Topography; the Value of Places

15  Pentecost, Cp17, September 1, 2013

Jeremiah 2:4-13 Ps. 112

Heb.13:1-8        Luke 14:1, 7-14

 Lectionary Link

  In the appointed Gospel for today, we have read an account of Rabbi Jesus making some comments about human behavior at a party. He finds that the behavior at a party exposes some underlying motives and values that often determine human behavior.  Motives and values are a manifestation of desire.   Desire is the deep projecting energy of life that brings us to be attached to the things of our lives.  Projected Desire creates hierarchies of values, stated very simply as I like, I prefer this more than that.  I prefer to eat rather than to starve; this is one of the most basic hierarchy of values.  But it gets more complicated and elaborate than that: some prefer to get merely a piece of bread and a cup of soup or some prefer to have Beluga Caviar on Melba toast with Champagne.  Desire can get differentiated in many layers of values.

  A major value in life is found in the hierarchy of desire expressing where we want to be.  Making the scene, having the best seat to be able to hob nob with the people of money, power and influence; this is the value of place that Jesus was addressing.  Jesus noted that the party goers wanted the best seats in the house so they could be seen to be in places of honor and be associated with important people.  They wanted to be in the best place to schmooze; to connect and promote their cause or personage with the people who matter the most in society.

  Life in society and our lives in particular involve very intricate interactions in systems of topographical value.  Real Estate agents can tell you about the value of places; beach homes on Malibu; why do people want to be there? Such  high demand drives up the prices so that only a few can afford to be there.

  People want to be in front row seats, corporate boxes at sports and entertainment events.  Herein is an expression of the value of place, the value of topography.  Desire is projected upon preferred places because the kind of activities and events which occur in a place.  We value places for the activities and for the people who inhabit a place.

  Look at how we have words of value for places.  A place of value is often called a Mecca, after the Islamic holy place.  We have words that imply a pejorative judgment upon places, “the wrong side of the tracks,” slums, Skid Row and Ghetto.   We have terms of value that place negative judgments upon places that are avoided or segregated by certain people.  We may say that such places has undesirable people or people who frighten us; such places become for us places to avoid.  We cannot promote our influence and power in life by going to such places.

  You may say that I am reading too much into this party seating debate by Jesus of Nazareth but the wisdom of Jesus is that in the ordinary daily interaction he found that we live out the basic values of our lives and so when we zoom out from mere favored party seats to all of the topography of our lives, we can begin to see the values that are assigned, unwittingly to the places of our lives.

  Why are we here, not just in general but why are we in any particular place?  Why we here in this place now?  Obviously the preferred seats in an Episcopal Church are middle to back; front pews are avoided as if the preacher were going to do some major slobbering or ask for money.  Are we here because it helps our political resumes as the “in place” to be seen?  Probably not.

 The words of Jesus ask us to do a values review in uncovering the attachment to the places of our lives.  In doing so, we should also uncover the values we have placed upon the places which we avoid.  Do we avoid them because they have no value to our lives?  Do we avoid them because we want to avoid the people who inhabit such places?  In our survey of the values we put on places we can also note our patterns of segregation.

  Jesus invited people to challenge their patterns of segregation by switching places and sharing spaces.  If we have a party we should invite people on the “D” list or those who would truly benefit from the hospitality that we have to offer them.  Jesus invites us integrate through an open hospitality.  Trading places begins with the imagination of faith as we try to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and “feel with them.”  Can we come to value the places of other people so that we value their lives in a different way to act with love, empathy and compassion?  The practice of the faith of the Risen Christ means that we build bridges to connect segregated spaces of people caused by pride, class-ism  racism, and any form of prejudice that divides people and causes them to devalue each other to the point of “extreme avoidance” or suppression or persecution.

  How can we address the problems that we might find in the way in which we value space?  The founding philosophy of our country states that we endowed with certain dignity because of the way in which we have been created. St.Paul said that each person has a body and each body is a location; each body is a place and it is a favored place because it is a temple of the Holy Spirit of God.  God desires and favor each of us as a favored place of the divine presence.  If we accept this incredible favor for ourselves and for other people then we acknowledge the starting point of the dignity of life of all people in all places.  This starting place of the omnipresence of God means there is a profound equality of persons and places in the eyes of God.  This starting place is where we go to evaluate all of our values concerning the values of people and places.  The Psalmist ask, “Where can I can I go from your presence, O God?”  The answer, “No where.”  Jesus was the presence of God in the worst place of life; death upon the Cross.  The divine presence even in death became known to us as the promise of eternal life.

  What Jesus was trying to say is that we all belong together.  The way in which we practice belonging together is by continually building bridges of connection.  To those who are neglected we give recognition; we say, “come up higher, don’t let anything hinder you from human fellowship and human well-being.”

  Today, we are here to remind ourselves that God’s hospitality to us has called us to higher dignity.  We come here to realize our bodies as a location of the presence of Christ as we partake of the bread and wine of Eucharist.  We accept this invitation to “come up higher come to the place of highest power and influence in accepting our bodies as the dwelling place of God’s presence.”  But in accepting this marvelous hospitality of God for ourselves, we also are to be evangelists of the hospitality of God to all.  We are to go forth and invite everyone to the wonderful hospitality of God who is willing to be known to be the God of all and in all.

  Let us do a review today of our values that we have for places; let us examine any unhealthy segregation that we wittingly or unwittingly practice.  Let us be thankful that Christ does not segregate Himself from our bodies as a temple of divine dwelling.  And let us go forth to offer the profound invitation of Christ as we say to all who need to hear it said to them in a personal way, “My friend, come up higher.  Come close to the Good News of God’s Love.  Amen.