Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
August 31, 2025
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
Pentecost 12
Humble Yourself
Now it so happened that when He (Jesus) went to the home of a certain ruler of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath; and they were observing Him carefully. Behold! There was in front of Him a certain man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it permissible to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him and sent him on his way. Then He said to them which of you who has a son or a cow that falls into a well on the Sabbath and you do not immediately lift him out? But they were not able to reply.
Then he began speaking a parable to the invited guests when he noticed how they chose the places of honor at table. He said to them, Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast do not take the place of honor lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him; and lest he who invited you both should come and say to you, “Give place to this person. And then you will be disgraced and assigned the lowest place.”
Instead whenever you are invited go and take the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes he will say to you, “Friend! Move up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who are at table with you. Because everyone who elevates himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
He also said to the man who invited Him, “When you give a lunch or supper do not invite your friends or your brothers or your family or your rich neighbors; lest they should invite you in return and you would be repaid. But rather whenever you give a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, and you shall be blessed because they cannot repay you. But you will be repaid in the resurrection of the just!
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This Pentecost season as we follow Jesus to Jerusalem where He will stand trial for our sins, we note His humility. In last week’s gospel we found out the He who was First, made Himself last, so that we who were Last because of our sins, could be made First. And so it is. And so we are! Glory be to Jesus Christ!
This Lord’s Day we have a continuation of the same theme. Today Jesus the Word of God made flesh, deserves the highest and best seat. For there is no name higher than His; (Phil.2:12) nor any other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) But He took the lowest seat on the cross “for us men and for our salvation.” So that we who are always interested in taking highest honors in the sight of all men; who want to be first and best and most noticed and adored, would not be removed and shamed.
Jesus was given the lowest seat so to speak in today’s gospel. He is invited to a Sabbath meal at the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. But why was He invited? Did they love Jesus so much? Did they want to eat the Bread of Life with Him who IS the Bread of Life? No, they invited Him to make a fool of Him. To discredit Him by a test that He could not possibly pass, so they were sure.
St. Luke says it like this: “Now it so happened that when Jesus went to the home of a certain ruler of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath; and they were observing Him carefully. Behold! A man man suffering from dropsy appeared in front of Him.”
They did not invite Him because they loved Him or desired to obtain His Holy gifts; but wanted instead to entrap Him; to gain fuel for their condemnation of Him, and to get rid of Him once and for all. Because they recognized that they had been bested by Jesus.
Yes, they gathered like good religious people to keep the Feast. To break the Sabbath loaf and drink the Sabbath wine. But did not know that Jesus is the LORD who is to be worshiped and adored on the Sabbath. And that His blood shed on the cross, sprinkled on us in baptism, and imbibed by us in Eucharist IS the Sabbath wine.
And at the right time, as if appearing out of nowhere, a man severely ill with dropsy, or in modern terms, edema, is placed before Him. That is what dropsy is. It is edema, the debilitating retention of bodily fluids that made life miserable. Every movement an exhausting effort. Nothing worked as it should. His vitality and the joy of life had long ago disappeared.
What would Jesus do about it? That was the test. They brought the man there because they knew that the Lord would not turn a blind eye to anyone in need. Not then, not now. That includes us with our sluggishness, torpor and inabilities to live life in service of God and one another.
What would the Great Physician do? Would He leave a desperate person in need? Would He turn His holy back on this man. The back which bore the: stripes by which we are healed? (Is. 53) Or would He displease God (so they reasoned) by breaking their twisted version of the Sabbath.
On Fools! Do you not know that “The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.” (1 Corinthians 1). And so He who IS the Wisdom of God asked them a question that ruined all their plans. “Is it permissible to heal on the Sabbath?” This interrogation left them speechless. Especially with the follow-up, “which of you who has a son or a cow if he should fall into a well on the Sabbath, would not immediately lift him out?”
With that the Lord made the man well. He forgave the man his sin which is the root cause of all illness, and took away his distress. He changed his life from sadness to gladness. Gladness because the man knew what the Lord had done for him. Do we?
Yes and no. We do know and glorify out God. But we forget, too. Don’t trouble your pretty little head over it. There is no cure. The Old Adam in us is always rearing up his ugly head. No, there is no cure other than to die and go to heaven. But there is treatment in the Great Physician’s “office,” in which we are seated at this very time; where we are built up in our Holy Faith by Holy Liturgy.
But Jesus was not done. He also wanted to heal the Pharisees of their malady. What malady?
Resisting God.
Dethroning God.
Seating themselves in the highest place there is.
That never worked since the beginning of time.
So give it up.
Humble yourself before God.
And hear the Word the Lord: When you give feast do not invite your friends, brothers, family or rich neighbors lest they should invite you in return and you would be repaid. But rather whenever you give a banquet invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind and you shall be blessed because they cannot repay you.
But you will be repaid in the resurrection of the just!