First Reading: Proverbs 25:2-10
2It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. 3As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; 5take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. 6Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, 7for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen 8do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? 9Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, 10lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.
Psalm 131
1O Lord, I am not proud; I have no haughty looks. 2I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me. 3But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother’s breast; my soul is quieted within me. 4O Israel, wait upon the Lord, from this time forth forevermore.
Second Reading: Hebrews 13:1-17
1Let brotherly love continue. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 7Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. 17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Gospel: Luke 14:1-14
1One Sabbath, when {Jesus} went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things. 7Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
A VIP Seat
I always enjoy those occasions when our Lectionary readings include passages from the book of Proverbs. These Wisdom readings always include great advise, not only for spiritual reasons, but for practical reasons as well. Then again, what would you expect, (Jesus excluded of course!) from the smartest man to have ever lived? I also enjoy these Proverbs passages when they not only go hand in hand with the gospel reading, but when Jesus uses the same wisdom material to teach a lesson.
Solomon teaches, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25:6-7). And Jesus taught, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:8-11). This truly is wonderful advice for anyone attending a formal gathering. This passage also reminds me of something that occurred at a recent Bible conference I attended.
At this conference, Bible scholars of note were lecturing on a series of given topics. In the gathering were other theologians of note. At the end of each presentation, time was set aside for comments and for questions to be asked. Much of the discussion was helpful, but as with any gathering, there are those one or two who like to impress the gathering with how much they know. At the end of the third lecture one theologian seemed to do a lot more talking than the rest.
This outspoken theologian had, of course, strategically seated himself in the center of the room so that everyone could see him when he spoke. By the way he was seated, leaned back in the chair, arms folded, his body language said it all. He was sure he was the smartest, most noteworthy, of all the theologians. During the discussion, a particular book was mentioned, and this outspoken theologian felt it was his place to tell the gathering not only what the author of the book said, but what he was thinking when he wrote it. What happed next was both amusing and embarrassing at the same time.
About 3-4 minutes into this outspoken theologian’s explanation, someone interrupted the man and said, “excuse me, but I would love to hear what the man who wrote the book actually thought and meant when he wrote the book.” Unbeknownst to the outspoken speaker, the actual author of the book was quietly seated near the back of the room some 6’ from the outspoken man. I won’t give you the author’s name, but he is highly regarded, not only in the protestant circles, but in the Roman Catholic circles as well. Do the words eat crow and a slice of humble pie come to mind? Maybe our outspoke guest should have paid closer attention to Solomon’s and Jesus’ teachings before coming to the lectures! Solomon taught, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” Truly great words to live by.
In our society, we have a unique obsession with following the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” There are TV shows, websites and magazines that focus on the homes, wardrobes, and parties of the wealthy and well-connected. Prior to the pandemic, sociologist Ashley Mears wrote a book, titled Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit, that shared insider details on the parties of the super-rich.
Mears got access to the most exclusive parties on earth because she, before she became a sociologist, was a model who was invited to all these parties. According to Mears, the super-rich throw extravagant parties to impress their peers. In reality, it’s more of a status competition than a social occasion. This is why exclusive clubs have a VIP area that’s elevated above the other tables. The more visible the VIPs are, the more likely they are to spend ridiculous sums of money. A common status symbol at these clubs is huge bottles of champagne with glow-in-the-dark labels.
VIPs compete to see how many bottles they can order, and club employees create a conga line to deliver the bottles, even decorating the trays with lit sparklers. The more attention they can draw to the VIPs, the more they can encourage them to spend. In an interview in Forbes magazine, Mears explains, “. . . the host loses a lot of wealth but gains recognition among his peers.” Some of Mears’ research subjects admitted to feelings of regret about spending so much money on parties to impress their peers. One VIP said, “It’s (crazy) . . . I mean, do you know how many people you could feed or give water to in Africa?”
It’s tempting, and a bit fun I’ll admit, to mock the VIPs of this world for being so status-conscious, but the question is, are they that much different from us? Isn’t that the reason so many people are so fascinated with their lives? As I mentioned in the story a moment ago, people love to feel important and therefore, have been competing for status since the beginning of time. That’s why it’s so easy for us to relate to our First Reading and the Gospel lessons for today.
Luke begins this chapter (14) by saying, “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable . . .”
Each time I read this passage, I can’t help but laugh. Take a moment and picture this scene through Jesus’ eyes. Jesus was invited to the home of a prominent religious official. We don’t know the exact reason why Jesus and the disciples were invited, but Luke tells us that Jesus was being carefully watched. By way of reminder, the Pharisees were an influential religious group within Judaism. They were legal experts who stressed personal piety and strict observance of both Mosaic Law and oral traditions. But this wasn’t just any religious leader, this party was being hosted by a prominent Pharisee. One could say that this religious leader was a VIP among his sect. And what do people do when they’re invited to an event with a prominent person? They jockey for the best seat at the table, the one closest to the host.
I can only imagine how amused Jesus was at seeing this maneuvering taking place. Here these people are in the very presence of the author of life, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is standing on the outskirts of this crowd watching them compete for the seat closest to the prominent Pharisee. Think about it. What could the best seat in the house get them? An ego boost? A fleeting sense of self-importance? Possibly, the envy of the other guests. What they got was shallow, vain, temporary pleasures.
Contrast this with what Jesus has to offer: firsthand knowledge of God, eternal life, unending love, unspeakable joy, unshakeable peace. Where do you think you’d rather be seated? Jesus must have been both amused and saddened by this attempt to get the place of honor at the table. The reason I say this is because Jesus understands that the desire for status is predominantly rooted in fear.
