Old Testament Lesson; Proverbs 25:2-10
Epistle Lesson; Hebrews 13:1-7
Gospel Lesson; Luke 14:1-14
Sermon Text; Proverbs 25:6-7

As Solomon spoke the words for our text for today, he had in mind the example of a feast in which people were invited, and people were seated according to their social standing. Jesus picked up on this same thought when in the Gospel Lesson for today he said, "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited."

Or to think about an example from today, in which there is a wedding and a wedding reception, and you are invited to it. As you go to the wedding reception, you would not go and sit at the head table, where the bride, groom, and wedding party are to be seated. (If you did, you would be quickly told to move.) Rather, you go and find a place to sit, where your name is printed on a card. Or you sit in a place which is in keeping with your relationship with the groom, or with the bride.

Back in the 300's there was a Greek cynic philosopher, whose name was Diogenes. Diogenes thought himself to be very humble. Diogenes cut a barrel in half and he lived in that half barrel. Another possession he had was a little wooden cup that he would use to get a drink of water from the town fountain. Now, Diogenes did not have a job. (It is safe to assume that he did not have a family, either.) He did not buy any food for himself. He rather went to the town market, and people would throw scraps of food to him.

One day, he saw a little boy come to the town fountain and scoop up a handful of water in his hand. Diogenes looked at the cup he had and he threw it away. He thought to himself, if that little boy did not need a cup, he thought, "I don't need a cup. I can scoop it with my hand."

Well, word came to Alexander the Great, who was living at this very same time. Alexander the Great wanted to come and meet this very humble man, Diogenes. So, Alexander the Great came and said, "Diogenes, you are so humble, I will give you one wish. I will give you whatever it is that you wish for. I will grant it for you."

As Alexander the Great was saying that, he was standing between Diogenes and the sun, and Diogenes simply told Alexander the Great (and this was his wish), "Please move out of my sunlight."

Here was a man who thought himself to be so humble, and yet, in the king's presence, he told Alexander the Great, "Move. You are in my way."

If anyone of us would like to acquire humility, we must admit that we are proud. If we do not think that we are proud, then we are very proud, indeed.

By nature, all of us think very highly of ourselves. And we like to disguise our humility in the darkness of our souls. Think for a moment about the sins of pride that we commit, in private or under the cover of darkness. We certainly don't want our sins of pride that we commit in private or under the cover of darkness to be exposed. And yet, in keeping with God's Word, the sooner the better, with the exposure of our sin. And, the sooner the better, before Judgment Day.

Now, on one hand it would be very terrifying if our sins of pride were shown for everybody else to see. And yet again, better before Judgment Day.

That is why God takes the hammer of His Law, and He breaks, shatters, and He crushes that beast we have called ‘pride’ to prepare us.

There is a book that I have been interested in reading, recently, simply called the Hammer of God. It is a book, (it is really a novel) about three Swedish pastors who are in the very beginning of their pastorate. They are asking questions like, "What is the relationship between faith and good works?" "What comfort can we have from God's Word, when we are on our deathbed?"

They come to the realization that God's Word is like a hammer. It needs to shatter and crush that beast called ‘pride,’ so that it leads us to only rely on the mercies of God that are found in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

The illustration of pride and humility plays out before us in nature. Take, for example, the leaves that are on the trees right now. Those leaves that are on the trees make that tree a tree of splendor. And yet, as it is happening now, (or will be the case in a month or two), those leaves are going to fall to the ground, and that tree is going to be laid bare. The tree will be humiliated when the leaves fall off.

Or, think about the seeds that grow in the trees. As they are growing in the trees, they see around to all of God's creation and its splendor. Those seeds fall to the ground. Those seeds are buried in the mud. What happens? Those seeds come forth, and they produce new life.

God's humbling of our souls

is a part of His good plan

for us.

Now, let us look at the model of humility that Jesus has laid for us. In Philippians, chapter 2, the apostle Paul put it this way, when he said, "Your attitude should the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who being in very nature of God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

Jesus humbled Himself so that we could receive His righteousness. The apostle Paul also goes on to say, in 2^nd Corinthians, chapter 5, "God made Him who had no sin (that is Jesus) to be sin for us so that in Him (in Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God."

Jesus did not exalt himself in God's presence. Therefore, as we look to Him as our great example and model, neither should we exalt ourselves in God's presence, or in Jesus the King's presence.

Now it is very difficult for us to understand what it must have been like back in Bible times, when there were kings and subjects, when there were rulers and servants. We don't know what it is like to bow down, to kneel down, or to prostrate ourselves, before someone of higher standing than ourselves.

In our day and age we are more used to demanding our rights than we are used to carrying out our responsibilities. And so, let us take a page out of scripture, in which it says, "Humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all anxiety on Him, because God cares for you."

Christ has humbled Himself

for our righteousness.

And so, now in humility, let us come before God and to look for ways in which we can serve others.

You might remember Pastor Karl Mischke. There was a time when he was very instrumental for us, here at Holy Cross, helping us visit a number of our shut-ins for a few years. At the end of each month, Pastor Bartels, Pastor Mischke, Pastor Paul Petersen, and myself would meet. We would look at those people we had visited and prepare for the next month of those shut-ins that we would go and see. There is something very striking that he said, that hit home. He said, "You know, God does not need you. God can accomplish His work without you."

That is a very humbling thing to hear, but how true it is. God does not need us. God could accomplish His work without us, and yet, He chooses to use us for Christ's sake.

Knowing that Jesus has humbled Himself to make us righteous, knowing that Jesus humbled Himself on the cross, in death, to make us righteous, by giving us the forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him in Heaven, what is it that we can do to serve others? Well, the only thing that can motivate us to humble ourselves and serve others is the Gospel. Knowing that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins is the only thing that can humble us and motivate us to serve others.

Therefore, let us look for examples in our lives in which we can do that. We begin by confessing our sin, as we did this morning, confessing that we are worthless on our own. Thanks be to Jesus for making us righteous! We can praise others, thanking God for the skills and abilities that He has given to others. We can also listen to others. We can listen to others in humility, particularly when they are going through humbling experiences of their own.

Solomon, when he wrote the words of our text, was using the example of a feast, in which people were seated according to their social standing. Jesus picked up on that same thought, in our Gospel Lesson, encouraging people at a wedding feast not to sit at a prominent place, so that they would not be humiliated. Just as today, we would not go to a wedding reception and sit at the head table.

Unfortunately Diogenes exalted himself in the king's presence. May we humble ourselves, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and not think highly of ourselves, but think highly of Christ, think highly of our Heavenly Father, think highly of others, and take a page out of scripture when it says,

"God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble."

The grace that God has for the humble is simply His righteousness of eternal life in Heaven, at the expense that Christ paid with His death on the cross.

Amen.