When you are planning a party, whom do you invite? Does it ever occur to you to invite a person with some prominence in the community because you will feel good that someone “really important” is happy to be in your home for a social occasion? What is Jesus getting at in this Sunday’s Gospel story from Luke 14:7-14? Jesus says “Don’t throw dinner parties for your friends, your family, and rich neighbors because they will invite you to their table and you will have your reward; rather, Jesus says, throw dinner parties for the poor and lame. They will not be able to pay you back. You will be paid back at the time of the resurrection.” What is Jesus’ point? Is he saying we are not to throw parties for friends? No, that is not what he is driving at. The meaning here is this: Kindness to people who can repay us in kind is not charity. The attitude of “I do for you and then you owe me and I’ll collect later” cannot be regarded as pure love by truly religious people. Pleasing God means helping those who have absolutely no way of paying us back.

With this Gospel story challenging us to invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind, it’s an ideal Sunday to commission the newest unpaid staff here at Holy Cross. Nedra Wissinger and Andrea Craighead will be our co-directors of the community outreach ministry. This is a ministry that will be reaching out to help persons in our community who need a helping hand. And they will be inviting disadvantaged folks like this to the Communion Table here at Holy Cross as well.

Our Gospel story this Sunday (Luke 13:10-17), is a brief but dramatic one of Jesus healing a severely hunchback woman on the Sabbath, when no work, even healing work, is permitted. In our worship we deal with the crippling spirit of legalism and narrow outlooks. And we celebrate the spirit of joy that comes from overcoming closed minded attitudes.

Holy Cross Church is week by week trying hard to welcome new members who have been crippled in a number of ways. But our staffing by only a part time priest and a part time administrator is not nearly adequate for the welcoming and assimilating of new members. Four of our members have stepped forward and volunteered their time as unpaid staff so that we can offer a true welcome.

Today we commission Mike Donovan as new leader of stewardship, Jared Scott as new pastoral assistant and missioner, Justin Mangrum as new Christian education director and Scott Trover as new director of community outreach. Each new unpaid staff person will be seeking to build a team of volunteers around their new ministries. Today we will also be commissioning a new administrator, Vickie Calby, who is replacing our retiring administrator, Judy Homan.

Somewhere in the time period between 500-1100 in Italy, being “square” became a sign of greatness. Round halos signified the presence of God’s glory. Instead of a round halo, living men and women of great holiness and honor were depicted with a square halo behind their head. In our times, the person with a quality of faith, a subtle storehouse of strength, an inner reserve of peace-filled power might be a “square halo” person. Perhaps it’s simply the parent who packs a napkin inscribed with “I LOVE YOU” into the midst of their child’s peanut butter sandwich lunch box.

In today’s epistle text (Hebrews 11:29 -12:2) the Hebrew preacher lists a litany of the round halo faithful those whose lives on this earth are over but whose fervent faithfulness continues to inspire each new generation. But read carefully: the Hebrews author encourages his hearers to recognize that they stand in the midst of a generation of square halo witnesses.

Too often we forget to thank all the square halo people in our lives until it’s too late. It really is easier to slip a round halo onto a dead saint then to celebrate the “squareness” of the saints that are still in our midst. This Sunday’s worship liturgy celebrates those saints, hopefully including ourselves.