22nd
Ordinary Sunday (Year C)
First
Reading: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Second Reading: Hebrews
12:18-19, 22-24 Gospel Reading:
Luke 14:1, 7-14
“...
FOR I AM MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART.”
A
truly humble person is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such
selfless people.
Booker
T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding
example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section
of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the
famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a
few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing
business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his
sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When
he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them
by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his
identity to the lady.
The
next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his
office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It's
perfectly all right, Madam," he
replied. "Occasionally I
enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do
something for a friend."
She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious
attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long
afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy
acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the
Tuskegee Institute.
Today
is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. A
major theme of this Sunday’s Readings is the need for humility
before God. As a matter of fact, humility is the mother of many
virtues, because from it obedience, fear, reverence, patience,
modesty, meekness and peace are born. Also, humility has always been
one of the characteristics of the truly great. Today, we all are
called to be humble, so that we may enter into the Kingdom of God.
CALL TO HUMILITY:
In
the First Reading of today we hear from the Book of Sirach (also
called Ecclesiasticus) which is a collection of teachings on how to
live in a manner approved by God. Over all, the Book of Sirach places
great emphasis on the virtue of humility and shows great
sympathy to poor people and the oppressed.
In the short section we hear today, the first two
verses advise us to be humble, even when others praise us to the
skies - “The
greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find
favor in the sight of the Lord.”
When compared to God, no-one is very important, so Sirach says that
if you are a great person, you have to work harder to make yourself
lower or more humble, because God rewards and reveals his secrets to
the lowly, unspoiled person. The lowly person is more open to
communication with God, perhaps has more time for it, or has been
forced to put his or her trust in God more. Humble people do not deny
their gifts and talents. They recognize that their gifts and talents
come from God. The last two verses encourage us to listen to those
who are wise, and to be generous to those who are in need.
LESSON ON HUMILITY:
In
the Gospel Reading of today from St. Luke we see that on a Sabbath
day Jesus is gone for a meal to the house of a leading Pharisee.
Actually, it should have been an occasion of fellowship. But instead,
we are told, “the people were observing
him carefully." Surely, they were not observing him
out of admiration or curiosity. No, they wanted to see if Jesus on
this Sabbath day would put a foot wrong so that they could accuse
him. But before they can observe him, Jesus tells them two parables -
one addressed to the guests and the other addressed to the host - and
gives them a lesson on the basic Christian virtues of humility and
solidarity with the poor. One of the elements of the Gospel of St.
Luke is that St. Luke often places Jesus in opposition to the
Pharisees. This is especially true in their understanding of what the
Kingdom of God is, and what Jesus understands it to be.
“When you are invited
by someone to a wedding banquet …”
The
first parable is a response to the way the guests took their seats.
Jesus had noticed “how they were choosing
the places of honor at the table." In most formal
dinners, the seating is a very delicate matter. Those regarded as
important are put near the host and the rest lower down. At a wedding
dinner, only a few can share the top table with the married couple
and their immediate family. Others will find themselves tucked away
in a corner feeling the heat of the kitchen!
But here Jesus reverses
the normal procedure and what he says is contrary to the guests' and
our experience. Of course, Jesus’ parable is about status and
maintaining one’s honor and it is basically just good advice.
Instead of seeking places of honor his listeners are advised to go to
the lowest place to avoid the humiliation of being asked to move
down, with the chance that the host will notice their proper
deference and invite them to a higher position. Even if it were just
a little higher, one would feel honored by the move, not degraded as
if it had gone the other way. However, it is a risky thing to do, of
course. One might be left sitting in his lower place! For some, that
could even be a social disaster.
Then Jesus makes another turn by invoking the theme
of reversal - “For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be
exalted” - and goes on to shatter those very dining
rituals that he seemed to support.
“When
you hold a banquet ...”
After narrating the
parable of humility to the guests, Jesus then addresses the host and
gives instructions on choosing guests to be invited. Reciprocity and
the practice of inviting people of equal status were the twin pillars
of ancient dining customs. Jesus rejects this and tells the host,
when you throw a banquet don't invite your friends, colleagues and
other rich and influential people, who will outdo themselves in
returning your invitation. He has rather different advice. When you
organize a dinner, he says, invite the poor, the disabled and the
disadvantaged.
Again Jesus’ advice is
so counter-cultural and also what he is suggesting is a very
difficult thing in his period of time. No host in his right mind
would think of inviting the people that Jesus suggests to his supper!
