Context: The fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke tells of a sabbath day on which Jesus stopped to eat in the house of an important Pharisee. The Pharisees, as usual, are watching Jesus in the hope that He may be caught in the act of breaking some law. Among those present is a man who suffers from dropsy; Jesus heals him, pointing out to the Pharisees that none of them would hesitate to rescue a domestic animal on the Sabbath. His detractors have no reply to this; the Pharisees have already learned that Jesus has a logical answer to any objections they may raise and that He usually leaves them with nothing to say. The effect these exchanges produce is a growing determination on their part to see that He is destroyed. Jesus now offers two parables for His listeners to consider. In the first He points out that if a person chooses the best accommodations available, he will in all probability be asked to vacate them in favor of someone more important than he; while, if he takes the poorest room to be had, he is likely to be treated with greater consideration. This is a contrast between the person who inflates his own importance in order to impress others and the humble person, who, because he does not claim importance, sometimes finds it thrust upon him. The first of these is often humiliated, while the second receives recognition. Furthermore, Jesus adds, we should not bestow our feasts upon those who are as well off as we and who are well able to repay us; rather we should share such bounties with those who cannot recompense us in any way. In a second parable which elaborates this admonition, He also points out the fact that those who are able to repay do not always appreciate our generosity.