“Honey from the Rock”
“Honey from the Rock”
Year C Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, August 28, 2022 RM
Psalm 81:1, 10-16 Proverbs 25:6-7 Luke 14:1, 7-14
Pastor Andy Kennaly, First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho
The Psalmist mentions one of my favorite things: honey. Honey from the rock perhaps involves wild bees nesting in cool cavities among boulders. Finding a stash like that would be very satisfying. God wants to share goodness and provision with God’s people.
But even in this passage the Psalmist does what needs to be done: points out discrepancies, calls people to account, shows them how their lives, even as a nation, have lost track of God’s purposes and intentions and they conduct injustice and cause harm. The peoples’ own stubborn hearts become a stumbling block. This is not individualistic. It is a people, the nation.
Most people, and most nations, are not open to critique or even constructive criticism. Since prophets, and the authors of Psalms, often expose hypocrisies, people tend to reject not only the message but also the messenger. The sincere prophet doesn’t only focus on judgement, but points to deeper care and love that is able to hold such judgement with the best interest of the people in mind.
In this morning’s passage, the psalmist mentions food. God offers to feed the people “the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock” to satisfy them. But the people don’t listen to God’s voice, so God “gives them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.”
In Luke, the Pharisees show stubborn hearts and misdirected counsel as Jesus goes to “to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath.” Remember, hospitality is a core of that culture, to get invited to share a meal is a big deal, and on the sabbath, even more important. But hospitality is not behind this invitation. “…they were watching him closely” means they test Jesus or try to trap him. But Jesus watches them, points out that “they are the ones not following Scripture.”
This passage has to do with those in high places of privilege selfishly ignoring the humble and those in need. Jesus tells parables to point out God’s intent and the peoples’ failure to live into that intent. As one commentator mentions, “the meal table was closely tied to one’s social standing. The pecking order reflected the position one held at the table. Places at the table […] showed rank [and] Pharisees who attended this meal seemed to think that one’s table position not only reflected one’s position, but may indeed have created it. Thus, the people jockeyed for position at mealtime, so that they could end up in a seat of honor. … Imagine…everyone milling about in a casual manner, in the hope that they just might be standing beside a chair of honor when it was time for dinner. How subtle it was supposed to be, but Jesus saw it and exposed it. […] Behind all this behavior is the underlying dynamic of privilege or entitlement that comes with power and wealth. […] There is evil to be exposed with privilege, and Jesus acts boldly to expose it.”
What’s really at the heart of this morning’s texts? The water, the food, the honey, the privilege; none of these hold the importance of relationship. They are extensions, illustrations, means but not the ends. The purpose, which Jesus points out in this prophetic tradition, is waking up to a deeper wisdom, one which claims unity, equality, and the sacredness of all things. When he tells the Pharisees to invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed,” he points out the absurdity of social posturing, the emptiness of prestige, and reminds them of their original purpose to honor God and honor all people, to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
(Most quotes up to this point are from Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, A Lectionary Commentary, Year C, by Dale Andrews, Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, and Ronald Allen, editors, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY, 2012, Proper 17, pgs. 366-371).
One aspect that’s subtle but strong as Jesus shares parables which compare people, stories that play off the suggestion that some are more distinguished than others, is meant to point out the very mindset that sees such distinctions. That those who are humbled will be exalted and those who are exalted will be humbled, this is another way of saying that we’re all on the same level and any kind of stratification is a false model based on the illusion of separation, the very definition of sin.
We tend to live mostly in our judging mind, in dualism, and we measure, count, and contrast one thing against another. The parables of Jesus short circuit this system, call us to a larger mind that is blessed through a unitive consciousness. But to get to that type of mindset, we become our own hurdle and the fears which create the perceived need to have distinctions must be overcome. We need to re-discover the grace that we, and all things, are created in and share the image of God. At our core, we hold a divinity that is of God and not opposed to God. This divine core links with the Essential nature of all other things, hidden in Christ like honey in the rock.
Recognition of the importance of humility is one of life’s most difficult lessons. Recognition that most of our culturally conditioned categories are ultimately empty – this is a lesson that most people, and most nations, would gladly ignore. To show mutual love and hospitality, to do good, and share what we have; these help us live into our True Self. Somehow, if we are open, God’s sure and certain promises help us, with the Spirit, to trust God’s creative power, in Christ.
Jesus notices the guests in the home of that leader. Jesus notices us now, and continues to invite us to follow, knowing we won’t always get it right and our sin is ever before us. All the more need for humility, to humbly live into that joy as gift, as God’s vulnerable love is shared, both NOW, and forever. Amen.