No one wants to lose his social status by eating with those lower, or
with those with a disability. No one wants to risk becoming impure
and unable to partake in religious ritual because of it. But Jesus
calls blessed those who invite society's outcast, “Blessed
indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.”
The gospel imperative seems to be this: At every table, there must be
a vacant seat for the poor, Jesus' representative. It is people who
attend to the poor who “will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous” by the Father.
The
wedding feast of the Kingdom:
But
Jesus’ parables are always about more than they seem to be.
Actually, the above two parables are in reference to the Kingdom of
God, which is often compared to or pictured as a 'wedding
feast,' a 'heavenly banquet.'
The Kingdom of God does not follow the rules and logic of any
culture. God’s ways cannot be understood in human terms. In the
Kingdom which is one continuous wedding banquet, titles, positions
and wealth do not count. What counts is fidelity to Jesus' law of
love that embraces even and specially the outcasts of society. They
are the ones who will be exalted in the kingdom of God. Having
nothing but their ability to trust in God, they will be rewarded in
heaven far above those who had position and honor and wealth in the
earthly kingdom. In his wedding feast, Jesus seats his guests at the
presidential table and he himself serves them, as he did his apostles
at the Last Supper. Jesus expects nothing less of us in this life. As
such, it is a meal for everyone, not just a private dinner for two by
candlelight. All the dishes on the table are for everyone equally.
There is enough and more for every single person's needs. It is an
occasion of sharing and joyfulness.
NEW KIND OF HUMILITY:
Today's
Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews describes a dramatic
contrast between the Old and New covenants. When God made the
covenant with the Israelite people on Mount Sinai, it was a majestic
and even terrifying event. But our covenant with God in Jesus is
characterized by its intimacy. The risen Christ draws all believers
up to Mount Zion, a symbol of God's kingdom, or reign. There, all the
angels and saints are gathered in a joyful celebration of love and
friendship.
The
New Covenant brings about a change in the way we interact with God.
He is no longer the one who gives his Law from Mt. Sinai amidst peals
of thunder and lightning, but Jesus, the author of the new 'law
of love'
promulgated by the sacrificial pouring out of his blood on Mt. Zion.
The Law to which we must humbly turn our attention and receive is the
'law
of love'
made
perfect in the sacrifice of Christ. It is the completion of all
previous revelation and brings it all to perfection.
As
followers of Christ, this means living the life he lived, one which
was characterized by attentive obedience to the will of his Heavenly
Father in all things. He embraced the Cross as his Father’s plan to
save mankind. Christ did not humble himself as a mere slave, but as
the Beloved Son of the Father, in whom the Father was well pleased.
Thus his humility flows from his exalted status as Son of the Father.
Thanks
to the incarnation and the establishment of the New Covenant, we are
no longer called servants, but friends. The humility we are called to
live is in the context of our adopted son-ship, as heirs of the
Kingdom. This new status we have as “sons
in the Son” gives the context for the new kind of
humility and charity we are to live.
CONCLUSION:
In
today's gospel, Jesus prepares us with some good advice about ways to
be a guest and ways to be a host. As God's guests in this world, we
should act humbly and remember that we are always in the presence of
Someone greater than we are. As hosts of God's people, we should
offer hospitality to those who cannot reward us. Surely, we do not
have to leave out our friends and families. But neither should we
leave out the poor and disabled.
Again, it is difficult to
overstate the importance of the virtue of
humility in Jesus’ teaching for those who would follow him. It is
essential in order to walk in his footsteps and to receive his
teaching in its fullness. Over and over he tells us that, “Unless
you become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of
Heaven.”
We need to be humble not only to obey God, but even to hear His voice
and understand His Word.
Moreover,
our Gospel Acclamation today says, “...
for I am meek and gentle of heart.”
Indeed this quality of humility
is one for which Jesus himself is very much a role model. We often
talk about how Jesus lowered himself to become like us - a God
becoming a man! How much more humble could he be?
Today
we are called to lead a life of humility and the Gospel makes this
way of life explicit in its practical forms: to look upon ourselves
as having received everything we are and have from its true source,
God, and acknowledge Him as the giver of all blessings. We should
choose the lowest place and never think of ourselves as better than
anyone else, for all we are is due to God’s grace. This
is the way to form our hearts in humble gratitude and to live with
that peace of heart that only true Christian humility can bring us.
And this is the Good News of today.
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