Luke 14:1, 7-14 (NRSV)
Read Luke 14:1, 7-14 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 14On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
Verse 7When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. Verse 8"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; Verse 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. Verse 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at 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 the table with you. Verse 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Verse 12He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. Verse 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Verse 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Devotion
Thomas Merton told of a community of monks who stood barefoot for the imposition of ashes. What a powerful sign of humility and honesty. Before the almighty God, we realize we are fully known – down to the bare soles of our feet. God knows our crabbiness and pettiness, our apathy and self-righteousness, our incessant need to keep score.
When Jesus calls us to humility in Luke’s Gospel, he is not speaking primarily about a virtue. He speaks about a way of seeing. Humility comes from an honest recognition that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by God’s grace as a gift.”
Seeing our life as a gift – won through Christ’s death on the cross – enables us to recognize that the coming day is also a precious gift – and to spend that gift in humble gratitude to God and gracious love for the neighbor.
Prayer
O Christ, I stand beneath the cross this day, once again overwhelmed by your extravagant love. Center me in that grace, that I may do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with you. Amen.