The Exalted Humbled, the Humbled Exalted"

(Graphic from Church PowerPoint at http://www.churchpowerpoint.com/, used by permission)

Lectionary Reading - Luke 14:1, 7-14 (NRSV)


On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at 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 the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

The Exalted Humbled, the Humbled Exalted

The Peaceable Kingdom envisions no systems of domination. For those who want systems of “pecking order” to remain in place, they do so at great peril to themselves for their needs to dominate and control others will come to a startling end. This is the message that Jesus makes clear in the scripture above. And ominous end it will be for those who consider themselves exalted over others as the exalted shall be humbled and the humble exalted.”

Jesus words mean one thing, i.e. hierarchies must eventually pass away. They must be transcended, turned on end, utterly reordered. Behind Jesus words are the reasons why. First, hierarchies mostly feed and massage egos. Second, they reward dysfunctional needs for status and acclaim. Third, they concretize unhealthy unhelpful dynamics in which the needs and wants of a minority oppress and supersede those of majority.

Listening one morning this past week to progressive radio talk show host, Thom Hartman, I was reminded of the truth Jesus spoke in the above scripture. Hartman noted how the American government (which is very hierarchical) became a pawn over the past thirty years for corporations and the wealthiest portion of our citizenry (some 20% of Americans). This dysfunctional dynamic led to an incredible enrichment of wealth already held by this select portion of our societal hierarchy. Meanwhile, for the other 80% of Americans, their real incomes fell and their purchasing power dropped to all time lows. Driving these dynamics for the most part, according to Hartman, is one specific minority made up of five to six mega-corporations. Together, they exert tremendous downward pressure on our society’s working class. Through busting labor unions, outsourcing jobs to other parts of the world where people work for little compensation in squalid conditions, these mega-corporations generate profits, enrich shareholders, so in the end the ultra wealthy of our social hierarchy are kept happy and satisfied.

From my perspective, mega-corporations don’t look or sound very egalitarian.  They're powerful hierarchies and there’s little I see in them that suggests they want life for the poverty-stricken, diseased, starving, disabled and disadvantaged to resemble anything close to a banquet. I especially think this when I hear about a CEO of a large healthcare corporation who makes $774 million dollars annually. What on earth do such persons accomplish for the common good that justifies such a salary? If such persons and entities truly care, as many seem to want us to think they do, then let them lift up and project a global corporate mission characterized by unceasing passion for a mission and presence in the world wherein the pursuit of profits utterly pales in comparison to what does matter. And if they have no understanding of that which truly matters then let them read in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Prophet Isaiah’s vision of God’s Holy Mountain. A world wherein…

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9 NRSV)

To the monolithic corporations, to their leaders and shareholders, to the wealthy of this world, and to anyone who believes they number among humanity’s most exalted --- you must learn the value of continually serving and uplifting those for whom life is nothing but struggle. For in meeting the needs of anyone lesser than you and providing them solid dependable ongoing possibilities for improving their lives that we, humanity in turn, become a true and blessed gift to our creator. Therein lays your ultimate happiness and truest wealth.

Therefore be generous, be just and reconciling, not only toward individuals but also transforming of any system lacking in aggressive pursuit of the blessed day for which we seek – the day of God’s peace for all living souls. Become this and surely God says to you, “Friend, move up higher.”