22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
There was a good reason they observed Jesus closely when he went to dinner. He already had gained a reputation for ignoring the dinner rules of good etiquette. There had been those two previous meals where he had shocked the guests. There was that meal where he allowed a sinner to perfume his feet. There was also the meal where he began eating without the ritual washing of his hands.
And now there was this meal at a leading Pharisee’s house, which was not just an ordinary meal but a Sabbath dinner. They wondered what new act of bad manners the rabbi from Nazareth would commit at this sacred meal.
But the irony of today’s Gospel is that Jesus was also observing them closely. He noticed how these sophisticated religious people were acting inappropriate, trying to grab the best seats at the dinner so they could feel high and mighty.
As usual, Jesus tips the tables again. He always reverses the order we think should be in place. He tells them to sit at the lowest places so they will be invited by the host to come up higher.
The readings this week offer us an example of humility. In a few words, humility is plainly and simply put, the proper understanding of our own worth.
Humility requires one not to overestimate his/her self worth; however, it does not presuppose that one needs to underestimate his/her self worth either; for that would be self-contempt. To feel Self-Contempt is to feel worthless and to live without any hope for improvement or achievement, only despair.
Those who hold themselves in self-contempt do not think they can learn and have no hope that this situation could change. Those who are arrogant believe that there is nothing more to learn in life and that they are not in need of hope.
Jesus speaks about giving to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
In her great humility, Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said: “I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one. You get closer to Christ by coming closer to each other. As Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me.” So, you begin. . .I begin. I picked up one person. . .”
That is why it is so foolish to beat our breasts and say, “I’m nobody.” That is not humility, that’s self-contempt. That is why it is so silly to push everybody aside because we think we are better than the rest. That’s’ not humility, that’s arrogance. In the presence of the Host of this Eucharistic meal, the Lord tells each one of us, “Remember where you stand and, in whose presence, you are in.”
And because the Eucharist is supposed to overflow into the rest of our lives, during all the meals we will share this week, at home, at work, at the school cafeteria, at the Fish House or Cattleman’s, or if you’re so inclined, at a fancy restaurant, “Remember where you stand and in whose presence you are in.”
Let us ask for the gift of humility this week. To feel our God-given self-worth; but that it never becomes exaggerated to the point where it keeps us from learning, from hoping, and from loving others out of a pure desire to love, and not simply to be loved back.
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Luke 14:1, 7-14