Anybody here remember back to when John Hinkley tried to assassinate President Reagan? Alexander Haig was Secretary of State at the time, and his response to the crisis was to tell everybody that he was in charge. Which, of course, was not true. the Vice President is next in line, then the Speaker of the House. The press had a field day ridiculing Haig for his presumption. Now, that was nearly 20 years ago, and yet only a couple of weeks ago I heard some TV commentator refer to him as “I’m-in-charge” Haig. That was the big thing they remembered him for. He was a four-star general, former head of NATO, Ambassador to the U.N., Secretary of State... and what do they remember him for? That moment when his misplaced sense of self-importance prompted him to grab for an honor he didn’t deserve.
Can you imagine how humiliating it would be to assume you have a seat at the head table, go up and take your seat where everyone can see you, only to have the maitre’d firmly escort you to a table near the kitchen?
Jesus is giving very good, very practical advice here. Don’t assume you’re more important than you really are. No matter how exalted your status may be, if you reach too high you can overbalance. There aren’t too many people more powerful than the President of the United States, but back in Clinton’s first months in the White House, he over-reached. He held up traffic at the Los Angeles airport to get a haircut. It took him months to live that one down.
There’s a joke about the Pope coming to visit New York. His entourage had ordered a stretch limo for him. As he approached they held the rear door open for him, but the Pontiff said that it had always been an ambition of his to drive in New York himself. So he got into the front seat, and everybody else piled in back. Well, being used to Italian driving habits, it wasn’t too long before a policeman pulled the limo over. It was an Irish cop, which isn’t too surprising considering the demographics, and the minute he approached the driver’s window he recognized the Holy Father, stammered and bowed, and apologized for having bothered him. He went back to the patrol car shaking his head in awe. His partner said, “Who was the big cheese?” The first cop answered, “Well, I couldn’t see who was sitting in back, but I’ll tell you this: the Holy Father himself was his driver!”
There’s always somebody more important than you are.
Be pleasantly surprised when you receive honors. You get the reputation of being a modest person, and people like you better for it. It’s a win-win situation. Although you can take it too far... Jimmy Carter was uncomfortable with the trappings of the Presidency, and people made fun of him for wearing cardigans and carrying his own luggage. In other words, if someone does come along and invites you up to the head table, it’s ok to go. Making a fuss about how unworthy you are is just as unbecoming as making a fuss about how worthy you are. Note that Jesus does not say to refuse the honors that are given to you; instead, he says to wait until they’re offered, and not to expect them as a right.
The great Russian playwright Anton Chekhov wrote to his younger brother in 1879 responding received a letter in which the brother had signed himself as “your insignificant and obscure little brother.” Chekhov’s answer to this false humility is classic. “Do you know,” Chekhov asked in reply, “before whom you should confess your insignificance?” He proceeded to answer his own question.
“Before God, if you will, before intelligence, beauty, nature, but not before people. Among people, you have to show your worth. After all, you’re not a crook, are you? You are an honest fellow, are you not? Well then, respect the honest fellow in yourself and recognize that the honest fellow is never insignificant. Don’t confuse “coming to terms with yourself” with “recognizing your insignificance.”
Paul says something similar in Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Note that he does not say to think poorly of yourself. He tells us instead to use God’s standards rather than human standards, but to recognize that in God’s eyes each one of us has value, each one of us has a place and deserves honor. But we won’t be able to see it unless we start seeing each other from God’s perspective.
In fact, Paul’s letter to the Romans explains beautifully just what Jesus is teaching in this passage. Let’s take it apart, theme by theme.
First of all, we have the Pharisees Jesus was dining with, who as Jesus has pointed out elsewhere “do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.” [Mt 23:5-7] They are absolutely certain that they are the most important people in God’s kingdom, because they are the custodians of the law.
Second, we have the host. In the parable, of course, this stands for God. The Pharisees matter to God, of course, he wouldn’t have invited them otherwise. But they have forgotten that it is the host’s prerogative to assign the seating. They have forgotten that God is the one who calls the shots. And they have forgotten that someone is coming who is more important than they are.
That is, of course, the third person in the parable, the unexpected arrival, the distinguished guest who is more important than they. It is the Messiah. And they are waiting for the Messiah, but not out of a sense of need, but out of a sense of entitlement. You can almost overhear them rehearsing their grievances and listing their expectations: “You’re late! Look at this mess you’ve got to clean up! Here is your to-do list!”
And, of course, while they are wrangling over the seats at the head table, the other guests have appeared and quietly taken their seats at the lesser tables, so that there is nothing left but the very poorest seats of all. Well! No self-respecting Pharisee would lower himself to sit with the riffraff. I can see them stalking out, holding their robes carefully around them so as not to be polluted by the unwashed.
And Jesus follows the parable in today’s text with a command to invite - not the rich and the famous, but the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
This is a lesson against judging others with the world’s eyes. Because as long as you judge with the world’s eyes, you will be repaid in the world's coin, which doesn’t last. If you judge with God’s eyes, though, you will be paid with God’s coin, which is eternal.
But it is also a lesson against judging yourself with the world’s eyes. Because it is just as wrong to be so convinced of your worthlessness that you cannot respond when the host calls you to the head table. That is why Paul says “to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” The “Who, me?” response is the right one when first we are called. But if you keep saying “Who, me?” rather than “Yes, Lord,” God can’t use you. But God can use those who depend on him for their strength, and their wisdom, and who trust him to meet their needs.
I have to confess to you that when I first heard God calling me into the ministry I thought, “How perfect! Why didn’t I think of it myself?” You see, I had all kinds of really useful gifts - intelligence, imagination, empathy, not to mention business experience and the gift of gab. But that was altogether the wrong attitude to take, and God had to empty me out of all that false pride before I could possibly be of any use to him. I won’t go into the details of how he managed it, it was painful. Trust me: it’s much better to empty yourself out first. Because only the humble can hear God, and only the humble can represent the Gospel to the world. If we ever allow pride to take over, we become like the Pharisees, who “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” [Mt 23:4] Whenever we are tempted to look down on those who haven’t our advantages, remember that everything we have is a gift from God - including those gifts we are inclined to think we have earned.
“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong... in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” “ [ Cor 1:26-27,31]
So you see, we can boast in the Lord. As a matter of fact, it’s required. That’s what rejoicing in the Lord means. To be humble enough to belong to God is the highest honor, the greatest delight, and the supreme attainment of any life. Exult in it!
