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.  Here Jesus once again builds on His words from earlier in the chapter, when He spoke to the ruler of the synagogue, who objected to His healing of a woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years (see this reading from Wednesday).  Here He eats with scribes and Pharisees, in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  They watched Him closely to catch Him so they might accuse Him (Luke 6:7).  Jesus is, of course, aware of this, so we know that all of His actions and words are chosen deliberately to teach.  This is the second time He mentions the efforts to save the life of an animal on the Sabbath, comparing it to their attitude toward healing human beings on the Sabbath.  We note that the animals are useful work animals, needed for commerce or produce or transport.

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."  This parable is directed toward guests (and will be followed in Monday's reading with one directed to hosts).  In imitation of Christ, my study Bible comments, perfect humility is expected of guests -- and we will see that boundless charity is demanded of hosts (see James 4:6).

Jesus teaches a lesson about humility in today's reading, as He addresses guests in His parable.  But clearly, Jesus does not simply speak to those at this particular table, nor is He simply teaching us about good manners.  (Although, frankly, this is a good teaching on being a guest and how humility is the basis for what has come to be understood as good manners.)   In the tradition of the Church -- especially the monastic tradition -- humility has come to be understood as the foundation for all the rest of the virtues, and the gateway to the rest of them.  For without humility, we first of all cannot honor God as properly we should be doing.  How does one honor God if we cannot put consideration of self second, and God first?  How do we learn and grow without humility?  For if we put ourselves as front and center of what we know, we are not going to be open enough to reconsider our opinions or be willing to allow a little light to change our minds, or to reveal new things we don't already know.  Moreover, one has to consider the primary importance of repentance to Christ's preaching and the message of the Kingdom, even from the prophets who came before, and John the Baptist who prepared the way in Christ's lifetime (Matthew 3:1-2).  To repent is to turn around, to change one's mind, to go from one road to another.  Repentance is not possible without some degree of humility, putting our own opinion second to something better.  So, Christ's words here in this parable teach us about God's response to our humility.  To be offered the more generous place at the table, to go up higher in the sense of glory as Christ uses that word here ("Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you"), is to be recognized in terms of our capacity for that honor.  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44).  In this sense, Jesus gives us this teaching:  "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  We will not find the honor that comes from the only God without first having the humility to seek it, and to put God first, before our own limited understanding of what is great, and good, and true.  Christ cannot say to us, "Friend, go up higher" unless we first are capable of advancing into the reality that He offers, the truths of the gospel He teaches, the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:10).  It's also clear that there's another layer to the parable, and that's as it's directly told to these Pharisees and scribes (lawyers) who join Him at table at the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  All of these are the elite and educated of their time, the ones who are experts in the Law and the faith, who would spend all their time debating Scripture and the commands found therein.  So, their understanding of what is lawful and what is not is something they put great store in, so secure are they in their zealotry.  But Jesus' parable is a reminder that they shouldn't be so secure in what they absolutely think they know, and it's also a hint that they don't really know the Person they sit at table with.  They have no idea that He is Lord, and will be their Judge.  Humility, then, is their only key to hope, to be able to see what they don't know, and to learn what they need to learn, to find the only One who can tell them, "Friend, go up higher."  Then they will quite literally "have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you."  As they are in their worldly roles, they consider themselves to be the exalted ones, even as Christ is warning them, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many are called, but few are chosen

 

 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

- Matthew 22:1-14 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught this parable in the temple:  "Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."  Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?  Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

 

 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come."  In today's parable, given again in response to the religious leaders who have questioned His authority in the temple, this parable also proclaims the transfer of the Kingdom from the faithless in Israel to the Gentiles.  The setting is a joyful wedding banquet (see also Matthew 25:1-13).   My study Bible comments that Christ is often called the "Bridegroom" (Matthew 9:15; John 3:29).  St. Paul also uses a marriage analogy for the Kingdom (Ephesians 5:21-33).   Here the king sends out his servants and will repeatedly do so as we read further in the parable; my study Bible comments that it shows the Father's great desire to have His people with Him in the Kingdom.  Altogether, he will send out three groups.  This first group is interpreted to be Moses and those with him.

"Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them."  This second group of other servants sent out is understood to be the prophets.  They also call those who are initially invited, the Jews.  My study Bible also comments that the oxen represent the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, while the fatted cattle represent the eucharistic bread of the New Covenant.  ("Fatter," it says, is better translated "wheat-fed," or more literally "formed from wheat."  Such an animal is a male bull-calf raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  An offering "formed from wheat" is a picture of the eucharist.)  So, therefore, both the Old and the New Covenants are fulfilled in this wedding of Christ and His Church.

