And The Lowly Shall Be Exalted

" On a sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. 'When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. . . The host who invited you may approach and say, 'Give your place to this [more distinguished man], and then you would proceed with embarrassment. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you, he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.' Then he said to the host, 'When you hold a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back, and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will be you because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." [ Luke 14: 1, 7-14].

So many commentators talk of Christians in America as being "conservatives". Do you know what a Conservative really is? A Conservative, in a literal sense, works to preserve the "status quo."

But we see here that Jesus was truly a radical. He came, not to pander to those in power, nor to strive to protect things as they were. No, he came to upend the usual rules of society. Christians are called to to be radical, as well.

And so, in this parable, Jesus tells us that the exalted (the wealthy, the powerful) shall be humbled. But the humble shall be exalted ( promoted, glorified).

In many ways, our world has not changed much since Jesus' time-- except that we now have the technology to indulge in the voyeurism of wealth and power. Remember the TV show, "Lifestyles of  the Rich and Famous"? Followed by the MTV show, " Cribs",  showing off  the obscenely lavish mansions of celebrities?

The rich and famous exalt themselves. And we ordinary citizens feed into that, by elevating and even worshipping them.

Jesus asks us, What if it were the humble, who suddenly could escape their nameless, faceless imprisonment? What kind of world would it be if the humble were admired and promoted?

What is it like to be invisible to society? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, for a person of color in America, "You are fighting a degrading sense of No one-ness."

When I was growing up. I lived most of my life as a "No One". I know what it feels like to be  forgotten. As a child, I essentially raised myself.  I found food when I was not fed, I put myself down for naps, I taught myself to read. I walked myself to school in the cold, in the rain. When my family was cruel, I simply left the house. I disappeared. I became invisible.

I had an aunt and uncle who lived out of state. My father's whole family lived out of the country. My grandparents died when I was young. I was a No One. I had No One to turn to.

Am I any less than the person who has wealth and fame?

Jesus calls us to see the humble, not only as equal to anyone else, but as "exalted"-- that is elevated, admired.

This is totally NOT what our world believes. The world, believes, What could anyone possibly see in the poor, the forgotten, the invisible?

Consider Mother Teresa, whose entire adult life was consumed with serving the poor. Mother Teresa said, that when Jesus died on the Cross, He died alone. What He was given to quench His thirst was a rag soaked in vinegar. It is said that He cried tears of blood. He even asked where God was? And so, Mother Teresa believed that in loving and caring for the humble, she was actually loving and lifting up the Jesus in all those she encountered.

And here is another reason why the humble shall be exalted. It is because they are closer to God.

We all have the capacity for a close relationship with God. But, those who are No One and who have nothing, have only God. My mother used to tell me that those who have "only God" are losers. Yes, maybe in this world. . . .

The truth is, after my childhood, I have imagined my life to be like a house that was blown to smithereens by a tornado. I see the roof on the ground and the floorboards up in the air. All that I thought was precious-- photos, china, fancy clothing-- are wrecked and spread in shattered pieces, everywhere. Everything material thing that I thought was most important in life is now --- Nothing.

But I DO have God. And so I cling to Him. I have sometimes had nothing BUT my Faith. I have found that, the less I have in this world, the bigger my Faith grows.

God loves me for this! Perhaps we ought to listen to Jesus, and cherish those who have only God; and admire those who love Him and count on Him the most in the world.

The famous and powerful in this world have already received their generous reward, in this life.

But, the Humble shall receive God's greatest blessings; because it is the humble who possess the greatest treasure of all, a deep and constant Faith in God's Love. And that is worth more than all the riches on Earth!

[Related Postings: "Putting the Last, First", August 25, 2013; "The Humble Shall Be Exalted", November 4, 2011.]

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