If someone were to ask us to compile a list of our favorite quotes from Scripture, I doubt that this week’s Gospel lesson (Luke 14:1,7-14) would make anyone’s list. It is an account of an occasion when Jesus really “zings” his listeners, as well as us, with a sharp criticism. The setting is a Sabbath meal at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. Jesus is an invited guest. When he arrives, he notices that guests choose places of honor at the table. He then tells a parable about a similar situation, advising his listeners that they should always choose one of the lowest places, rather than following their initial inclination to choose a higher place.
This parable gets to us because it targets our sense of pride, our desire to feel important. We live in a society that values “higher” positions, based on criteria such as social standing, wealth, power, physical beauty. Jesus, of course, turns all of that upside down. He says it succinctly: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled.” Jesus teaches us, again and again, that we are valued as human beings, as children of God. The values of society that rank people by other standards should be ignored.
This teaching may not make our favorites list, but it should. It is an important one, one that we should always keep in mind. Every day.
Peace,
Deacon Sue
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