The Place of Honor

Luke 14:1-14

It is the Sabbath, the day that the Lord God established as a day of rest. Worship in the synagogue is over and Jesus goes to the house of a prominent Pharisee for dinner. It is like the old days when a church family invited the preacher to eat Sunday dinner with them. Unlike a congenial family dinner with friends, the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They were scrutinizing him, looking him over, and wanting to catch him in a theological error. What did they see? What did they hear? While the Pharisees were closely watching Jesus, he was also watching them. He noticed how the other invited guests chose to sit at the places of honor at the dinner. They did not wait for the host to seat them but went directly for the seats of honor. Can you see it? People slowly but quickly slid into the best places at the tables. They were out for recognition and honor. Later Jesus told them, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11).” We humans are just that way. Early on we learned to watch out for number one, to watch out for ourselves. Our ladder climbing ways reveal our desire for honor, prestige, success, upward mobility and power. Humility is great when it helps us along the path to success. The Bible reveals that something radical happened when our first parents, Adam and Eve, were disobedient. They were looking out for themselves and not trusting God. Our human bent to sin is best described as self-centeredness, self-focus and self- absorption. Let us be honest with each other and God. There is something within us which presses us to look out for our own interests at the expense of the interests of others. There are great rewards in any society for trying to grasp all we can. In our society over the decades the salaries and bonuses of the Chief Executive Officers of the Nations corporations have skyrocketed upward. The median total pay of American CEOs is around $204,000 for typical small-to-midsize businesses to over $17.5 million for large S&P 500 corporations. Even in some companies whose bottom line reveals that they operated in the red, the CEO received significant raises. Even some companies that laid off employees gave their CEOs increases. CEO salaries is one of the starkest examples of our human self centeredness and focus. Sometimes our bent to sin pays off greatly. Over the years I have noticed that the jobs which are difficult, demanding and unglamorous pay the least. I believe that those who care for babies and children, day care workers; and those who care for the aged in nursing homes are the hardest of jobs. They also pay a bit above minimum wage. Can you imagine getting up in the morning knowing that the day ahead was just like the day before—taking care of the physical needs of people? I know some of you can relate to this. I have seen nursing assistants deal gently with people who no longer know who they are, where they are and whose fear manifests itself in hostility. From a Christian perspective, these jobs are among the most important in our society. However, they 1 are among the least glamorous and least paying. Jesus has much to say about servant jobs like that. Jesus’ inner core of disciples, the twelve, were fully human in all respects. One day as they were walking along the road, they were arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus heard them arguing and taught them a lesson on greatness. He told them that greatness does not come in jockeying for the best seats or places of honor. Greatness does not come from looking out for number one. He called them together and set them straight: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28).” Jesus reveals that that there is a great contrast between greatness defined by worldly standards and greatness defined by God. Worldly greatness comes in having others serve you; Kingdom greatness comes from serving others, not being served. This is a significant reversal of values. All their lives the disciples, like you and me, have seen examples of the various kinds of worldly greatness. Now Jesus tells his disciples, like you and me, that greatness does not come via the path to power and prestige but in becoming a servant. Over the decades, I have read interesting autobiographies written by soldiers. One that I read was about a 19-year-old Marine who fought in France in World War I. Like any private, he knew the kinds of leaders he would follow and the kind that he wanted to avoid if he could. Several times in the book, he highlighted NCOs and officers that he thought were outstanding leaders. For him a leader is one who never orders a person to go where he himself would not go. What is the the official motto of the United States Army Infantry? It is “Follow me!” The best leaders lead from the front. Jesus was that kind of leader. He is out front leading us where he wants us to go. When he speaks of Kingdom values he led by example. He told his disciples the role he played as a leader: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).” At another time, he said, “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted (Matthew 23:11-12).” On another occasion, he told his disciples: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last of all and the servant of all (Mark 9:35).” Jesus is clear in his teaching about Kingdom greatness. It comes through being a servant, not from being served. On more than a couple occasions he taught about greatness. At the last Passover dinner he ate with his disciples before he was arrested and crucified, he continued teaching them. He gave them a dramatic example of servant leadership. He took off his outer garment, tied a towel around his waist and knelt before each of his disciples and washed their feet. Whose job is that of a foot washer in the First Century Israel? It certainly is not the job of the master of the house to wash feet. Foot washing was one of the least desirable, least prestigious and most unglamorous jobs anyone could do. This job was the task of the house servant on the bottom of the servant’s pecking order. However, Jesus taught his disciples by his example that the role of disciple is that of servant. This was a reversal of their long-held expectations. The disciples 2 jockeyed for positions of power and prestige in the Kingdom and Jesus revealed that the role of his followers is that of a servant, not being self-serving and self-promoting. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about the Christian perspective of greatness being that of a servant. He said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your nouns and verbs agree to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love . . . When evil men plot, good men plan. When evil men bomb and burn, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glory of love…” (From a sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, “The Drum Major Instinct,” on February 4, 1968.) The Gospel lesson today has Jesus at a Sabbath day dinner among a group of leading and respected members of a First Century town or city. Luke does not tell us the name of the city but it might be Jerusalem. Jesus sees the guests jockeying for the places of honor at the dinner. And when it is his time to address the gathering, he tells them about the Kingdom of God. Luke reports that Jesus said, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11).” Greatness comes through humility. Greatness comes through Christian service. There are many ways to serve. Some serve by being intercessors for others in prayer. Others serve by volunteering at a social service organization. Others serve as they go about their daily work. Maybe you do not know where God wants you to serve. If you are in that situation, it is a time for serious prayer. When you come before the Lord in prayer, he will show you the way he wants you to serve. Greatness does not come as you live out the values of the world. It comes as you live out Kingdom values. It does not come through an occupation which brings you power, prestige and a big paycheck. It comes as you find your niche and serve God by serving others.