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 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 on the same day He was preaching about the "narrow gate" of the kingdom, 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.  This is a repeat or continuation of a fight between some Pharisees and Jesus, and His illustration builds on His words in 13:15 (see this reading for that earlier healing on the Sabbath).  The fight is over what is considered to be work, but as Jesus points out, it was considered acceptable to save the life of an animal on the Sabbath, so why not a human being?  As happens so often with Jesus in debate with His opponents, they simply cannot respond.

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 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."  My study bible says that in this parable of a wedding feast (and those that will follow in Monday's reading), Jesus directs His teachings first toward guests (in today's reading), and then hosts (in the verses that will follow).  It says that, in imitation of Christ, perfect humility is expected of guests, and boundless charity is demanded of hosts (see James 4:6). 

 Jesus gives a parable about the wisdom of behaving with humility, but we also can't help but think that it's directed to these men who may not be aware of the One who is seated with them.  He has struggled with the Pharisees over this issue of healing on the Sabbath.  So important is it to Jesus, that He has made a deliberate confrontation over it, and repeatedly.  His skills not only as orator but one who debates theological meanings are so sharp that He reduces these learned men to silence, as we read several times in the Gospels, and most notably in the events of Holy Week.  In this parable of the wedding feast that He tells them, after their disagreement over healing the man on the Sabbath, one cannot help but recall that the wedding feast is the time of joy which suggests the wedding of the Bridegroom (Christ) with His Bride, Jerusalem.  Coming so shortly after yesterday's reading, in which Jesus lamented the disloyalty and lack of returned love from Jerusalem, it seems there is another suggested meaning here, found in the image of the wedding feast.  These men consider themselves as the arbiters of the faith.  They are experts in the Law and in the traditions that have been built up around the Law by men such as themselves; they have inherited and zealously guard this tradition.  And who is Christ?  He is a teacher from Galilee, not one of their numbers, not of priestly rank.  He has no education at the foot of a famous rabbi that He can claim for Himself as the authoritative teaching He cites when He speaks.  But at this point He is famous for His healing, for exorcisms, and for preaching.  He has a movement of those who follow Him, a ministry that has gone throughout Galilee.  When Jesus speaks about taking the lowest places at the wedding feast, so that they may be invited up by their host and receive glory from all, it is clearly suggestive of the judgment and the great day of the Wedding Feast that is to come.  He is not simply telling a parable about the benefits of humility to us (which is certainly true), but there is a hint here to these authoritative men that they may not understand who sits with them, and that they must take care that their own "exaltation" does not do them in.  It opens up the question of just who is the host and who is the guest, and who might be the greater man at the table.  In Jesus' role as Son of Man, He is the Lord who attends a banquet entertained by those who are unaware of this identity.  As Lord, He is clearly the "host" of all of us in this world, in which all that we have and our very lives are His gift.  We are stewards of His creation.  Therefore, there is yet another sense in which this parable is for all of us; we are always guests at this banquet to which we are invited, and therefore our proper conduct is one of humility in this sense as well.  We forget in whose presence and at whose invitation we sit at a table of life, at whose invitation we are invited to share in the bounty and goodness of this Kingdom.   The real question opens up for us a sharp look at our modern concepts of social standing.  How do we value humility?   Can we grasp Jesus' teaching for ourselves?   How many ways do we need to undo our own social mores of this time in order to accept His teaching on the value of humility?  At the very least, do we consider the banquet to which we're invited and the wisdom of Christ regarding an attitude of humility?  Popular images today seem to glorify social standing and "popularity" even more than in Christ's time, and so in accepting this value placed on humility by Jesus, we do have our own personal work cut out for us.  Let us consider His timeless words, and the virtue He espouses, and how it may play out for each of us as we grasp what He's getting at in our own lives.