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Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
- Luke 14:1-11
In yesterday's reading, we were told that some Pharisees warned Jesus: "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You." And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "
Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. It's interesting that Luke gives us Jesus' interactions with Pharisees. Apparently these occasions were a part of His life, and so we take from this and other Gospels the idea that some were interested in Him, we know that others were followers (perhaps secretly), and as today's text tells us there were those who watched Him closely in order to catch Him and accuse Him. My study bible puts it this way: "The Pharisees again exemplify a paradoxical, cunning combination of interest and suspicion. They receive Jesus for a meal and yet watch to catch Him as a lawbreaker." Dropsy is a condition characterized by a swelling of the tissues due to fluid accumulation below the surface of the skin (such as legs or ankles, for example) or any cavity of the body -- today we more commonly call it edema. We don't know how this man's condition manifested, but clearly it must have been visible to all present.
And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" And they could not answer Him regarding these things. Luke gives us a healing of this man, and a repetition of Jesus' question in another recent encounter in the synagogue, when He healed the woman who had been bent over eighteen years. Jesus must be aware they are looking to catch Him, and yet His response is to boldly repeat what He's done that they objected to previously, building on His earlier words.
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." I find it interesting that the point Jesus makes to this crowd is one about self-exaltation. It must be relevant to the ways in which they seek to catch Him. Jesus has often preached about the hypocrisy of the leadership, and how they love the best places and the formal greetings in the marketplaces -- all signs of one's place. The parable takes place at a wedding feast, and we understand the allusions to what this means in terms of the Kingdom, and Jesus' title of Bridegroom. Frequently Jesus will give us parables of the Kingdom as a great wedding banquet. Here, He emphasizes humility, its necessity and our prudence in practicing it. My study bible says, "This parable of good manners, found only in Luke, contrasts the virtue of humility with the vice of self-exaltation. Compare James 4:6: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' " Perhaps because it is because they seek to judge Him that He tells the parable. Of course, in the allusions to the Kingdom and its great wedding feast, the surprise here is that the guest they watch to trip up is the Bridegroom Himself. Speaking to lawyers and Pharisees, it is He who "turns the tables" and is the lawgiver.
We can just imagine Jesus at such a dinner, filled with guests who are at the same time His hosts in some sense, and also those who seek to catch Him, to find something with which to accuse Him. He's the outsider and yet respected because of the people who follow and love Him; He's known as a teacher. But Jesus' parable teaches us something very profound about our human relationships. The Kingdom will work within us and among us, and often in secret. Jesus has taught about "your Father who is in the secret place" and the kingdom that is like the "leaven hid in three measures of flour." Our humility and its regular practice will give us a more sure chance of not missing what is there for us in this kingdom! When we assume that we have the highest place there is nowhere to go but down, often with a painful bump. Putting ourselves in God's hands, assuming we don't know all there is to know and can't be a supreme judge of everything is our best prescription for finding wisdom in life, for not missing what may be sitting right in front of us. Our humility will be rewarded by God's own exaltation of those who love Him, who share a true passion for God's wisdom, and seek it for themselves. Thus we are moved to a higher place at that table, at the wedding banquet which we await. How do we practice humility? We first look to Christ, and we hold ourselves malleable, ready to be transformed, to change our minds, to find new things that turn our hearts back toward God in a renewal of baptism each day. Let us remember Jesus' story of good manners, and understand that it applies in all situations, no matter how seemingly banal in daily life or in our deepest moments in prayer. We never know who is truly sitting among us.
