Twenty-Second Sunday of the Year August 28, 2022
Sirach 3:17-18.20.28-29; Hebrews 12:18-19.22-24a; Luke
14:1.7-14
Joseph de Veuster was a Belgian missionary priest working
among the islanders of Honolulu. His bishop had trouble finding a priest to
work in the leper settlement of Molokai. Joseph, better known as Father Damien,
volunteered to go and work in the "living graveyard that was
Molokai." His solidarity with the lepers was so complete that he
contracted the disease himself and died at the age of forty-nine in service to
the poorest and most abandoned. Some of his contemporaries accused him of
imprudence and foolhardiness. Today, however, he is recognised worldwide as a
hero of the faith: Damien the Leper.
Father Damien made a total life commitment to the poor long
before the church recognised the preferential option for the poor as a pillar
of the church's social teaching. The Gospels teach us that as Christians we
should give priority to the poor in the way we administer and dispense our
resources. This is what we see in today's gospel reading. Some people see
today's gospel as Jesus teaching table etiquette and good manners in choosing
seats when invited to a dinner. But when we try to read it through the eyes of
the early Christians whose assembly was mainly to share in the feast of the
Eucharist, we begin to see that there is much more than etiquette involved
here. Jesus is teaching the basic Christian virtues of humility and solidarity
with the poor. And he does this in two stages using two parables in today’s
gospel.
At the meal, Jesus observes “how the guests chose the places
of honour” (14:7). His response, according to Luke, is two-fold. First, he
tells a parable. The point of the story is to discourage his listeners from
seeking the most prestigious seat at the table to avoid the humiliating
situation of being displaced by someone of greater prominence (14:8). Instead,
they are to take the lowest place so that they might be elevated to a more
honorable seat by their host (14:10). Jesus’ summary comment to the parable is
the well-known aphorism: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and
those who humble themselves will be exalted” (14:11).
Let me ask you. Do you want to be last? Isn't it only natural to desire respect and
esteem from others? Jesus' parable of
the guests invited to the marriage feast probes our motives for seeking honour
and position. Self-promotion is most
often achieved at the expense of others!
Jesus' parable reinforces the teaching of Proverbs: Do not put yourself
forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is
better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put lower in the
presence of the prince (Prov. 25:6-7).
What is true humility and why should we make it a characteristic mark of our life and action? True humility is not feeling bad about yourself, or having a low opinion of yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to others. True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low self-opinion tends to focus our attention on ourselves. Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action. Viewing ourselves truthfully, with sober judgment, means seeing ourselves the way God sees us (Psalm 139:1- 4). A humble person makes a realistic assessment of himself without illusion or pretense to be something he is not. He regards himself neither smaller nor larger than he truly is. True humility frees us to be ourselves and to avoid despair and pride. A humble person does not have to wear a mask or put on a facade in order to look good to others who do not know who he really is. He is not swayed by accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success, or failure.
Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues
because it enables us to see and judge correctly, the way God sees. Humility leads to knowledge, honesty,
realism, strength, and dedication to give ourselves to something greater than
ourselves. Humility frees us to love and
serve others selflessly, for their sake, rather than our own. Paul the Apostles, gives us the greatest example and model of humility is the
person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
...who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross
(Phil. 2:7-8). The Lord gives grace to
those who seek him humbly. Let us then
seek humility and not humiliation.
Happy Sunday
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