The lectionary gospel reading for Trinity 11 in Year C, Luke 14.1, 7–14—though the whole passage should be read—continues to engage with material that is unique to Luke, arranged in Luke’s distinctive order, and bridging the worlds of the original context of Jesus and Judaism and Luke’s context in wider Roman culture.
The passage comes in a sequence of episodes that don’t look to the modern reader to be very closely linked, but appear to have verbal or thematic connections with one another like adjacent stepping stones crossing a stream—and perhaps, in so doing, offer something of a ‘manual of discipleship’.
Within the reading, the dynamics of the healing of the man with an oedema (‘dropsy’) actually feed into the lessons of humility for those receiving and giving an invitation to a banquet. The social dynamics of the present are transformed by the future kingdom that has been made real in the presence, healing, and teaching of Jesus.
The Grove booklets mentioned in the discussion are: Preaching as Dialogue and Paul and the Subversive Power of Grace.
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Following on from worship as a feast[day] of fat things in our last; God has prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies.
One should approach it humbly. Glorifying God.
Secondly don’t just feed the sheep, invite the blind and the lame the oppressed and depressed.
If there is convenient food available, they might stay and grow; if not they will not return again.
Some indeed do use food to entice folks into Church but if there is no Food of [the] God…..
First we need to sit down and consider “is there meat in the house of the Lord”. What are we offering to famished souls,to those who have plenty of meat at home but still find that “something is lacking” [“One thing thou lackest”]
Can we supply that one thing they lack?
Are we feeding on Christ?
The prologue of the man with dropsy seems quite significant here.
Dropsy or oedema is
Overproduction of fluid or having an impaired ability to drain it away. While dropsy isn’t a disease itself, it is a symptom of serious underlying conditions such as heart failure, kidney failure, liver disease, and malnutrition.
The man was probably quite aged and everything was wearing out perhaps malnutrition was a presenting cause, without modern day diuretics his demise was imminent.
There are probably many in our ageing churches on diuretic medication.
There are others who have spiritual malnutrition having never heard the Gospel, due I think, to the neglect of the Apostles doctrines; especially Paul whose supreme zeal and passion was to preach the multifaceted Gospel of the glorious liberty of the sons of God, the Gospel of the glory of Christ “the fulness of Him who fills all things, and to what end?- that the saints might be filled with all the full riches of Christ, the fullness of God.
The “elite” were always pushing aside the weaker flock and muddying the waters in the old Israelite economy. so in our passage and so alas still all to common. People need to know the Resurrected, Glorified Christ.
They need to know the “feast of fat things and wine upon the lees” exists for them Isaiah, chapter 25, verses 6–8.
Described by AI as
“A feast of fat things” describes an extravagant, abundant, and spiritually rich banquet that God will provide for His people, symbolizing divine nourishment, spiritual flourishing, and the removal of all sorrow and death. The phrase comes from Isaiah 25:6, where it portrays the blessings of God’s coming kingdom, offering the finest food and drink, a profound spiritual feast of wisdom and grace, and the ultimate victory over death.
Biblical Context
Source: The phrase originates in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 25, verses 6–8. Imagery: The passage describes God preparing a banquet with “fat things” (rich foods), “wine on the lees” (a fine, aged wine), and “fat things full of marrow”.
Symbolic Meanings
Spiritual Abundance:
The feast symbolizes the rich spiritual provisions and blessings God offers to those who believe in Him.
Nourishment and Joy:
It represents spiritual sustenance and the joy found in Christ and the blessings of His kingdom.
Exquisite Provisions:The description of the feast emphasizes that the best and most exquisite provisions will be served, indicating divine generosity and perfection.
Significance of the Feast
End of Suffering:
The feast is tied to God’s promise to “swallow up death” and “wipe away tears from off all faces” and “take away the rebuke” from His people.
Future Hope:
It is a vision of a future time of great joy, peace, and life under God’s reign, symbolizing a new order of life that will never end.
Universal Provision:The feast is for “all people,” signifying that these spiritual blessings are for all those who seek God, both Jews and Gentiles.
Shalom.
Luke 14
As a retired GP I was interested to explore the healing of the man with dropsy or oedema (in British English) and the reference to the Greek cultural ideas that Luke might have been familiar with.
Thanks to AI…..
“Polybius, Hist, 13.2.2
In Polybius, Histories, 13.2.2, the historian compares the insatiable greed of the Aetolian people to the symptoms of a person suffering from dropsy.
Dropsy is a condition where water accumulates in the body, causing swelling, and a characteristic feature is an unquenchable thirst. The patient craves and drinks more and more water, but it only aggravates their condition and increases the swelling.
Polybius applies this dropsy analogy to the Aetolians to illustrate how their constant plundering and annexation of territories only intensified their desire for more, without ever truly satisfying them. This moralizing view of events was typical of Polybius’s writing, as he often sought to provide political and moral lessons through his historical accounts.”
Of course Greek doctors in 150BC would have had no idea that the symptom of oedema might have multiple pathological causes but is true to say that persistent and unquenchable thirst (“greed”?) can go along with oedema in those with premorbid heart and renal disease, (both likely caused in the ancient world by streptococcal infections earlier in life).
If the consensus amongst biblical scholars is that the Travel Narrative is not fixed in time or place but rather Luke’s own understanding and presentation of Jesus and his teaching, it seems unwarranted to create further analogies about starvation etc amongst believers.
My sense is that Jesus himself would not have made the connection between His healing of the man with oedema and an unquenchable thirst for status. It was Luke who did this from his own cultural background and for the purpose of his narrative.
It is also interesting to note that many of the healing miracles that Luke recounts are of men and women who have longstanding debilitating illness, some of whom were near the end of their “natural” lives.