun.

Invite people who have partners.

Invite people who are part.

Invite people who are crippled.

Invite people who are blind.

Invite people nobody else would invite.

Because God will be made for that.

He will be blessed by God.

Because you will be acting like God.

Isn't that what Jesus came to do?

To come to earth

and give his blessings

to all of us who are spiritually speaking,

not just poor, crippled,

and lame and blind,

but far worse than that.

Rebels against God.

Messed up, twisted, broken.

And Jesus came to our work

to raise his hands.

He is a sign of them.

To show them what that means.

Go and love people.

You can't think of any benefit

that they will be able to give you to this.

And just love them.

Pour out your love on them.

And you might,

they might never pay back.

They might never pay back financially.

They might never pay back socially.

They might never pay back in another way.

But you will be empowered

by the Holy Spirit

to do that

if you do what you would say to Jesus.

So,

this is a man

I think we don't talk a lot about,

but I think we should have,

we should take Jesus literally here

when he says,

invite people who are poor,

blind,

and they are rich.

You know,

and there's other people

who are vulnerable

by the kind of those passages,

but really thinking,

how can we do this quite?

The next time

the Bible comes over for dinner,

or planning to go to a party,

can you bring some light on them?

And sometimes,

I think it will teach you

a kind of joy

that you wouldn't even expect.

And,

and all the time

you realize that

the people that you talk to

will help you in any way

are actually helping you

in all kinds of ways

that only God

could have known in advance

by the people.

and so,

there's a blessing

that comes with the resurrection,

but sometimes,

I think God will give you

that blessing ahead of time.

So,

Jesus is saying,

don't just show compassion

out of pity or duty

as a party of work.

Show compassion

in sharing joy.

And why should we do this?

because

these are the people

who God has invited

in his manger.

So,

now we go to the third part.

You see,

healing from the afflicted,

on earth,

and humble.

And third,

hospitality,

leading outcasts.

Verse 15,

24.

And this is sort of

the concluding parable

of the section.

And Jesus

tells the story

of a great manger.

And it begins with

a guy who's behaved

like a typical host.

Right?

He invites his friends.

And as you'll see,

the friends he invites,

they own property,

one of them has got married,

they're sort of doing well.

Five goat coxin,

that means he probably

got at least

a hundred acres

five goat coxin

to plow by the field.

So,

we have the host

when he sort of

starts off

in the story

behaving like

a typical host

back then.

He compares the meal,

sends out the service

with a reminder

and then disaster.

Everyone

rejects the invitation

and no show.

He can't do it

at the last time.

Every single

last one of them.

Bad news

for the host

who only invites

his friends and relatives

and rich neighbors.

But then the host

actually changes

his plan

verse 21 to 23.

And he invites

everyone.

The poor,

the poor,

the blind,

the language,

even people

outside the city gates,

the people sleeping

under the bridges.

people that nobody

else will think

they invited.

And he takes

special initiatives

to include the ones

who would be

normally left out.

It's interesting.

At first,

he just sends out

invitations

and sends his servants

to tell people

to come in.

But in verse 21,

he doesn't just say,

well,

will he then invite

the poor,

the little blind,

the blind.

And he says,

bring them in.

Right?

They'll need help

if somebody's crippled.

They'll need a hand

to actually get there.

You can't just go

to a cripple man

and say,

hey,

come to the parties

a mile or two away.

He says,

okay,

I'll give you a ride.

And in verse 23,

he says,

go out to the highways

and headsets,

that is,

the end of the earth,

and compel people

to come in.

Now,

that word compels

a little confusing.

It doesn't actually mean

use force

and force people

to come in

against their will.

That's not what it means.

Now,

people visit her

from the Adam

and the middle agents

and that was a test.

But what it does mean

is it's the images

of someone coming

and taking the hand

of somebody

who feels hesitant

or afraid

and saying,

come with me.

Yes.

Because it goes to people

right back then

if you would invite,

if you were a rich person

and you invited someone

who was poor

at nothing,

right,

they only have clothes

on their back

and those clothes

weren't really good,

they would say,

oh no,

I can't do two hands.

Oh no,

I would be too embarrassed.

I don't have the right clothes on.

Right?

Sometimes you believe

you go this way

about church,

right?

You don't have,

you don't have,

you know,

fleets out of clothes

that look sort of nice.

Sometimes people like,

I don't know,

I can't make sure

of something else.

And so what does

the guy do

is he says,

I'm calling to come

and that is

take their hand

and if they're afraid

or ask them,

say,

come with me

and I'll read it

and I'll walk in with you.

you know,

it takes more effort

than initiative

to bring in

some type of people

into God's kingdom

but Jesus says

that is worth it.

This guy goes

for about 15 years

to worship

at the Columbus House.

His name is

Ken Bergen

and he's part

of their outreach

and engagement team.

So you see

those who like,

when it's

10 below zero

on the coldest

night of the year,

he's out

going under

the bridges

and where people

are sleeping out

in tents

and he goes

to find people

who would never

commit to a shelter

otherwise

and he goes

out there

with his team

of people

and basically

just tries to

bring as many

people in

to safety

and warmth

as possible.

And he's probably

saying people

fly away.

I don't know,

I haven't heard

all the stories

of the big break

and you never know

what would happen

otherwise

but he goes

in great lengths

to bring people

in who

are generally

resistant to

coming in

and don't want

to be in a shelter

but really need

a warm and safe

place to be.

