Trinity 17, October 8, 2017 (Luke 14:1-11)

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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 14:10-11)

“I am so humble.

I am much more humble than you are.

I am so humble I pray at least 7 times a day.  And they are really good prayers.

I read the Bible at least 4 times a day.  And I know a whole lot!

I go to private confession and absolution to a pastor at least once a month.  Who does that anymore?  But I do!  Because I’m humble.

I fast.  I pray.  I tithe.  I have published the amount I’ve humbly given to the Lord in the bulletin for you to see.

I am really improving on my holy living and giving myself wholly to Christ.  I’m decreasing and He’s increasing.  I’m coming to the table and taking the lowest place so that I might be called up to sit at the highest place

Humble.  Humble.  Humble.  Yes, that’s me!”

 

If you caught it, I was trying to describe the great irony of someone trying to describe their humility.  As we describe our humility, we sometimes end up in the pride we’re trying to avoid.

It’s no accident that in a portion of Scripture in which Jesus calls to humility He also heals a man with dropsy.

Dropsy is a water retention disease.  We have different names for it now – water around the heart, water around the lungs, edema – swelling, water’s retained, pressure on the organs – dangerous, sometimes painful.

And though the body is being drowned from the inside, do you know what the person often desires?  More water.  They desire the very thing that will hurt them more.

And, do you know what a person can do to help themselves?  Most of the time, nothing.

A physician is required.  A pill is required.  A procedure – something from the outside – is required.

And so, to be humbled, a heavy dose of trying to be humble is often going to make it worse.  To be humbled, we must have our Lord, the great Physician, bring His medicine of Word and Sacrament, to bring the healing of humility lest we get too puffed up, we destroy ourselves.

Now, before we go too much further about how our Lord humbles us for our own good, we might want to spend a little time recognizing the virtue of humility.

In the age of Twitter, Facebook, and blogs that says, “Look at me.  Listen to me!”

In a time when politics are often personality driven, rather than value driven.

In a time when the Church is tempted to preach about you, you, you:

your best life,

you can do it,

you’re really improving,

you’re really important,

you have the power within you,

you need to rebuke the negative thoughts,

you can speak the illness to stop,

and, this is increasing because, well, we often think we like to hear about me.

In this age and time, it’s good to be reminded that humility – a recognition that God and what He desires and has to say – a recognition that there are other people in the world and I ought love them and listen to them and that life is not about you, you , you – humility – is a Biblical and philosophical virtue.

We ought be striving for it.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 

But, how do we get there?

The text mentions two ways Jesus will get us there.

The first is hearing Jesus’ Words rightly.

The ruler of the Pharisees,  the lawyers, and other Pharisee’s were trying to humble Jesus.  They were watching him carefully.  They were trying to trap Jesus.

They put a man in front of Jesus with dropsy on a Sabbath day.  If Jesus healed the man, they would say, “Ahh, you didn’t keep the Sabbath.”

If Jesus didn’t heal the man, they would say, “He’s unmerciful.”

Jesus will humble them, though, by modeling humility

He will make this about God, and not about Himself: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not.

He will make it about mercy for man and not about Himself: Which of you, having a son or ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?

It’s never a good idea to test Jesus.  It never ends up well for that person.  They end up humiliated.

The text says, they remained silent (vs. 4) and they could not reply to these things (vs. 6).

That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.  Being silenced, having nothing to say back to God, is a good thing.  We make no excuses when we confess our sins and plead for mercy.

Jesus loves the ruler of the Pharisees.  He wants to humble this man so He can be saved.

However, the ruler of the Pharisees will end up increasing his desire to kill Jesus

The rulers are later found cheering the crowd on to say, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas” (Luke 23:13-22) and will also be mocking Jesus from the cross saying, “He saved other; let Him save Himself…”

The humility of Jesus is meant to bring the rulers to repentance and faith that He is the Christ.  Instead, it creates more pride that they hate Jesus and want to get rid of them.

There are three truly humble characters in our story today: a man with dropsy, a son who fell in a well and an ox who did the same.

What do all these have in common:  They cannot heal themselves, they cannot saves themselves, everything they need they must receiving from the outside.

You cannot save yourself from your sin anymore than a man who heal himself from dropsy.  But Jesus saves you.  Takes you.  Heals you.  And sends you away.

You cannot fix yourself or make yourself humble enough to be exalted anymore than a son could climb out of a deep well he fell in.

But Jesus has lifted you up.  He has rescued you.

He who humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant and becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, God has highly exalted and bestowed on Him the name that is above all names.  (Philippians 2)

And He brought you with Him.

You are in Him.

He calls you friend.

He invites you to His table.

Come up higher where my Father hears your prayers, let’s you know how much He loves you, and dines you.

He teaches you.  You eat with Him for He has shed His blood for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.

The words “for you,” create humility.

All is gift.  You deserve nothing.  You receive exaltation.  Thank the Lord.

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