An American doctor who attended medical school in Switzerland wrote about the culture shock he and other American students experienced when they realized that the Swiss students and faculty believed in cooperation, not competition. All classes were pass or fail. There are “no grades, no awards, no Dean’s List, and no first or second place in the class at the school.” The American doctor wrote, “Some of us just couldn’t take it. We became almost paranoid. We thought there must be some kind of trick here.” A few American students transferred to other schools. But those who stayed learned to enjoy an environment in which all the students helped one another succeed. After his return from Switzerland, the American doctor was sharing stories about his experience with a colleague who had attended an American medical school.
This colleague told him that it was common practice for medical students to tamper with the microscopes in the lab so that the next student would have to spend precious minutes re-adjusting its settings. That’s how competitive the American students were. Jesus knows that our need for status is rooted in fear. Fear of our inadequacy. Anxiety of not being enough. Worry of not being worthy of love and respect just as we are, made in the image of God. Fortunately, Jesus also has the cure for our fear. We can find it in the parable He shared at the dinner party.
Remember a few weeks ago I said that Jesus’ parables are a glimpse into the heart of God? Keep that in mind as we read His next words. Jesus said, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
One of the lessons Jesus is teaching is, humility frees us from the burden of fear. Humility is putting others’ needs ahead of our own. It’s seeking to honor others instead of seeking status for ourselves. It may seem counter-intuitive, but humility is the secret to breaking the cycle of fear and competitive anxiety in life.
Rob Willer, a sociologist at Stanford University, led a research study to test whether competition or cooperation raised a person’s status. He created a game in which players could choose to support one another or compete against one another. The results of this study showed that, “The group members who were most generous also enjoyed the highest status in the group, as measured by their reputation within it and their ability to influence its members.” Of course, we must acknowledge that humility is risky.
It’s possible that others may take advantage of us or look down on us. We may miss out on the temporary rewards of our society. But what we will discover, is a joy that we couldn’t have found any other way. A joy that only comes from following Jesus’ example.
Back in 1989, a couple named Reb and Jackay were preparing to open a new restaurant here in North Carolina. They had worked and saved for years to realize this dream. But on the morning of their final inspection, Hurricane Hugo swept through our state. You’re all familiar with the devastation and the aftermath of Hugo: destroyed homes and businesses, damaged roads, and downed power lines. According to a deputy sheriff, despite the devastation, Reb and Jackay’s new restaurant, was only one of a handful of buildings still standing in their town. Because of this, Reb and Jackay decided to share their good fortune with the community by giving away all the food in their restaurant’s freezer.
At first, they advertised free sandwiches and coffee for police and first responders. They quickly drew a tired but grateful crowd of police, fire fighters, electrical linemen, and EMTs. But when Reb and Jackay learned that a restaurant down the street was charging a high price to feed local residents, they decided to offer free food to anyone in the community that needed it. Something strange happened after that.
Inspired by Reb and Jackay’s generosity, folks from neighboring communities emptied out their own freezers and pantries and sent food to the restaurant. Local grocery stores and dairies soon followed suit. As hungry community members filled the restaurant, they also looked for ways to help. Without being asked, people began cleaning the counters and mopping the floors. Soon, the atmosphere felt more like a family dinner than a restaurant meal. Within a few days, Reb and Jackay served some 16,000 meals to members of their hard-hit community.
In the midst of devastating circumstances, Reb and Jackay put the needs of the community before their own needs. And in doing so, they filled their community with joy. Humility is the secret to overcoming fear and unlocking joy. The lesson here? If we want to experience the humility and joy that Jesus teaches about, then we need to see life as Jesus does.
In Jesus’ eyes, life isn’t a competition; life is a sharing of one another’s joys and sorrows.Our Gospel lesson closes with these words: “Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’”
I wonder, how would it change our lives, change our church, change our community, and affect the world, if all who follow Jesus viewed life as an opportunity for sharing? What kind of difference would we see if we saw life as an opportunity to tear down walls of prejudice and status and serve each other. I’m not talking about simply being nicer or more neighborly; I’m taking about treating others as God treats others. St. John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). And where love is present, joy is present.
Henri Nouwen was a priest, a professor, and famous author who taught at some of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in the nation. But he gave up his prestigious position to work at L’Arche (Lark), a community for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. He wanted to serve God by serving the most marginalized members of society. While at L’Arche, Henri befriended a young man named Trevor. When Trevor was sent to the hospital for an evaluation, Henri planned to visit him. The hospital officials were so excited about the famous priest and author visiting them that they asked if they could have a special luncheon in the executive dining room, called the Golden Room, to honor him.
When Henri arrived at the luncheon, he couldn’t find Trevor. When he asked about him, the other attendees said that patients were never allowed to eat in the Golden Room with the hospital officials. Hearing this, Nouwen informed the hospital officials that he was prepared to leave if Trevor wasn’t allowed to eat with them. Someone was quickly sent to locate and bring Trevor to the banquet. As the hospital officials gathered around Henri and tried to catch his attention, Trevor stood up and began singing: “If you’re happy and you know it, raise your glass. If you’re happy and you know it, raise your glass. If you’re happy and you know it, then your life will surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it, raise your glass.”
At first, the hospital officials got awkwardly quiet. But then Henri began singing too. Then hospital officials joined in. Soon, the whole room was filled with joyful voices belting out the song, “If you’re happy and you know it, raise your glass!” Jesus didn’t come to be served, He came to serve (Matthew 20:28). Jesus taught us that life isn’t found in seeking status, but status and joy are found in serving and placing others ahead of ourselves. Life isn’t a competition; it’s an opportunity to place others ahead of ourselves. When we live humbly, we too will be able to experience the love and joy that Jesus showed to the world.
Amen
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