And I think

that's a picture

of the kind

of what it means

to be

one of Jesus'

disciples

inviting people

in history

is to have

that kind

of perseverance

and willingness

to go

wherever it takes

and to meet

people wherever

they are

and to take

the time

and play

the need

and to be

not just

throwing out

an invitation

and saying

hey,

if you ever

want to come

you can come

but to

come alongside

people

and to bring

them in

to not see

them to his

bank of

people.

So

the point

of this

parable

parable

of the great

night

is good news

for the guests

who would never

normally be invited

and bad news

for the guests

who refuse the invitation

to take for granted.

Jesus says

there's a place

where I need

for everyone

no one

is excluded

the only people

who don't make

it in are people

who exclude themselves

and are refusing

the invitation.

Now one last

thing

notice the excuses

that people make

sometimes we

read these excuses

and we sort of

think well

aren't they all

sort of lame excuses

I feel

you know

I have to go

out and see

it

bought some

oxygen

to test

it

well you should

probably test

the oxygen

before you

buy it

so I test

drive the car

before you

buy it

rather than say

I just bought

a car

you can test

drive it

sounds lame

okay you want

to test

it

okay you want

to drive

your car

that's fine

that just

sounds like

a lame excuse

for you know

ditching the

party

at the last

minute

and bagels

are normally

only in the

evening

so we're

going to

actually be

able to

inspect

the field

if it's

almost keeping

so on one hand

basically seems

sort of lame

but the third

excuse

is

best of all

because there's

a verse in

New Robby

that says

if you just

get married

it says

when a man

is going to be

married

he shall not

grow out

before he can

be liable

for any

other

mother

do

he shall

be free

at home

one year

and be

happy

with his

wife

and be

a saint

so basically

in ancient

Israel

if you just

don't marry

you have

a free

pass

for all

military

and civic

duties

not bad

and so you

know what

that's about

the best

you should

come up

with

to refuse

an invitation

to a dinner

because

you don't have

anything else

you have

all year

you just

be happy

be happy

with your

new spouse

but what's

the point

that Jesus

is talking

about something

more important

than military

more important

than serving

a club

office

more important

than anything

else

that commands

our attention

more important

even that

marriage

makes this

you can center

our marriage

Jesus is

talking about

being invited

to God's

faith

invited into

the relationship

with God

to become part

of God

and he said

that's more

important

that takes

priority

over anti-excuses

and so even

the best

experiences

not just

the really

laid ones

it sounds

like somebody

made a lot

but even

the best

experiences

are not

good

so Judas

is inviting

us to be

part of a

banquet

that lasts

forever

and then

in the end

he says

I tell you

none of these

men to invite us

will taste

my

banquet

very interesting

he starts

as the guest

at this man's

house

he talks to

the guest

he talks to

the host

and he tells

this story

about being

invited to a

great banquet

and then at the

end he talks

about it as

my banquet

saying I'm

actually the host

I'm actually

inviting you

to come

to God's

banquet

table

and I'm

making way

that you can

come in

and I come

to find you

wherever you

are

wherever you

are

I come

to shower

God's love

upon you

and bring you

to welcome you

home

don't refuse

the invitation

don't make

an excuse

however important

it may seem

don't miss out

on the banquet

that Jesus

calls us to

we have

the description

of the banquet

that Jesus

calls us to

this is

Isaiah

to this

and on this

mountain

the Lord

goes to

make all

people

a feast

of richly

a feast

of well

each one

richly

full of

marrow

and deep

fine

well refined

and he

will swallow

up

upon this

mountain

the covering

that is

passing

for all

the

people

call

death

forever

and the

Lord

God

will widen

away

his

eyes

from

all

faces

and the

corruption

is

he

will

take

away

from

all

the

earth

and the

Lord

is

going

to

him

and he

will

be

sent

on

him

and he

will

this

is

our

God

we have

waited

for him

that he

might

save

us

this is

the

Lord

we have

waited

for him

that he

brought

glad

and rejoiced

his

salvation

you see

this

is the

invitation

of

this is

this is

what makes

the

disciple

more

next

thing

else

is to

receive

the

invitation

of

Jesus

to the

great

way

of

God

and say

yes

we

conquer that

kingdom

and then

then you

can extend

that

invitation

and then

you can

extend

that

love

without

any

boundaries

because

of the

word

of

any

of

hearts

thanking

for

coming

while

you

państwo

How do you stand through?

Lay through what doesn't satisfy you.

Come eat what is good.

In Jesus' name,

you made a way for us to come.

You made a way for us to come. You made a way for you.

Your death on the cross and through your resurrection.

Thank you that you have defeated death.

Until one day

you've got to be swallowed up through.

Swallowed up in victory.

In your victory.

Lord, we pray that you would give us joy.

Give us joy in the morning

that you've invited us to the banquet

and that we have

said yes to you.

That we are included among

your disciples

and your followers.

We have a glorious future ahead of us.

Resurrection of the righteous that be.

A way to long for.

Lord, we pray that you would

help us to extend

your healing to the afflicted.

To give honor

to the humble.

To go to stay here in hospitality

even to the outcasts.

Lord, we,

because you have done that for us,

you would come and give us

and give us honor

and

welcome us in your kingdom

because of what you have done for us.

So we thank you.

Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We can move and sing.