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.” Luke 14:1-11
Our daughter is getting married at the end of next summer and we are helping plan the wedding at a distance. It makes my heart ache to be so far from her and yet she is very capable, as all our daughters are. We are so excited to have another family celebration to think about and the joy of expanding our family circle. It is always a daunting task to prepare for a wedding, and as mother I want everything just right for her and her fiance. It is another opportunity to trust God and turn over control.
It started with a dinner invitation from the ruler of the Pharisees. Jesus was being watched carefully. It turned into a moment of healing and teaching for all. A man needed God's touch and healing was given. Jesus then told a story to illustrate the need for all of us to be humble and turn over control to God. He speaks of a wedding feast. We humans want to be honored and we are told it is through being humble and letting go of the reins. Willing to be humble and helpful opens us to being honored close to God.
Today, I ask God to help us be humble and always ready to serve others. May we release the controls to the one who created us, so that we might be honored by the love that truly surrounds us. May we make room for others at the table, make space in our families and communities, so that God's love might shine through us always.
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