We are called to take the low seats, so that those who have been denied seats altogether might have the higher place. Throughout this season, Jesus calls us to consider what kind of work we are doing, forcing us to compare the work of God's community with the ordinary ways our culture has taught us to think. The values of the green and growing commonwealth of God are often radically different from the cultural norms around us. Undoubtedly we have work to do. As we work together in new communities of grace, it is easy to become mired in tedious details.
Teachers have to make lesson plans.
Committee chairs have to produce agendas and place reminder calls to forgetful committee members. Altar care volunteers have to wash dishes. Ushers have to pick up discarded bulletins. Almost all members of faith communities come to a time when they wonder what happened to that rosy vision of God's grace. Like the persistent widow, we must return again and again, asking for justice and grace, wondering when our request will be answered and when our harvest will be complete.