Luke
14:1–14
“Humbled
and Exalted”
Much of
today’s reading revolves around the polarity of humiliation and exaltation,
being brought low or made low, and being raised up. It’s a common enough experience in human
life, on either end of the scale. But
with Jesus there’s always more to learn – especially as our earthly experiences
shed light on spiritual realities.
As he
often does, Jesus shows mercy to a man before him suffering from disease, in
this case dropsy, an abnormal swelling with fluid – we’d call it today
“edema”. He heals the man, even though
it’s a Sabbath day, and even in the midst of the Pharisees at whose home he is
dining.
Jesus is
often about the business of humbling the self-righteous. So when the Pharisees get all judgey about
Jesus breaking their precious Sabbath laws and healing a man on the Sabbath –
he rhetorically humiliates them. Which
of you wouldn’t do the same if you had a son, or even an ox stuck in a ditch on
the Sabbath? Wouldn’t you pull it out of
the well? Wouldn’t you save the poor
animal? And how much more valuable is
the man than the beast? And how much less “work” is it for Jesus to say a word
of healing than for a farmer to strain and stress to pull a huge animal from a
ditch?
As on so
many occasions, Jesus verbally kicks out the pedestal of self-righteousness
from under them. And they are left
speechless. Or the Greek actually says,
“They had no strength to answer”. Well,
the law leaves us speechless, too. Every
mouth is stopped, after all.
Then we
have the Parable of the Wedding Feast.
Jesus doesn’t stray too far from the occasion for this earthly story
with a heavenly meaning. He was
attending this dinner party at the home of a Pharisee. And he observed the jockeying for position,
as the Pharisees sought the best and most honorable places. The sight must have been almost
laughable. But it’s not too hard to
imagine.
We sinners
are all too often selfishly concerned about our own place. We seek the approval and accolades of
man. We want the highest place, if not
at the table, then at the office, or in the family, or amongst our friends,
etc. We want to be regarded and
respected, and woe unto you if you don’t treat me as I deserve! Oh the games we play, seeking after our own
status in small and big ways. But what
it boils down to is this: Loving
ourselves more than our neighbors. Even
humiliating others in order to exalt ourselves.
And so
Jesus warns us – with a parable of both practical and spiritual advice. Seek the lower place, and be invited
upward. Don’t seek the higher place, and
be humbled, brought low. You can see how
it plays out in practical, worldly terms.
But consider also the spiritual meaning:
Humble
yourself. Take the lowest seat. It’s not Jesus as miss-manners. This is a spiritual truth we do well to
follow. We need to compare ourselves,
our lives, our works - not against others but against the standard of God’s
holy law. Do I love the Lord with all my
heart, soul and strength? Do I love my
neighbor as I should? Do I keep the 10
commandments? Do I honor God, his name,
his word? Do I care for my neighbor’s
possessions and life and good name? Am I
chaste in everything I say and do? If
the law of God doesn’t humble you, sinner, you’re not listening too
carefully. If the commandments of God
don’t show you your lowly, sorry, state, then your ears are plugged with
rationalizations and lies.
Far better
to confess your sins and bring them, humbly, to the foot of the cross, and be
raised up by the restoration of his forgiveness. Far better than to confess your own righteousness
and be exposed at the judgment seat of Christ, after all, for the sinner you
are. Exalting oneself in the sight of
the Lord is always a bad idea. But
humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
And all of
this has to do with how we treat our neighbor, as well. Take the other parable, of the Great
Banquet. Here Jesus instructs us to
regard the poor, the lowly, the humble.
And what could be more Christ-like?
Rather than seeking rewards by all our interactions with others, rather
than playing quid-pro-quo, I’ll only scratch your back if you scratch mine….
The Christian ethic is one of selfless service.
The Christian humbles himself not only before God, but before others,
regards others more highly than himself.
Martin Luther
commented on the issue this way:
“be careful and arm yourself
against this saying: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.” For God
will not and cannot tolerate such pride and arrogance. What do you have that
you should be so proud? What do you have of yourself? And is not another just
as much God’s creature as you are, no matter who he is? He will not have him
despised; for he who despises his creature also mocks his Creator, says Solomon
[Prov. 14:31; 17:5], and he who scoffs at a station scoffs at the Lord
himself.”
For his
part, our Lord Jesus knows what it means to humble himself. Did anyone ever endure such humiliation as
Jesus? So much of his work involved
making himself low, we even speak of his work for us – the first part – as his
“state of humiliation”. It begins with
him humbling himself to become man, to take on flesh, to be conceived and born
into this polluted world. He knew
humility in his life, having no special place like kings and emperors, but a
lowly carpenter, a Galilean commoner. He
had no place to even lay his head. Humbled in his suffering, humiliated in his
death. Even his burial didn’t afford him
proper honor – a hasty burial in a borrowed tomb.
And all
this humiliation for you, of course.
Brought low in your place.
Enduring the punishments, suffering the condemnation you deserve. Taking the worst seat, the lowest place, what
should have been yours and mine, the place of the cross.
But then…
the exaltation would follow. Christ is
exalted, but not for himself, yet also for you.
He was raised from death for you!
To bring you with him from death into life. He trounced the forces of hell for you – and
declared his victory there on the devil’s own home turf, personally. He ascended into heaven and takes back his
throne – for you! To rule the world, the
church, and all things for you and for all his people. And he will come again in glory, not for
himself, but for you – to call your resting bones to life again, to gather you
with the sheep into your rest, and to give you the crown of righteousness and a
share in his reign.
His humiliation
spares you ultimate humiliation. And his
exaltation brings your exaltation.
Brought low in Christ, lifted up in Christ, he brings you to the highest
seat, even a place at his heavenly feast.
Inviting you, the lowly, the outcast, to his Great Banquet.
Ah, but we
don’t have to wait until that day, to take our place at his table, his
banquet. He invites you, even now, to
his table. When we gather around the
altar, kneel at the rail, and receive the lavish feast of Christ’s body and
blood – he has truly invited the lowly, the lame, the outsider, the shameful,
the poor, the sinful dregs. But he also brings
us, by himself, from that low place, the highest. Sins forgiven, we depart in peace – knowing
Christ’s righteousness covers us.
Forgiveness, life and salvation are ours. We are, spiritually, exalted in Christ. Does it get any better?
So,
friends, live a life of humility – in service to God and neighbor. Do not exalt
yourselves before others, but humbly serve.
Do not exalt yourself before God, but be honest about your low estate. Humbly bear your sins to Christ, who takes
your low place, and lifts you up. And
live in the hope of the great banquet to come, when the foretaste gives way to
the feast in all its fulfillment.
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