The Old Testament reading for today comes from Ecclus. 51:1-12.  The writer remembers how God saved him when he was in danger, when no one else would come to his aid.  The passage is a wonderful response from a person who knew first hand a lesson that is difficult to learn: it is in our time of need that God is most real to us, that his love for us is most evident. When we are down and out, God can be there for us in a way that we often fail to appreciate when we are prospering.

The Gospel reading comes from Luke 14:1-11. A man with dropsy (probably heart disease) comes to Jesus on the sabbath.  There is uncertainty among onlookers about whether Jesus will heal this man on the sabbath.  Jesus does so, reminding his listeners that their own understanding of the law allows them to save an ox who was in danger on the sabbath.  In other words, if the life of an animal is important enough to allow you to serve your own interests by working when work is otherwise forbidden, isn't the well being of this man important enough to allow the Messiah to do what he came to do (that is, to repair the world) even on a day when work is otherwise forbbiden. This man belongs to me, he is saying, stopping his suffering isn't merely good for him, it is what I do.

We are important to God, Jesus is saying. But what about our importance to ourselves? Jesus goes on to observe how his listeners choose the best places for themselves, the places for honor, when they sit down to dine. Choose the lowest place for yourself, he says. Let your self be unimportant to yourself. If someone wants you at the head of the table, they will tell you. You are important to God: let that be enough, let that substitute for your importance to yourself and others.

Where does self-importance and temporal glory end? The New Testament reading for today comes from Rev. 18:1-14.  It is a vision of the fall of Babylon, the most important place in the world, the most important city to the world. It is a literally apocalyptic collapse.  What amounts to glorious wonder in the eyes of the world ends in horrible collapse.  The moral of the story: it isn't worth it, and don't let it distract you.

We all need to feel important. May we satisfy that need by knowing that we are important to the creator of the universe and the Savior of mankind, so that we can face our times of need knowing that he cares for us, and so that we focus our energies on furthering his healing mission.