'Places' Draft One in progress...

Though it is best known as "The Places at the Table," Luke 14:7-11 is cited in the Bible as "Conduct of Invited Guests and Hosts;" it does just that: the parable explains Jesus' stance on appropriate behavior of banquet guests in first century Palestine. It addresses more than simply table ranking in relation to social status in Jesus' time, as its reputation states, and its message also surpasses the common interpretation of practicing humility. The parable discusses what it means to be a socially esteemed philosophical character and encourages all members of the social pyramid to justly challenge hierarchical standards within contemplation and knowledge.

(Summary paragraph and key points)

Luke 14 opens with a near introduction paragraph called "Healing of the Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath," placing Jesus on the sabbath at the home of a Pharisee whose guests, save for Jesus, are scholars of law. Before them lay a man ill with dropsy; Jesus turns to his host and fellow guests and poses the question, is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not? His question is not answered and he quickly heals the man and excuses him. Jesus asks a following question: Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day? The Pharisees did not respond. Luke then goes on to expose Jesus' telling of the parable to these men, immediately voicing the setting of a banquet, opening an automatic philosophical mindset in the audience by its time's intended language. The prefacing scene also states that the people in the room, all of them, are "observing him carefully" which is implying that, since they had Jesus present for ethical profession, they want to learn from the intelligent revolutionary.

One's knowledge of well known, implied and unfamiliar social standards of 1st century Palestine and table fellowship are important in the understanding of The Places at the Table and its relevance and implication of philosophical significance at banquets. Easy conclusions may be that the highest esteemed of society sit at the head of the table where as the lower of the invited (yet banquets were held very high and therefore on the whole, only the esteemed were invited) would be placed at the lower end of the table. This would then mean that when the man in Jesus' parable sat at the top of the table, he immediately esteemed himself, which is true but is a vague and uninformed response to the parable. Table ranking and meaning in Jesus' time covers much more than one's place at the table regarding simply class. Anthropologists developed a word, commensality, which is rooted from the word mensa which is Latin for table; "[it] means the rules of tabling and eating as miniature models for the rules of association and socialization" (Crossan). Essentially Jesus preached what Crossan calls "Open Commensality" however in Luke 14:7-11, Jesus simply discusses not only the philosophy behind, but the philosophy entailed in, table fellowship in 1st century Palestine. Early philosophical tradition, which Jesus fully practiced, mentions a teaching through a motif called "table talk," which Jesus is doing while telling the parable. "Table talk" occurs during a meal when all agree on one topic to discuss and piece apart, participating actively in what Smith calls "elevated conversation." More so, the idealistic philosophical society articulated by Hellenistic Jewish writer Philo is conjured with banquets where all opinions are confronted or circulated among all guests with knowledge and "contemplation of verities of nature" (Philo). Both the concept of "table talk" and Philo's ideal Jewish philosophical society are indicative of an earnest social ranking based on intelligent conversation, which couples, yet is not, class. Jesus had, by this time, accomplished to climb a social ladder with his strong abilities to utilize thought in place of power or rank, as he is plainly encouraging the man in the parable to do by starting at the bottom of the table (and earning intellectual respect, then rank).