Luke 14:1,7-14

14:1 On 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.

14:7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.

14:8 “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;

14:9 and 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.

14:10 But 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.

14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

14:12 He 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.

14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Sometimes when we discuss the differences between the cultural setting of Jesus and our own, we fall too much into an us-them mentality.  We declare theirs as an honor-shame culture without looking at our own honor-shame dichotomies.  Much of our disposable income is spent on status symbols and items that display our honor.  Chances are pretty good that the nicest picture frame in any office is the one holding a college degree or an ordination certificate.  Many parents display “My child is an Honor Student” bumper stickers proudly on their vehicles.  Some people will not go to church if a relative or friend has committed a terrible crime or somehow brought shame.  “I’m afraid to show my face in church.”

We do the same with clean-unclean.  The principle really is the same, the rules are just different.  Back then a woman’ s menstrual cycle made her “unclean,” these days a hair in one’s salad is unclean.  A culture not obsessed with clean-unclean would not support Germ-X or Purell.

So let’s take a look at Jesus’ honor-shame lecture here and ask how it applies to us today.  His first example - taking a seat of lesser honor so that you may be honored by moving up - seems pretty straightforward.  Don’t brag or boast about how honorable you are; you will only be honored by humbling yourself.

But in his next example, Jesus warns against throwing banquets only for those who will invite you to their own banquets later.  Jesus tells us, “What’s in it for me?” is the wrong approach.   Instead we should share out of our abundance with those who are less fortunate.

We have to read these parables in light of what Luke tells us Jesus said about two chapters ago: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (12:48).  Or for a more contemporary interpretation, the words of uncle Ben Parker to his young, spider-bitten nephew Peter: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

My pastoral care prof, Peggy Way, says that she adopted Micah 6:8 as her personal Christian mission statement.  When she was younger, she confesses, she focused too much on the “do justice” part, and now that she’s older she focuses more on the “walk humbly with your God” part.

Honor, wealth and power that have been bestowed upon us should be held gently and with great humility.  Honor is not something we have earned and can therefore display; it is something with which we have been entrusted.  It is a gift, and we are expected to give it away to others.  Power is something with which we have been entrusted so that we can share it with those who have none.  Wealth is entrusted to us so that we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick.

And we are called upon to have the humility to admit that it is not ourselves who do these good things, but Christ working through us.  And it is not done for our own honor, our own reward but for the Glory of God.