Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 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

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus journeyed toward Jerusalem, some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "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.  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.   The issue of healing on the Sabbath keeps returning for Christ.  This is something against the traditions built up around the law by the Pharisees and scribes, and by now He has already faced their readiness to accuse Him on this charge, more than once.  Jesus' answer to them, questioning whether or not they would help an animal on the Sabbath, builds up on His earlier response (13:15).  To save the life of an animal was 'legal' on the Sabbath.  Why not heal a human being?  Dropsy is an old fashioned term for a type of edema (perhaps taken from the word in Greek, hydropikos, rooted in the word for water),  which is a swelling of soft tissues due to water retention associated with disease. 

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."   Jesus speaks here to the guests invited to the home.  He teaches about humility.  (In the following reading, He will teach a parable aimed at hosts.)  My study bible says that in imitation of Christ, perfect humility is expected of guests, and boundless charity is demanded of hosts.  It quotes James 4:6, in which James writes of grace, paraphrasing Proverbs 3:34:  "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  The New King James version of that verse in Proverbs reads, "Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble."  It would seem that Jesus is addressing those who would judge Him.  In this context, we should note that Jesus speaks of a wedding feast, symbolic of the time of judgment and of the union of God with God's people.  This is a very particular perspective He's teaching them.

Jesus' teachings on humility remind us all of its importance.  As noted above, here in today's reading He gives one teaching to guests in a home, but in the next reading He addresses hosts.  In both cases, the teaching involves humility and emphasizes community.  If we look closely at Jesus' healings, they seem to include this component of creating or restoring community -- in particular, restoring the healed person to their place in the community.  Part of the affliction is often exclusion and isolation in one form and another.  Humility is a key component, as Jesus points out here, for an understanding of and a creating or building up of community.  Here, humility assures that a person is in a rightful and accepted place, and it is, in fact, community that elevates the person to a more exalted position.  It may be a subtle way of teaching these "great men" (for they are all in positions of authority in their community as lawyers and Pharisees) that true greatness would be found in humility rather than in their coveted positions.  Perhaps, more to the point, humility would allow them to truly see Him better.  What we must understand now is that these teachings most certainly apply to all of us.  Humility is necessary for a truly healthy and balanced life.  Narcissism is a component in many diseases of the mind.  It takes us away from seeing ourselves as we need to, and in particular from seeing ourselves as a part of community -- something we also need for good health and well-being.  Humility is not about denying God-given skills and talents, nor is it about denying our hard work at whatever it is we have developed in our lives.  It not about groveling before other human beings, nor is it about self-derogation.  On the contrary, humility is first and foremost a conscious understanding of our place before God.  (The wedding feast setting of Jesus' parable underscores this.)  It's an awareness that we're always in a place where our true judgment and assessment of who we are rests in the sight of God.  And that awareness tempers the way that we approach community.  Community does not define absolutely our worth; but it is Jesus who teaches about how we each in turn play a role in community to support it or tear it down.  His teachings and His healings give us a good understanding about how we are to treat "the least of these" and their place in community.  His healings often build an inclusion where there was not, a restoration to community.  It's in those bonds of love as taught by God and given by grace that we really find the key to Jesus' kind of humility.  Righteousness means right-relatedness, and we only find an understanding of that through God's love.  It is grace that illumines how we work in community and help to build and create it.  This is not an abstract theory or set of laws but active mercy and love, given to us as a gift of grace.  It is only through humility that we can truly be illumined in terms of how to live a gracious life; there will always be things we need to learn about love and relatedness.   We cannot assume perfection -- that is a core teaching about the value of humility.  He is here to teach, and our own humility is the first step to learning more.