Guess who's coming to dinner?

 

I had been asked by my employer to relocate to the company’s home office located in a small Midwest City. After a period of time we adjusted to the move. In fact, we, in retrospect, thrived during that 15 year experience. We quickly learned that many of those with whom I worked and became friendly were, like us, “ex pats” living away from “home-towns.” Over time some of these business associates became very close friends. More often than not, these friendships were forged through shared dinners and informal get-togethers that were great ways to get to know my colleagues outside of work. Of course, this was also a time during which our ambition to advance in our careers was very important and that these social events were a great way for people to get to know one another outside the workplace. 

I can remember a one time when we struggled with a guest list, since we were entertaining some new arrivals to the home office and had to decide whether to invite a close friend who was known to get a little obnoxious as the night progressed. He was invited as he, one of the “regulars” no doubt, would have expected to be. The evening arrived, the table was set, the settings were placed, the wine was poured and the menu was well in hand… and true to form, my dear friend in no time, hijacked the evening and while several of us made attempts to wrestle it back, it was futile. Everyone knew what had happened. They, including our new friends, were aware and sympathetic to our plight.

Later when the guests had gone and we were alone, I tried to make excuses for my poor friend who, like the woman who interrupted Simon’s dinner party with Jesus, was out of place and defied convention by behaving in a disreputable way. 

Wasn’t I behaving just like Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7:36-8:3?
 In truth one of the reasons this new friend was valued was that he could have been helpful in my career. ( As it happened, this honored guest became one of my closest friends.) I chose to invite my obnoxious friend, not only because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but because I didn’t want to suffer the consequences. Now, I’m not suggesting that we should have tolerated poor manners and bad behavior, since my friend clearly was out of line; I am saying that compassion for one another is not always easy. Sometimes, defying convention requires compassion rooted in deep feelings for each other and not according to our plan and agenda. Compassion requires that we don’t use people and try to help our friends engaging in risky behavior in any way we can. Compassion means that we don’t hide behind false “nobility” and rationalize our own behavior to suit our own agenda. Jesus praised Simon’s unwanted guest who took a risk and defied convention.