"But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."  According to St. John Chrysostom, whose teaching is cited here by my study Bible, Christ is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.  Therefore he attributes this destruction to an act of God rather than simply to that of human beings.  Nonetheless, it's noted that God showed patience by waiting some forty years from the time of Christ, giving an entire generation a chance to repent.

"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests."  This is the third group of servants sent out with invitations, but this time they are sent out into the highways.  Not that these gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.  This group of servants represents the apostles sent to the Gentiles.  That is, those not initially invited, but who are now called.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"  Here the parable turns to address us, we who have been called from among the Gentiles and out of the world from the highways.  My study Bible explains that the wedding garment would have been provided by the king, and therefore the man had no excuse for not wearing one; therefore he is speechless.  It notes that his refusal to wear the garment that was provided is an illustration of those who refuse God's hospitality, or who want God's Kingdom on their own terms.  Specifically, this garment is a reference to the baptismal garment, and by extension the life of faith, repentance, virtue, and charity that it is meant to lead us to.  Without these, my study Bible adds, a person will ultimately be cast into outer darkness.

"For many are called, but few are chosen."  For many is an Aramaic expression Christ has used before (Matthew 20:28), meaning "for all."

 

Perhaps one thing of which we should make note in today's parable is the extreme inventiveness of God, God's infinite creativity as exemplified in the repeated calling and sending out of servants.  These work in a sense in waves:  depending upon how people receive God's Kingdom and call, God works strategies to continue to find new ways to call those who will accept it into His Kingdom, to find God's "chosen."  First there is Moses, then the prophets, and finally the apostles -- and we see ultimately what will happen at the culmination of all of this effort, the Wedding Feast.  So, therefore, we understand that the story is not over yet, the drama has not finished, for we do not know exactly what will happen at the Wedding Feast of the Son, the Bridegroom -- we do not know who will be chosen, and neither do we know what lies in store for those who arrive properly wearing their wedding garment.  It's an unfolding, ongoing story, and one in which we cannot count God out, nor God's ongoing and unfolding actions calling us forward and back onto the path toward that Wedding Banquet, finding new ways to call us, and stretching the time for repentance with God's mercy, allowing us more experience, a hope of wisdom, and a challenge for preparation for the feast.  What we also understand from the parable is our own stubbornness, the constant rejection of God and God's purposes and plans, and our never-failing earthly mindset that we somehow know better, and our own drawn up plans are the only things that matter.   This is quite a typical illustration of human nature and our very limited focus on the here and now.  That limited perspective of human nature by no means gives us the long picture of observed spiritual history, and what comes to naught.  Jesus has said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30).  We today are foolish to dismiss the good things that Christ's teachings have brought us, the fruit they have supplied of things we might take for granted, but the world seeks after.  The products of Christian faith would include justice systems that are exhaustively driven to protect the innocent (although as human institutions, they remain imperfect and subject to corruption), or popular cultural notions we've inherited that mercy constitutes greatness more than manipulative power that was common in the ancient world (see Matthew 20:25) are things that many of us take for granted.  But those who dwell without such social inheritance long for them, and when we forget about them, our lives become tinged with misery.  But in the economy of salvation, even times of darkness can serve as learning curve, when we take time to reconsider what in our lives is valuable and precious and what is darkness.  Overall, the message for today is to see God's infinite creativity in coming to us with avenues of salvation:  when human beings fail, God will persist in finding ways to reach out, to reach us, to bring salvation to the world and even to the entire cosmos of Creation.  In our faith, even at small individual levels, we can find the same thing.  As we are closed off from one avenue, God makes a way to find another, if we are persistent in our faith and in prayer.  Sometimes life changes without our noticing or even our effort to make it so, but the ground shifts in ways that open life up in response to prayer and faith.  Sometimes that shift is an inner perspective that comes through God's grace, and we can look at life differently than we did when we were more limited by our own darkness, before the light of God opened up possibilities that were there which we just didn't see before.  We should remember that in Christ's parable, God has sent out servants -- the apostles -- to all the highways of the world, and at the same time we know that God is everywhere present and filling all things (in the words of the Orthodox Prayer to the Holy Spirit on this page).   A prayer for healing by St. Ambrose of Milan declares, "I have found a Physician. He dwells in Heaven and distributes His healing on earth. He alone can heal my pains Who Himself has none. He alone Who knows what is hidden can take away the grief of my heart, the fear of my soul."  We can be certain that the explosive, omnipotent creative power of God will always be at work, the energies of grace reaching out and seeking to save us by all means possible, to take on our darkness and send light into any crack in our armor, to find the places we can let the light in and heal.  So it is with the repeated fullness of the sending of servants to the world, to God's people, even to all the highways, to find those who will come to this wedding feast, and respond by wearing the fullness of the beautiful garment God will provide if we but choose to accept and to live faithfully.  For many are called, but few are chosen.