Roman 11:1-2, 11-12, 25-29 / Luke 14:1, 7-11
Usually when we talk of a dilemma, we are probably talking about a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is practically acceptable.
In other words, in our minds, it is the the worst case scenario with two choices. The imagery would be like that of a choice of a crash landing on a rock or on a hard ground.
In the dilemmas of life, when life seems like a mess of rotten scrambled eggs, what come to the minds of people would be to press the self-destruct button and end it all.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul opened a discussion about God's chosen people: Has God rejected His people? Or have the Jews fallen forever or have they just stumbled?
Trying to come to a conclusion would leave the discussion in a dilemma, but as St. Paul said, "There is a hidden reason for all this"
And this hidden reason is to make us realise that the truth of life can only be known through humility.
And from the parable that Jesus told in the gospel we know this truth about life. When we want to exalt ourselves we end up in the dilemma of the worst case scenario - either embarrassment or humiliation
But when we humble ourselves we will be in the best case scenario. So to be humble or want to be exalted is our choice, but we will have to face the dilemma of our choice.