One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in 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 table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”” (Luke 14:1–14, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A few weeks ago, when the Epistle reading was from Hebrews, you know, the faith chapter. It begins with
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, ESV)And then proceeds with the faith of the saints. Abel, Enoch, Noah, etc. I began to wonder what would the author have said about pride. So, I asked Chatgpt. Generate a “Hall of Faith” like Hebrews 11, that talks about pride instead. It wrote this:
Now pride is the assurance of self and the conviction of one’s own greatness.
By pride, Adam and Eve reached for the fruit, desiring to be like God, and they fell.
By pride, Cain offered a sacrifice from his hand without faith, and his anger consumed his brother.
By pride, the builders of Babel said, “Let us make a name for ourselves,” and the Lord scattered them.
By pride, Pharaoh hardened his heart against the Lord, though the plagues destroyed Egypt.
By pride, Saul grasped the throne, spared what God had cursed, and lost the kingdom.
By pride, Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built?” and he was driven to eat grass like an ox.
By pride, Haman built a gallows for Mordecai, but he himself was hanged upon it.
By pride, Herod arrayed himself in royal robes and received the praise of men as of a god, and he was struck down by the angel of the Lord.
By pride, the Pharisee prayed in the temple, boasting in himself, and he went home unjustified.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Absalom, of Sennacherib, of Jezebel, of Judas—who through arrogance sought their own way, trusted in their own strength, boasted in their own wisdom, were brought low, shamed, scattered, struck, and undone.
Of them the Scripture testifies: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Pride. It is the original sin. Nothing is more destructive. Nothing is more of an offence to God. Biblically speaking, from the examples above we see that (biblically speaking) pride always ends in being humbled.
Adam and Eve fell to pride. Satan said to them “You will be like God.” That would be good, we deserve that. It ended in there being expelled from the Garden. Cain killed his brother, Abel, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. “sin is crouching at your door.” (Gen 4:7b). God told him. Abel paid the price of Cain’s pride. I don’t deserve this. He was also exiled. Pharoah wouldn’t listen to Moses. He was too proud to accept the release of the Hebrews from Egypt. Plague after plague came upon Egypt, but Pharoah refused still, until God took his son. Kings, Prophets, Pharisees, and even the Apostles, all fell by pride. Scripture is a litany of people falling because of pride. The verdict is the same for all of them,
Pride goes before destruction (Prov. 16:18).The Epistles give us more warnings about pride than anything else, except sexual sins. And it is apt. Pride is the basis for most of our issues with God. We compare ourselves to others. “At least I’m not like those people…” Sound familiar? “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…”. We think that we can try harder to increase our faith, as if discipline is the answer to sinning less. The Word tells us it grows by God’s grace through Word and sacrament. Pride hides in piety. Prayer falters, because we get comfortable. It only comes out in times of trouble and when we find ourselves in real need. It is pride that tells us we can depend on ourselves. It is pride that tells us that the validity of worship depends on our how we feel about it. “I don’t like that hymn” or “That sermon didn’t do much for me.” Worship is about what God gives through grace. It is a place where sinners receive forgiveness. Pride tells us we must feel something, or it isn’t working. The law is for other people, and we deserve to be saved. Oh, and don’t think Pastors are immune. I read an article that talked about pastors boasting about all the good things happening in their congregations instead of the troubles and challenges they are having. Pride pushes accomplishments against God’s Work, over time, that isn’t always seen.
All this pride in our lives, as pointed out clearly in Scripture, shows us that it isn’t just a problem of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. It is the insidious sin that fills even our Christian lives. It hides in the good things like piety, service, care, and competence. The Law makes our pride clear and accuses us. We are prideful, sinful, people.
Let’s face it. When you hear Jesus’ parable of the banquet, you put yourself in it. You think, “Ah, that’s how I get the recognition I deserve. I’ll slink to the lowest spot at the table and then the host will see me and lift me up to the highest.” After all it is what Jesus said to do. Humble yourself to be exalted. It is the so that, that is the problem. You should humble yourself, because it is the right thing to do, not for the reward. It is just hidden pride. You can’t help it. Pride will always get the better of you. But hear God’s warning:
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. Luke 14:11
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant… 1 Cor 13:4
The false teacher “is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” 1 Timothy 6:4
If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6:3That’s the problem with the parables. We think they are about us (pride again), when they are really about Jesus. Jesus is the one who attends the banquet and puts himself in the lowest place. He humbles himself. He shows the greatest humility.
He was despised and rejected by men… one from whom men hide their faces. Isaiah 53:3
He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8And God, sees his sacrifice and says to him, “Friend, come up higher!”
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11, ESV)Pride is insidious. You will struggle with it your whole life. It is the original sin. And what’s worse you can’t kill it. Only God can do that. Only death will finally kill the Old Adam who is prideful and wants nothing to do with humility.
But God doesn’t leave us in the terrible state. He offers forgiveness for your sinful pride. That’s where the word applies to you. Jesus reminds you that in Holy Baptism you are joined to his suffering and death. You are joined to his humiliation. You are raised up with him in his exaltation. You can’t even fathom what the resurrection will be like, when your sinful pride is finally defeated. It is so much a part of your everyday life that you can’t imagine life without it. When I got my first knee surgery, I couldn’t believe how much my knee had been hurting. I had become so used to the pain that when it was finally gone, I felt free. That’s what the resurrection will be like for you. You have become so used to your pride that when it is gone, you will feel utterly free.
The parable about the banquets tells us another thing. Jesus prepares a banquet. He doesn’t invite the proud, he invites those who have been humbled.
[Jesus] said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.We can’t repay Jesus for what he has done for us on the cross. We can’t repay Jesus for what he will do for us in the resurrection. But you have an invitation to the feast. You certainly don’t deserve it. Jesus has overcome your pride, through his humility. He gives you forgiveness.
At his banquet, he looks down the table and he sees you. A poor, crippled, lame, blind, prideful sinful person. He has compassion on you and takes you by the hand. Through my cross and resurrection, I have saved you from your pride. I have saved you from your sin. Not because you have overcome it, but because I have. Come Beloved Friend, move up higher.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:38-30, ESV)Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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