When Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet he is sitting at a table, at a Sabbath-day banquet, hosted by a prominent Pharisee. It’s in that context that he warns the Pharisees, the people who assume because of their religious performance, or because of their wealth and status, that their place in the Kingdom is certain. But in the parable, when the wealthy, influential, and powerful are invited to the king’s banquet, they all turn down the invitation, busy with other endeavors. The king doesn’t live their house empty, though. The king goes in search of the downcast, overlooked, sick, and poor, and invites them to come to the feast. And they do. The way to the kingdom is not marked by increasing wealth, growing possessions, or expanding influence. It’s marked by an intentional and active downward descent, where we empty and humble ourselves for the sake of one another, just like Jesus did. Because in the kingdom, the way up is down.