They watched Jesus & Jesus watched them!

Luke 14:1.7-11

1 One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. 7 He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honour, he said, 8 "When someone invites you to dinner, don't take the place of honour. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. 9 Then he'll come and call out in front of everybody, 'You're in the wrong place. The place of honour belongs to this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left. 10 "When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! 11 What I'm saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

Food for thought!

This passage tells us certain things about Jesus and his enemies. It shows us the serenity with which Jesus met life. There is nothing more trying than to be under constant and critical scrutiny. When that happens to most people they lose their nerve and, even more often, lose their temper. They become irritable; and while there may be greater sins than irritability there is none that causes more pain and heartbreak.

But even in things which would have broken most men's spirit, Jesus remained serene. If we live with him, he can make us like himself.

It is to be noted that Jesus never refused any man's invitation of hospitality. He could turn any occasion into graceful moment to teach us some eternal truth. Jesus would not refuse even an enemy's invitation. It is as clear as daylight that we will never make our enemies our friends if we refuse to meet them and talk with them.

They watched Jesus' every move; but Jesus watched them too, with his divine eye. The gospel says that, "Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honour". Jesus also notices us; looks at us; observes us! And when he sees us, he sees us from inside out; he sees our motivations and intentions.

On this occasion Jesus chose a homely illustration to illustrate what he saw. If a quite undistinguished guest arrived early at a feast and annexed the top place, and if a more distinguished person then arrived, and the man who had usurped the first place was told to step down, a most embarrassing situation resulted. If, on the other hand, a man deliberately slipped into the bottom place, and was then asked to occupy a more distinguished place, his humility gained him all the more honour.

Humility has always been one of the characteristics of great people; the great are humble.

Why we need humility?

We need it after realizing the facts. However much we know, we still know very little compared with the sum total of knowledge. However much we have achieved, we still have achieved very little in the end. However important we may believe ourselves to be, when death removes us or when we retire from our position, life and work will go on just the same.

We need it when we stand beside the perfect. It is when we see or hear the expert that we realize how poor our own performance is. And if we set our lives beside the life of Jesus, if we saw our unworthiness in comparison with the radiance of his stainless purity, our pride would die and be replaced by humility.