Psalm 112, Luke 14:1, 7-14
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
If you were to ask me to describe, how we must live so that we are right with God, I have to admit I would stumble-about for the best answer. Scripture itself is not consistent, though some theologians would tell us that the inconsistencies are due to contextual differences; but when we read the Bible, we find that there are times when the laws or rules don’t apply in the same way, and maybe times when the laws do not apply at all. That’s hard for us! It’s hard for everyone! Life is easier when the laws and rules are consistent! Our Psalm clearly states that those who obey the Law and care for those who are suffering, will be exalted before the Lord and yet the interpretation of the Sabbath Law has led many to ignore the needs of others on the Sabbath and Israel as a nation saw no conflict with breaking the Commandments against killing and stealing, engaging liberally in war, killing and taking from the defeated all of their worldly goods and subjecting the defeated to slavery; Israel in-fact attempted to clear all the indigenous people off the lands of their ancestors, by killing them. You begin to wonder whether the Law of God was just an in-house law, meant to provide peace only within the faith community.
From today’s readings you might get the impression that the rich are rich only because they have been good before God and so have been rewarded, but in the real world there are many who are rich who gain their riches by evil actions and there are many who are rich who seek only their own glorification; if it is God who gives riches, it appears God’s blessing falls upon the good and the bad. There is no doubt that God imposes responsibility upon those blessed with riches, calling them to be merciful and care for the poor; God wants us to be agents of grace; Psalm 112 as well as Luke 14 say as much, but we all know that, that does not always happen. The logic, the orderliness of things, it seems, does not work out the way God wants. So, in our world we find that the good are not necessarily rich and those who are evil are not necessarily among the down and out. So how do those of us, who wish to live godly lives figure out what we must do? Is it okay for us to maintain the riches that we may earn? How do we, who have more than we need, and yet do not see ourselves as rich, live in this world? A short answer: there are ways, both, to invest in things that help society as a whole and help the poor and we can give as we are able to help those who most need it.
Jesus talks about humility in today’s Gospel, much as did the author of Proverbs 25, but in both readings, humility seems simply to be a just, wise or prudent approach to things, not necessarily a good and loving thing, but something to do to assure that we may be honored for our humility; at the very least something that will protect us from the possibility of embarrassment. But in the real world, at least today, we all know that the humble person may not be honored and that often the seat chosen among those of lower status, will find you hob-knobbing with those of lesser status, rather than being rewarded and led to a place of honor; you may have more fun there, but you are not given the great honor of being led up to a better seat. It seems that the realities of this world do not abide by God’s wisdom, just as they do not abide by God’s Law.
That changes things a lot, or does it? At least we know that we cannot expect to be rewarded in this life for our good acts and so our expressions of humility and our good acts are more likely to come from the heart and to be honest and truly loving. We then do good for the sake of good and humble ourselves because it is the right way to feel. But should we do good and act humble for the sake of salvation? Jesus taught us to love our neighbor, to love our enemy; Jesus taught us that sacrifice was a part of following him and though not a certainty, surely a real possibility, but salvation comes from a different place. As the rich become rich for many reasons, some because they or an ancestor worked hard for what they have, while others came by their wealth in dishonest or hurtful ways, we cannot expect to become rich because we are good and we cannot assume that the poor are bad because they are poor, salvation is not earned. So, why does a good and humble life really matter? It matters only in that we want to show our appreciation to our Lord for our very being and for our forgiveness and for the salvation we have been promised. What matters most in this life and beyond, is our relationship with the Lord our Savior. Jesus taught us in subsequent passages that we will not be saved because of the things that we do or don’t do, or think or don’t think, or say or don’t say. That means, contrary to all of today’s readings, we cannot earn our salvations by being good and loving and generous and humble. And that is a good thing. The truth is, if we had to depend on our own actions, thoughts or words we would earn only our damnation. Salvation is earned for us by Jesus on the cross. It is his sacrifice that earns our place in his kingdom and that makes us right with God.
Nothing that we do, can make our place in that kingdom better or worse, but everything that we do, reflects upon the Lord who gives us so much. So, it is still important for us to be good and humble, to reflect the loving and giving heart of the Lord that we represent to those around us. You may not feel so important, but every act, thought and word that you project to others, witnesses well or not well to Jesus. God will forgive our failings, but our failings may keep others from following the Lord.
The importance of your life and mine, as insignificant as we may think they are, may help or impede others, in seeing the love of Jesus, and following Jesus. Each of us is important; each of us may be the key to opening another’s heart to God, to Jesus.