Jesus loved to be at banquets! He spends most of Luke’s gospel either coming from, at, or going to a meal of some kind. He loved to eat with people; it was his way of doing mission and building community.
What is staggering, however, wasn’t his desire to party, but with whom he wanted to party! In Luke 14 Jesus turns things on its head! There is a complete reversal of status, consistent with the Kingdom of God!
12 Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
When honour and status are deemed important, we work to make sure we look good in front of the right people, because of an innate desire to be well esteemed by others. Yet this is counter to the way of Jesus that we see in Luke 14. Instead of jockeying for status, Jesus’ desire was always to include the marginalised, the vulnerable and the outcast in society. Jesus Kingdom is marked by love, care, hospitality and generosity; not social status or places of honour.
So here at Christ City Church, we want to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as we demonstrate his Kingdom in Dublin, not by taking the seat of honour, rather by serving the marginalised, the vulnerable and the outcast. In choosing the serve, we place ourselves under our guests, welcoming and esteeming each person as Christ does. So on the 5th July we will host a banquet at Synge Street Secondary School, consisting of lots of food, music, a short talk & lots of craic.
Where & When?
- Sunday 5th July
- 4.30pm – 5.30pm
- Synge Street Secondary School, Portobello
- Free of charge, everyone welcome
- Main course & dessert
- Bring a dessert if you can
How can I get involved?
The easiest way to get involved is to please come as normal, take a seat beside a guest and chat to them. One guest at a previous banquet was filled with gratitude that someone wanted to chat with them!
To make the banquet happen we will need a lot of hands to cover the various roles. Some of these roles include meal prep, welcome team, chairs & tables team, music, decorations and distributing invitations in the week leading up to the banquet. If you would like to get involved or serve in some capacity in the lead up to the banquet, or on the day itself please don’t hesitate in reaching out to Vanessa or Maffy.
Who can I invite?
Please do feel free to invite any and everyone as we celebrate and serve our guests at this Summer Banquet, but do consider those less well off and if you know someone who needs a helping hand then please do invite them. All are welcome at our table. There will be food and drink for all. And we’ll stop for 10-15 minutes during the evening to reflect briefly on why we host the banquet and why we consider Jesus to be our ultimate hope.
We have lots of flyers to give away so please take some on Sunday after church and give them to friends, neighbours, local cafes, hostels or anyone you know who may benefit from a free, warm meal and good company on a Sunday evening.
If you need directions please check out the details on our Sunday Gatherings page.