Luke 14:1, 7-14
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If you Google “the greatest,” chances are you’re going to find Muhammed Ali in some of the hits. After all, he certainly considered himself “the greatest.” Just check out the quote on the front of the bulletin: “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” (My dad used to kid around and say about himself, “It’s hard to be humble when you know you’re the greatest.”) Muhammad Ali even had a song written about him. Do you remember? “Muhammad, Muhammad Ali; he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.” Ali certainly didn’t suffer from low self-esteem! But even Muhammad Ali could be put in his place.

It seems that one day he was on a plane getting ready to go somewhere. He was busy chatting with his seatmate and enjoying a cocktail in 1st Class. He didn’t notice that it was almost time for take-off. The stewardess came over to him and told him he had to fasten his seat belt. He said to her, “Superman don’t need no seat belt!” She didn’t even miss a beat, but answered back, “No, but Superman don’t need no plane, either!” He fastened his seat belt.

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, and it is a serious problem. It is contrary in so many ways to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Pride gets in the way of love and compassion, service and putting others first. Christians are supposed to pursue a life of humility, but that can even present problems. After all, just about the time you realize you are humble, you pat yourself on the back for it, and just like that you’re guilty of pride again!

Jesus uses this occasion when he was at a dinner party at the home of a Pharisee to teach the guests a lesson about humility. It seems that they were all trying to get a seat at the head table, no doubt where he was sitting, so that they could be closer to him and be able to brag about it later. They wanted to let everyone else know how important they were, that they could sit in the most honored places. But Jesus calls them out and says that they shouldn’t do that. After all, what if someone else more deserving comes in later? Then the host would come up to them and ask them to move. How embarrassing would that be? They would have to get up and walk to the far end of the room to find a seat. Instead, Jesus advises, they should take a seat at the worst table in the room. Then, just maybe the host will come up and invite them to move up to a better place. Then they would look good in the eyes of the other guests. And, Jesus says, in this way the proud will be humbled, and the humble will be honored.

Not many people would be willing to take this advice to heart, I think. Not then, and not today, either. We live in a culture where humility is not exactly a valued character trait. Instead, we are supposed to get ahead and rise to the top, showing off our gifts and talents and presenting ourselves in the best possible light. We brag about our own accomplishments and those of our children or grandchildren. What was our score on the golf course last week? Have you seen the new bracelet my husband bought me? Did you notice that I got the newest iPhone? My daughter made the honor roll at school again.

Too much of that kind of thinking can lead us to think less of others than we do of ourselves. We get, as my grandmother would say, too big for our britches. We begin to feel better than other people. We might even start to believe that we’re entitled to certain privileges or benefits because we’re so good, so rich, so gifted, so whatever. I suspect that kind of thinking is what got so many wealthy parents in trouble in the college admissions scandal. Some may even spend time in prison for trying to buy their child’s way into a good school, because they believed their child deserved to be admitted, no matter whether or not they were qualified or could have met the requirements on their own merits.

It is all so contrary to the gospel message of Jesus. Jesus was the personification of humility. It’s like what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:6-11: “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Pastor Mark Ralls, senior minister at Centenary United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC, write, “Born in the back room of a barn, spending his days bending his back to touch the hands of lepers, to caress the cheeks of widows, to place children on his knee, this humble Savior rode a donkey through the gates of Jerusalem and then knelt before his disciples to wash their feet. The only time he chose to ascend was up a hill called Calvary, where he bore our sins and carried our sorrows on his bent and holy back. On Easter morning, we discovered that his humility is what God truly honors.”

We can all think of people who have been truly humble servants of Jesus Christ. Most of us would name Mother Teresa. But there are others, not so famous, who are living out their faith in humble service. I think of the Richardson family. They lived across the street from us when I was in elementary and junior high school. The dad, Jerry, was owner of Spartan Foods, which started Hardee’s fast-food restaurant. They went on to own Quincy’s Steak House, Denny’s, and a chicken restaurant named Pollo Loco. He became very rich, and they moved out of the neighborhood into a bigger house. But I still saw his wife, Rosalind, at the hardware store in her jeans and sweatshirt, driving a pickup truck, to pick up mulch for their flowerbeds.

Eventually Jerry brought the NFL to the Carolinas, becoming the founding owner of the Carolina Panthers. My family was so excited! My dad and I bought seat licenses and we were original season-ticket holders. My mom especially was caught up in all the news about the team and the stadium that was being built. I was glad there was something that was so much fun for her, because it was right in the middle of the years she had cancer. Ashley Richardson was my age, and we grew up together. She and I were in Girl Scouts together, and my mom had been our leader. Ashley used to come by and bring Panthers clothing or hats to my mom before they were even available for sale. She brought her a piece of the carpet that was being installed in the owner’s box. Sometimes she would call and ask if my mom felt like eating a hot dog, because she knew how my mom loved Hardee’s hot dogs; if she said yes, then Ashley brought lunch and ate with her. My mom and I got to go to the first Panthers game ever, played at Clemson University against John Elway and the Denver Broncos. My mom only made it till halftime, but she was thrilled! I will never forget how much Ashley’s visits cheered up my mom during a time when she hardly ever felt good or had something to look forward to.

After my mom died, the Richardsons came to the funeral home to pay their respects. And the next morning, as we were waiting for time to get ready for her funeral, we heard the doorbell ring. It was Rosalind Richardson, with a box of breakfast biscuits, coffee, and orange juice from Hardee’s. She said she thought we probably wouldn’t feel like making breakfast for ourselves. She just brought in the food and left, but it was such a kind and thoughtful gesture. And we all enjoyed the food!

The Richardsons could have developed an attitude of entitlement and pride. But they never did. They were always the same good neighbors to us that they had always been. And they have done a lot for their community in the years since they made all that money.

I remember reading a short story by Flannery O’Connor that seems to capture the gist of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14. It was called “Revelation.” A woman named Ruby Turpin went to the doctor with her husband, Claude. In the waiting room there were all sorts of people, most of whom Ruby considered to be socially beneath her. Ruby considered herself an upright, church-going woman, and she privately thanked Jesus that she was white and privileged, and not like those other people. She then had a series of graphic conversations with the people in the waiting room, that led to a physical altercation. In the course of those discussions, Ruby was exposed for her judgmentalism and hypocrisy.

Later on, when Ruby was thinking about what happened, she had a revelation. She saw people moving toward heaven in a line, like they were in a parade. At the front of the line were people she considered far beneath her, and at the other end were people like her and Claude. She realized that she may have exalted herself in this life, but she was going to be humbled in the kingdom of God.

It may be hard to be humble when you know you’re the greatest. But it would do us well to remember that we’re really NOT the greatest. The greatest was Jesus. And Jesus chose to become the least. We are called to imitate his humility and his willingness to serve others and put others ahead of ourselves. In that way, our humility will be honored by God.