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The Guest of Honor

Pastor Jeremy Schultz
August 29, 2010

When I was a brand new pastor, at a former congregation, Michelle and I were invited to attend a lavish dinner party at the home of Mark and Barb. Mark and Barb were among the wealthiest and most well-known individuals, not just in the congregation, but in all of St. Louis. They were the type to influence local politicians and charities. They sat on the board of many worthy organizations. And a normal question they might ask dinner guests, if they were going out was, "Shall we drive the Mercedes, the Porche or the Jag?"

As you might imagine, Michelle wore her finest dress and most beautiful earrings for the occasion. My suit was pressed and new tie was worn. And for the first time that I ever remember doing so, we stopped off to purchase a bottle of Merlot to bring our host and hostess. I was pretty inexperienced at that time in choosing wine. I remember standing there marveling over the number of choices and finally making my selection based on a combination of the look of the label and the price. A $5 Brazilian variety won out.

But as we were greeted and welcomed through the front door, I knew I should have reached deeper, when our hosts graciously received us and our gift but commented, "Oh, I didn't know the Brazilians made wine." (I should note that they are among the most gracious, generous, loving Christian people that I know. And that the episode and my feelings reveal much more about my insecurities at the time than it does about them. I have since learned to feel completely at ease around all of God's people, no matter their station in life, and to realize that God's people all give generously of their time, talents and treasures.)

In the Gospel reading, Jesus was invited to be the guest of honor in the home of a prominent Pharisee. But the purpose of His being invited was not that they might meet the new Rabbi in town. Neither was it due to His growing fame or celebrity. Our text tells us that Jesus was invited so that they might watch Him carefully. You see, Jesus, to quote the psalm, definitely had a table spread before Him in the presence of His enemies. They were looking for any weakness in His person, any sloppiness regarding God's law, anything at all that they could exploit so that Jesus might somehow be discredited among His followers.

So they invited a man to the party with a condition known as dropsy, an ailment that we might today call congestive heart failure, in order to see what Jesus might do. Jesus could feel their glaring eyes fixed on Him, so He asks, "What do you think? Is it right to heal a man on the Sabbath or not?" But they just sat there frowning. So Jesus healed the man and then chastised them all by explaining to them from the law that it is right to do good on the Sabbath. With most of the guests shamed and the rest feeling quite uneasy, a nice break in the tension came with the dinner bell. But immediately all the guests started to scramble for the best seats at the table. Jesus, already on a roll, said, "You know, I find it quite amazing how you're all pushing past one another here and trying to make yourselves the most important ones at the party. But look out, because you just might be humbled, if you host has to come to you and say, "Give up your seat, someone more important than you is here." Therefore, Jesus says, "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11).

That's what happens when we honor ourselves in the presence of others. We're humbled. And why do we do that? Why do we seek to exalt ourselves? Probably for many reasons! We do it because we think we deserve the fine treatment. We've been marginalized, stepped over and put down. We don't run with the high rollers of society so when there comes a time to exalt ourselves, we take it! We deserve it. We compare ourselves to others and say, "They're no better than us!" Another reason for exalting ourselves comes from looking at our own works. Our kindness to others, our faithfulness at church and Bible study, our gifts and offerings, our obedience to God's commands. Again, we compare ourselves to others, which is really simply a way of putting down others. And we do that so that we might feel better and that we might be exalted!

Imagine for a moment that you're at the best seat you've ever had! You're in Busch Stadium rooting on the St. Louis Cardinals! They're winning, of course! But the only problem is that the seat you are in does not correspond with the section, row and seat number on your ticket. Your ticket would have you sit up in the serious nose-bleed section. Even though from here you can see, hear, maybe even taste and smell the game like you never have before, you haven't enjoyed yourself for even a second. You're paying more attention to the usher than you are the game. And the dreaded moment finally comes, "Excuse me, but you're in the wrong seats. I'm going to have to ask you to move." Busted and embarrassed, unable to look anyone in the eye, you begin the long walk up and up and up until the game shrinks to cheap-seats dimensions.

When we exalt ourselves, that's when we're humbled. We're humbled by the law that says, we've sinned and we don't deserve anything good or anything right from the Lord. Maybe you know this personally. Because maybe God has been humbling you. If so, please know that He does this only because He loves you. He does not humble you because He hates you. Oh, He hates your sin of pride, just as He hates mine. But He does not hate you. Rather, He humbles you simply that you might in due time be exalted.

You see Jesus Christ took your position and place. In the Epistle lesson for today that we did not read, it says that Jesus "suffered outside of the gate." He was taken away from the banquet, out of the house, away from the city, led all along the way of the cross to a hill called Calvary where He was crucified for all of your sins and mine. And because of Jesus' humility to the point of death, you are now exalted in His presence.

Imagine. You're out of breath from walking up those stairs to your seat. The players look like grasshoppers, and you can't tell where the ball is. Even if your ears hadn't popped from the altitude, you still probably wouldn't be able to hear the sounds of the game, and you feel as if a serious nose-bleed is coming on. Then a hand on your shoulder startles you. You're even more startled to see that the hand belongs to an usher who tells you that your seat number was drawn as the winner and you're today's lucky Fan of the Game. Another seat awaits you. Down you go, closer and closer to the field, until the usher stops at a seat you would never be able to afford a seat that allows you to experience the game in a way you'd never imagined.

This is what your God now says to you. Because of Jesus' humility to the point of death and His resurrection for you, God says to you, "Come on down! Come to the font and be washed in the baptismal waters and be joined with Christ. Come on down! Come to receive the forgiveness of sins and be reconciled to me and to one another. Come on down! Come to hear my Word and allow my Holy Spirit to create in you a new heart. Come on down! Eat and drink at my table. Feast on the abundance of my house. Come on down! Remain in my presence forever, never be separated from Me again, and rejoice in the unending life that I give you.

Jesus is most certainly the guest of honor in today's lesson. But by His grace, you are His. Amen.