SEPTEMBER 1st 2013. TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

GOSPEL: LUKE 14:1,7-14

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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GOSPEL: LUKE 14:1,7-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor. 
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place. 
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. 
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 
Then he said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the parable, a guest takes a prestigious position at the table but is asked to move to the lowest place when a more important guest arrives. Jesus encourages us to take the lowest place in life. What is the lowest place? It is the position we occupy when we are in correct relationship with God. Adam was not in a correct relationship with God because he placed himself before God. We are in correct relationship with God when we choose the lowest place, putting God’s will before our own. The parable then moves on to talk about recompense. What kind of recompense are we looking for in life? Do we serve others only in the hope of being rewarded for our efforts? Jesus tells us to invite people to our party who cannot repay us for our kindness to them. This is the mark of true service, efforts expended that cannot be rewarded! How miserable our life is if it is lived in the hope of earthly recognition or reward! The recognition that the Lord will give us is so much more wonderful than the esteem of human society! In summary, the Lord is holding up two ways of life before us: We can seek our own position in life in which we receive human recognition for our impoverished works. Or we can take the “lowest” position in life, the position of one who is obedient to the will of the Lord. This position is the most wonderful of all and leads to a recompense that is beyond our dreams.

The parable teaches us about our rightful position in life and about the right kind of rewards we should aspire to,

Jesus tells a parable about a dinner party and the problem of knowing where we should sit. This parable teaches that we need to be much less concerned regarding the position we occupy in life. As well as that, we need to think hard about the kind of rewards we are aspiring to receive. In the parable, the guest sits in an important position. But when a more important guest arrives, he is forced to give up his place and move to the most humble position. In other words, we should leave it to the master to decide our place in the pecking order. Let God decide where we are in life! Let God decide how important we are! Let us stop being preoccupied about whether other people consider us important or not! Let us stop being offended when other people overlook us or appear to forget that we are there! All that matters is that we witness to our faith in Christ. The Lord will one day give us a wonderful place that will exceed all of our expectations.

Jesus tells us to take last place. What is last place? It is the place one occupies when one orients oneself correctly to God

The parable encourages us to take “last place”. What is “last place”? It is the position one assumes when one is in correct relationship with God. Adam put himself in first place, assuming the place of God himself. When Peter tries to impose his own will on affairs, Jesus says “Get behind me Satan!”  To go behind Jesus means to follow him. This is “last place”, the place one occupies when one is in correct relationship with God, the position of following the Lord. We are all called to be disciples, called to follow Jesus. When Jesus is leading, then he will take us to our proper place. When we refuse to be led by Jesus, then we assume positions ourselves, positions that are not ours to take. It is not so much that we need to take the last place with respect to the others around us. Rather we must take last place with respect to the Lord. It is not a question of being in competition with the others around us for the more prestigious place in life. It is a question of being in correct relationship with the Lord.

A life that is lived in the hope of the esteem of others is empty and vain

If one of my preoccupations in life is the respect that is given to me by others, then I am living an existence that is fixated on things that have no value whatsoever. The respect that I gain as a result of my impoverished works is something vain and hollow. The respect that the Lord gives me is something of a different sort altogether. The relationship that the Lord wishes to forge with me is something of a more profound sort altogether. What a different thing it is to have friendship with the Lord!

Do I act in the hope of being rewarded by others? Or do I act with the intention of serving others?

What sort of compensation are we looking for in life? Jesus talks about organizing a party and not inviting friends, family or wealthy neighbours. In last Sunday’s Gospel he spoke about the necessity of bringing the sword of division into families for the sake of the Gospel. In other words, there is a kind of earthly “family” that we must separate ourselves from. And to enter into relationship with God we must forge relationships with the poor, the crippled and the blind, persons with whom we can be instruments of love. The real distinction is this: I can concern myself with the people that the Lord has entrusted to me; the people that are part of the mission that the Lord has given to me. Or I can concern myself with people who can reward me for my works. Am I seeking to serve others? Or am I seeking to be served? If a wife finds herself with a husband who is looking for whatever he can get from her, then that is something dramatically different from a husband who is willing to serve. Is your husband willing to care for you when you are blind, lame, tired, feeling weak, feeling misunderstood? Or is he always seeking what is beneficial for him? What a wound in the heart this is! It is the same in the case of friendship and parenthood. People do a certain amount for the other, but then comes the day of reckoning when they exclaim, “Look at all the sacrifices that I have made for you!” It is as if the efforts they expended for the sake of the other were only done in the hope of some reward, and when that reward is not forthcoming they wish to have all of their sacrifice returned to them. A deed done in the hope of reward is not love, but an investment.

We must live our lives against the backdrop of the generosity of God, not in the hope of earthly rewards. How often we seek to have other people recognize our merits! This happens also in ecclesiastical circles. What a bore! How much more beautiful it is to contemplate our Lord Jesus who makes himself our servant and asks for nothing in return except love! The Gospel tells us that we will be repaid for our efforts towards others at the resurrection for the righteous. If we fail to be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous then that would be a serious thing, for it would signify damnation.

Two ways of life are presented to us: We can forge our own position in life and earn our impoverished rewards. Or we can let God assign a place to us and bestow us with our eternal reward.

The Gospel holds up two very different ways in which we can live. We can seek to occupy our own place in life and gain our own recompense. Or we can let God assign our place to us and wait for our reward from God. God repays immensely more than people! God gives us a much more wonderful position than human society can! The place that God assigns to me is close to his heart. His reward is eternal life.