Jesus gives a lesson in humility. I discovered here that there is no shortage of slippery slopes in life. We all have had opportunities to commit faux pas, or we have tripped on a slippery slope and fallen in front of people and embarrass ourselves beyond words. Not always in the physical sense, because we say: “Gee, I put my foot in my mouth on that one.” Well, many of us have done it! For me, living in another culture, I have quite a few stories which I won’t share. It appears that Jesus was speaking about a situation that most likely would bring us to a slippery slope. The expected outcome is embarrassment, which could be severe than that. You see, He cares about our steps in life and He brings a light ahead of us so that we can see and avoid slippery slopes. One thing I nearly missed was, the fact that Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of a Pharisee leader. This is huge! How many of us can honestly say, they invited to dinner those they don’t see eye to eye? A risk that things would go south? The lessons we are getting here are amazing whether you are a guest or a host. We learn more about moving through life with Kingdom values, therefore avoiding pitfalls.
It nearly escaped my notice that even a leader of the Pharisee was seeking to know more about God’s Kingdom and to change. The only way was to go to the source: Jesus himself. While Jesus was at his house, he noticed behaviors that are likely to send anyone into embarrassing situations: Seeking the best seats. He warns us not to overestimate ourselves, least we get embarrassed by being removed and given lower status seats. I wondered: what pushes us to want upper seats? Is it validation to feel whole? Why the need to feel we should be valued higher than normal? what if we have been undervalued all our lives? Dismissed even before people get to know us? would this drive us to seek better seats? Could this be a thinking of someone who has not truly embraced Christ? Was Jesus saying: Avoid disgrace, I am sufficient for you no matter where you sit! In me, you have illimited value! You don’t need to sit next to a rich person to make you feel whole/satisfied inside. Trust in God and his timing, don’t force anyone to honor you.
Our culture encourages us to seek the best/most visible/powerful positions and ambition and self-assertion are often seen as great pathways to recognition and success. Not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because 2 disciples had already asked him for the best seats in his Kingdom, what was his reply? Can you drink from my cup? And be baptized with my baptism? Indicating the kind of death he was to die. Not glamorous, is it? Jesus was teaching us that the way to greatness in God’s Kingdom is through humility and servant heartedness. True honor is not self-claimed; it is graciously given by God or others.
A slippery slope is a risk that comes immediately after we have taken matters into our own hands, because we have come to a place where we felt we can make a difference in our own lives and then pray later. The Kingdom of God is truly opposite to that kind of cultural approach: Our behaviors betray us! If you invite the rich because you hope they would invite you back or you pick the best seat to be seen and valued, you are demonstrating where you put your trust the most. Where will your salvation come from? At the end of the war, relatives of victims said: “
They only prayed and they got killed.” What he was really saying was that: “
What good is prayer if it can’t protect you?” In his mind, the logic was: “
I am going to protect myself as much as I can and plan to pray later.” But God’s word in Prov 3 says: “
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” This is not saying you shouldn’t do anything to protect yourself, but it is saying: "
Which one do you trust the most? Yourself or God?"
Prayer is powerful and yet at times, in the heat of the moment; we start grasping at the created instead of grasping at the creator.
Lord have mercy! Amen.
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