The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 28, 2016
Luke 14:1, 7-14
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It usually doesn’t take very long. You listen to the way a person talks. You listen to what they talk about. You watch how a person conducts themself. You watch how they interact with others. After a relatively short period of time you can usually tell if that person is a humble person— or not.
I have met thousands of people in my lifetime. I have known hundreds of people on a somewhat personal level. I could instantly tell you the name of the most humble person I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I could instantly tell you the name of the least humble person I have ever known. You could probably do the same.
Humility. That is the subject that we are going to focus our attention on this morning. Turning once again to the Gospel of St. Luke let’s see how a simple dinner invitation gives Jesus the opportunity to remind us of this truth: As Disciples of Jesus— We Strive to Live in True Humility. To help us see where we are when it comes to living in true humility we need to ask two questions this morning. First we need to ask, What did Jesus see in the lives of the people here in our text? Then we need to ask, What does Jesus see in our lives today.
What did Jesus see in the lives of the people here in our text? Luke tell us, “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable….” There are three things I want to point out here before we look at the parable that Jesus gives to us.
First, the Greek word which is translated here is “prominent” could easily be translated as “ruling.” This was not just any Pharisee who had invited Jesus over for dinner. This was a “ruling” Pharisee. This was a man who exercised “authority” even among the other Pharisees. Second, the fact that this dinner was taking place in the home of a “ruling” Pharisee helps us to understand why people were vying for “places of honor” at the table. People were hoping that sitting in a “place of honor” while they were in this man’s house would bring them “honor” even after they had left his home. And finally, Jesus did not just “happen” to notice that the other dinner guests were vying for “places of honor” at the table. The Greek here brings out that Jesus was “giving close attention to,” or “keeping a close watch on” the people as they tried to claim a “place of honor” for themselves!
Those three facts make it very easy for us to understand the parable recorded here in our text. Look at verses eight to eleven. Jesus says to His fellow dinner guests, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend,’ move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
When someone is convinced in their own mind that they are a very important person, when someone looks around at others and concludes that they deserve more honor than Joe or Sally, they could easily discover that their high opinion of themself is not shared by others. But when someone consciously strives to have a humble opinion of themself, when someone puts aside all pretenses and strives to live in true humility, then no one will be surprised when that truly humble person is indeed honored by others.
Now look at verses twelve to fourteen of our text. Once Jesus had reminded His fellow dinner guests of how important it is to strive to live in true humility, He then turns to His host and He says, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
As a “prominent” Pharisee, as a “ruling” Pharisee, Jesus’ host at this dinner party had undoubtedly invited an impressive group of people over to his house. In fact, that may have been why he invited Jesus to dinner. He may have wanted people to look around at the guests who had gathered in his home and say, “Hey, look! There’s so and so. And look over there! Do you see who that is! And isn’t that guy over there Jesus of Nazareth— the One everyone has been talking about?”
Since the simple act of who we invite over for dinner can be a source of pride and feed our ego, Jesus has some very simple advice for His host: Strive to live in true humility! Next time you have a dinner party invite the people no one would expect you to invite! Invite the people who never dreamed that you would invite them over to your house for dinner. Invite the people who would never be able to “repay” you for the kindness and the generosity you have shown to them. No matter how “prominent” you might be, no matter how much “authority” you might have, remember how important it is to live in true humility!
Now comes the hard part, my friends. Looking at our text and asking ourselves the question, What did Jesus see in the lives of the people here at this dinner?— that’s easy! That’s easy because we are looking at others! We are looking at their lives, at their actions and at their attitudes. What is far more difficult and yet what is far more necessary, is to look at ourselves and ask our second question for today, What does Jesus see as He “gives close attention to,” or as He “keeps a close watch on” our lives today?
There are any number of things that could fill our hearts and our minds with the corrosive sin of pride. There are any number of things that could lead us to look around at the people we know, to look around at the people right here in our own church and think that we deserve a higher “place of honor” at the table. Perhaps we have more money and nicer things. Perhaps we are more successful in our careers and have less heartaches with our children. Perhaps we are smarter or prettier or healthier than most people our age. Perhaps we are in church and Bible class more often and outwardly live a more sanctified Christian life. Perhaps we volunteer more and complain less (at least in public!). No, my friends, it is not difficult at all for our old sinful nature to convince us that we deserve a higher “place of honor” at the table— especially compared to Joe, or especially compared to Sally.
So how do we strive to live a life of true humility? How do we strive to take to heart Jesus’ words, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”? How do we strive to put into practice the advice that Jesus gave to His host, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous”?
How do we strive for a life of true humility? First, as disciples of Jesus we lift up our eyes to the cross and remember that we are who we are and we have what we have purely by the grace of God! (See Romans 12:3; Philippians 2:3, 4) Every gift, every talent, every ability, every blessing that we have has been given to us by the “the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). It has been given to us not just for our own use and not just for our own enjoyment. No, rather, it has been given to us so that we can: 1) glorify our God; and, 2) serve others. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:10) That realization will help keep us from becoming puffed up with pride or thinking that we deserve a higher “place of honor” at the table because of who we are or because of what we have.
Once we recognize that who we are and what we have— both now and especially in eternity!— is all due to the amazing grace of our God, then we will both understand and put into practice in our lives today the advice that Jesus gave to His host so many years ago. We will humbly use our God-given gifts, talents and abilities to gladly serve others— especially those who belong to the family of believers. We will humbly use our God-given blessings to help those who “cannot repay you” as Jesus says here in our text. As I was studying our text for today I remembered that a very good Scriptural parallel to the advice that Jesus gave to His host is found in the very familiar words of Matthew 25. At the resurrection on the Last Day Jesus will say to the righteous, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). That’s what it means to live in true humility as a disciple of Jesus.
It usually doesn’t take very long. Someone listens to the way we talk. Someone listens to what we talk about. Someone watches how we conduct ourselves. Someone watches as we interact with others. After a relatively short period of time they can usually tell. They can usually tell if we are a humble person— or not.
My prayer this morning is that as disciples of Jesus we will always strive to stay focused on the truth that Jesus proclaims to us here in our text so that as disciples of Jesus we will always strive to live in true humility.
To God be the glory!
Amen
