Motivated by the Love of Jesus

Luke 14:1, 7-14

As I was studying this text, I was reminded of a couple of situations that illustrate the point that Jesus was making in this parable. I thought of an incident that occurred at PrEP earlier this year. Now, PrEP has its traditions, and one of those traditions is that the kids all sit in their assigned sections for chapel. The freshmen and the sophomores all sit at the front of chapel on the right and the left, and the juniors and the seniors sit towards the rear of chapel and also in the balcony. Now, I remember when a freshman who, to his defense, did not know how the seating chart worked, and he sat in the senior section. Sure enough, right before the start of chapel, the seniors let that freshman know in no uncertain terms that he was sitting in the wrong spot. Embarrassed with his head held low in shame, he walked down the aisle of chapel to the freshman section. Now, this text also reminded me of somewhat of a funny situation. It reminded me of a commercial that was pretty popular in these parts years ago, and maybe some of you remember it. Bob Uecker, a Milwaukee legend, was the star of the commercial. In the commercial, Bob was talking about all the perks that come with being an ex-player in the big leagues. Free tickets to the game, and if he was recognized by a fan, maybe that fan would buy him a cold beverage. So Bob sat down in one of the better seats. Shortly thereafter, an usher came up to him and said, “Sir, you’re sitting in the wrong spot.” Bob smiled and said, “Oh, I must be in the front row.” You guys remember that? Well, the very next scene in that commercial was Bob Euchre sitting way up in the upper deck, all by himself. Pride comes before a fall. That is the old saying. Paul writes in Romans 12.3, “Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought.” And that is exactly the point that Jesus was making in this parable. For us to be humble, to a certain extent, that is one of the hardest things that we will do in life, to humble ourselves, to keep our sinful pride in check. We often love to think that we are better than others. We love to have lovers look on us and say, “I would like to be like him,” or, “I would like to be like her.” We all love to be honored before others, but more often than not, that lack of humility will lead to moments of shame and embarrassment for all of us. And that’s exactly what Jesus was saying to us in this parable. Don’t think that we are better than we are. Now, the setting for this parable, Jesus is dining at the house of a Pharisee, and he is watching at how the dinner guests are choosing the places of honor to sit at the table. The person in this parable just assumed that he must be in the front row, that he was among the honored guests at the banquet. It would be like you and I showing up to a wedding dinner as a third or maybe even a fourth cousin, and assuming that we should sit at the tables reserved for the parents or the immediate family. Again, pride comes before a fall, and I’m pretty sure shortly thereafter we will be told to leave that table and go to the back of the room where we belong. Pride comes before a fall. Now, here’s the thing. Who of us, any of us here, should really even have pride? When we look at ourselves with sober judgment, we know who we really are. We know the sins that we have committed, even if others don’t. We know all the ways in which we have failed to keep God’s law perfectly. We also know that even if we can hide our dishonor from other people, we can’t hide our sins and our dishonor from our Father in heaven. Every single person that has lived, every single person that will live or is living today is under the same predicament. God knows all of our sins, so where then really is there room for pride? Ultimately, we all end up holding our heads in shame, weighed down by the guilt of our sins. But thankfully, Jesus showed us what true humility looks like. Philippians 2, verses 6 through 8 says, “Who,” and that “who” is referring to Jesus, “Who,” being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to use to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. You see, Jesus didn’t just preach humility. He lived it. He practiced it. Jesus was already seated at the highest place of honor on his throne in heaven, where he still reigns today. But he didn’t grasp onto that seat of honor. Instead, while he was here on earth, he gave up his seat of honor so that we could all have a good seat of honor. So that we can all, at the very least, have a seat at the table. Through faith in him, he allows us that blessing. A seat at the table, honestly, that none of us really deserve. But Jesus humbled himself so that we might be among those he exalts to heaven. When we look at all that Jesus has done for us, there is no place for pride in our hearts. In fact, Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection on our behalf breeds humility and thankfulness in our hearts. It breeds a love for a Savior who loved us enough to deny himself. So all of us, in light of all the saving work that Jesus has done for us, let us humble ourselves before God and before other people. Now, in our parable, Jesus then turns his attention to the host. He tells him that when he is having people over for dinner or for a luncheon, to not invite his friends, to not invite his family or his loved ones, or the rich, because they might repay him. But instead, he should invite the poor, the lame, the crippled, and the blind. Now, Jesus is not saying that we cannot enjoy dinner with our friends and with our loved ones. He is not saying that the only people that we should invite to our dinner are those less fortunate among us. The motivation behind who we invite to our dinner party is what Jesus is getting at. Maybe you can relate to this. Picture this. It is Christmas time, and you’re at a family gathering, and gifts are being exchanged. There’s excitement in the air. There’s anticipation in the air. Excuse me. Until the moment you open your gift, then all of a sudden, a sense of deflation comes over you. As you realize the gift you received maybe isn’t as nice as the gift that you had given to someone else. Or, in keeping with the same theme as Christmas as our backdrop, maybe you send out Christmas cards and over the next few days or weeks, you notice that you are not receiving cards from some of those to whom you sent cards. Again, you might feel as though you’ve been cheated. You may feel as though you have not been paid back for the kindness that you have shown to someone else. Now, to a certain extent, Jesus isn’t picking winners or losers. He isn’t telling us who we should invite to our dinner parties. But what Jesus is getting at is the motivation of the kindness that we show to others. Are we only kind to those who can repay us, who could give us back something in return? I know I personally have had moments where I’ve thought to myself, “Well, if this is how they are going to repay me, if this is how they are going to thank me, then maybe next time I won’t be so nice.” Maybe those thoughts have crept into your mind as well. So often, we find ourselves doing nice things for people only with the expectation that they will return the favor and be nice to us. See? Oftentimes, our hearts are in the wrong place, motivated by a desire to receive just as we have given. But brothers and sisters, remember and know this: we have received grace and mercy that we do not deserve from Jesus. And he has given to us freely, and he does it without an expectation of repayment and return. And the truth is, and we all know this, we could never even come close to paying the full price and the debt for all of our sins. However, motivated by the Holy Spirit, we can show kindness to those who have not been kind to us. And the truth is, it really doesn’t matter if they are kind to us or not. By loving others with the love that Jesus has loved us with, he promises he will bless us in eternity. Again, let all of our actions be motivated by the love that Jesus showed to each and every one of us. Jesus humbled himself for us. How awe-inspiring is that? Jesus invites us to his heavenly feast. All of us sinners. How incredible is that? How humbling is that? So let our actions and our love that we show to others be motivated by the love that Jesus has shown to us. Let us follow his example and be kind and humble to all people in every aspect of our lives. Amen.