One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. … 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “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. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
In the first reading for this Sunday, people are told to act with humility, and Jesus expresses this idea even more strongly in the gospel. The verse sets the scene: Jesus is dining at a Pharisee’s house, a member of a group that is generally hostile to him. Indeed, Luke tells us that Jesus was “being carefully watched”. We know there will be controversy, and we see it in the main part of this passage where Jesus clearly criticizes his host and fellow guests. He accuses them of lacking humility and always seeking the places of honor for themselves.
In the ancient world, people reclined on couches at formal dinners, and the term generally translated as “places of honor”, literally means “the first couches”. These couches were arranged to show the rank of the guest. People, then as now, sought the most prestigious places because they wanted to brag about their own importance. Jesus warns that such an attitude can backfire: you can find yourself evicted from the best place when someone deemed more important arrives. But if one is humble, and takes the lowest place, then the host will move the person to a better spot. Obviously, Jesus is talking about much more than an earthly banquet for the most common image of paradise was that of the messianic banquet. So, verse eleven, tells of the reversal of human standards that will occur in God’s kingdom.
The last two verses concern who will be invited to that banquet. Then as now, who you invite to a party (and who actually comes to it) says a lot about your social standing. If you want to be part of the elite, then the elite must accept you. While showing charity to the poor was accepted and even honored, inviting them to your house was not. Rich people want to associate with other rich people and so inviting the poor to dine with them would mock their elite status. Furthermore, you would expect someone you invited to return the invitation, which the poor can not do. Therefore, Jesus tells us the way to earn true blessing is to humble yourself and associate with the weak, with those who can give you nothing in return. Note that the idea of a reciprocal invitation remains, but it will come from God who will invite you to the heavenly banquet.
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