For 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 some Pharisees came to Jesus, 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.  Dropsy is a form of edema, a problem of fluid retention in soft tissues of the body.  Once again, Jesus challenges the rulers regarding healing on the Sabbath (see also Luke 6:6-11, 13:10-17).  Jesus builds upon His illustration from chapter 13, in which He said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?"  

 

 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 teaches two parables (the first of which is here, the second of which will be in the following reading), regarding gracious, God-like behavior, specifically directed to those with authority who are sitting at this meal in the home of one of the Pharisees, but also meaningful for us today.  This first parable is directed toward guests.  My study bible comments that, in imitation of Christ, perfect humility is expected of guests, and boundless charity is demanded of hosts (see James 4:6).  

Jesus teaches about gracious behavior, and more.  Perhaps if we keep in mind that He is speaking to what is likely to be a group of Pharisees (invited to a meal at the home of a Pharisee), or those in high positions among the religious rulers, we should consider His addressing an attitude among those who would lead others, especially those who seek to serve God in doing so.  It is illustrative, first of all, of the gracious nature of the healing on the Sabbath they've just witnessed.  Moreover, in a sort of hidden or symbolic way, it seems to address their presumed authoritative positions of honor, suggesting they make room for One who does not seem to hold as high a worldly position.  Jesus suggests that it is better to receive honor through humility, rather than to claim honor through arrogance or assumption.  The setting of a wedding feast for the parable is another clue that Jesus is speaking in a veiled or hidden way about God's judgment, the time when the Son of Man returns as Son of God, in a way that is clear to all.  Then will be the time when the positions of honor in the Kingdom of God will be clearly shown and recognized by all.  Jesus suggests that in getting there, we would all be better to embrace humility as a way of life, and as a way of being elevated by God and by God's judgment.  We can read it as  gentle way to teach that although these men think they are in the elevated seats of the kingdom of God, Jesus teaches that they may find themselves not in the positions in which they think they are going to be, and that it is only humility that will save them in preparation for that wedding feast when the Lord returns.  It is a lesson to us all, as well, especially those who hold positions of authority of one sort or another, that we need humility in order to most clearly perceive our places before God.  That is, it is through humility that we understand God's word to us, and where and how we need to more deeply come to terms with that reconciliation, our true places in the Kingdom.  Let us take Jesus' teaching as a model for our behavior, and even more clearly, as a message for the one true way we can find ourselves in the places to which God calls us, and to receive those places which might be prepared for us.  The notion of gracious behavior has been given us by Christ, couched as it is in humility which Christ elevated to a virtue.  This was not the case before Christianity; humility was seen only as property of the weak, an undesirable position.  Today more than ever we need to remember where the goodness of gracious behavior, and all our notions of grace truly come from, and honor that in all our dealings.  Let us remember humility's great value as elevated by Christ, as teaching for us to emulate.  Jesus teaches us that when we are in doubt about where we stand in life, humility is always the best way to start.