Sermon for Trinity 17

TEXT: Luke 14.1_11
14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And 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. 7 Now 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, 9 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. 10 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. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Faux pas is a French word that literally means, “false step.” We use it to describe when someone makes a social blunder which brings much embarrassment.

Faux pas brings to mind a wedding celebration I attended. After officiating the wedding, I joined the family for the usual wedding reception and meal. When the time came to pray, the DJ asked if the minister would come forward to pray. So, I got out of my seat and proceeded to the front of the banquet hall. On the way to the front the bride caught my attention and said, “Pastor, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve asked my relative who is a minister to lead the dinner prayer.” That was a faux pas… a false step. It was a blunder that brought some embarrassment. I would have done well to heed the advice of the Proverb, “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.”

The Gospel reading tells of some guests who had been invited to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. It was a social event that was an opportunity to display social prowess. Some were choosing the places of honor. But Jesus said, “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 saying to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.”

The basic rule of Christian etiquette is the same… put yourself last. Be Humble. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. (James 4:10)

Our Lord’s Words are more than simply a lesson on manners and etiquette. His lesson is a lesson on humility.

There is a great blessing in being last… in being humble. Look at it this way: You have good company in the lowest place; because that’s exactly where Jesus is.

St. Paul puts it this way, “Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…” (Phil. 2:5ff)

Even while Jesus Christ is true God and Lord, begotten from the Father from all eternity and also true man, miraculously born of the Virgin Mary, He emptied Himself of everything Divine for you. He made Himself nothing for you. Even more, Jesus placed Himself under you, under the curse of the Law that is your curse not His… and makes your curse His own. Jesus hung on the cross and died the most humiliating of deaths for you, for cursed is Jesus who hangs on tree.

Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Sinners can’t help but want exalt themselves. Sinners seek honor in themselves. There’s an old Hebrew Proverb that says, “Pride goeth before the fall.” That’s true of you. Your sinful pride will always lead to a miserable fall.

Our Lord Jesus is not calling us to do a better job of being humble. That’s the job of the Law. Jesus is the Gospel made flesh. He is the Humble One who is exhorting you to believe that He is your substitute for sin. That He is the One who hung upon the cross and is your Lord. He appeared defeated. The Devil thought He had won. But Jesus is the One who rose again from the dead and will return again to resurrect all who have died. Jesus will gather the believers to the banquet feast of heaven. He is the One who ascended to the right hand of God and is truly present wherever His Word is proclaimed and wherever His body and Blood is given at the Lord’s Table for you for the forgiveness of sins.

Don’t you see it? You can’t earn a spot at Jesus’ table. And you dare not assert your right to be there. But rather Jesus tenderly invites even the lowliest of sinners to eat with Him. He invites you. He invites you and me who cannot repay Him. He seeks the lost… the humble… the social misfits full of faux pas, even the poor beggar who cries out, “Lord, Have mercy.” And He feeds them the best of heaven and earth with His Word and His Body and Blood.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.