Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – Luke 14:1, 7-14

So how about that first reading from Proverbs? If only all our readings could be that simple, right? “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” But you know, context makes all the difference. There’s that gracious king or queen that looks at you and says in this kind and benevolent voice, “come up here.” Good news, right? But then there’s that Game of Thrones kind of ruler that looks at you and yells “COME UP HERE!” Good news? Context makes all the difference.

Especially when it comes to humility. But what does it mean to be humble? Being modest. Downplaying ourselves. Giving others credit first. Are we good at being humble? (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?) Tricky thing. Maybe the instant you start thinking about your own humility, you set yourself up for failure. I confess I do it way more than I want to admit. But enough about me, what do YOU think of me? So the old joke goes. But right there, is humility about what we think, or what others think? Is our humility believable? Context makes all the difference. Sometimes you can tell when someone’s just fishing for compliments or sympathy. Is that humility or manipulation? Sometimes humility turns into self-deprecation, when we genuinely don’t like ourselves very much. We downplay ourselves because it’s so easy to lose touch with our God-given dignity.