Caveat Hospes

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. (Luke 11:37-38 NIV)

As an empty-nester I sometimes reflect on those days when our two girls were home. It was a wonderful era of laughing, crying, singing, teaching, learning, bonding, and so much more. I don't know how it is at your house, but for us, the locus of our most joyous moments and the most poignant memories was the dinner table. We called it "eight feet under the table" and it was full contact dining. We shared the day's activities, quoted movies, sang songs, told jokes and occasionally (okay, frequently) threw wadded up napkins at each other.

There was, however, one caveat to our time around the table: no TV and, later, no texting/social media. Mealtime was community time for our little of community of four and we wanted everyone to be "present" at the table. Meals were the time for us to look each other in the eyes and share at the deepest levels. The caveat enhanced community and it was rarely questioned or resisted, Tennessee football games on TV notwithstanding.

Our community-building caveat stands in tension with a community-wrecking caveat embedded in the verses above. To be fair to the Pharisee, no alliteration intended, hand-washing before a meal was part of the law as interpreted by the Scribes and enforced by the Pharisees. However, the Law as given to Moses was intended to enhance community-building relationships, not creates barriers. The fact that Jesus uses the Pharisee's surprise at his failure to wash up to launch into a full-blown rebuke reveals the hidden motive behind the Pharisee's tongue-clucking and eye-rolling (my interpretation).

Jesus goes on to accuse the Pharisee and his colleagues of greed, wickedness, injustice, self-aggrandizement, and placing the people under the burden of a divisive matrix of law crafted from the Law that God intended to bind them together and set them free. The Pharisee's response to Jesus' lapse in hygiene indicated a caveat attached to the dinner invitation. Jesus was only welcome in the club to the extent he would abide by their rules. But a rule that puts ritual before hospitality is a misreading of the law of which Jesus would have no part.

As we continue our Lenten journey we have to be aware of the premium Jesus placed on hospitality and how he welcomed people into his presence and availed himself of other folks' hospitality as a portal into relationship. Do we place hidden caveats in our invitations to others to join us on our journey? Do we tell them come along, as long as you walk like we walk, talk like we talk, and think like we think? Do we value the rules we establish to protect our little world more than the people all around we might invite to join us? If so, we need to put a sign around our neck that says, "Caveat Hospes." Go ahead, Google it.

Blessings,
Larry