Sunday, August 28, 2022: Twelth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 14:1, 7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Humility. So hard to come by and so important. Have you ever been in the presence of a humble person and just felt so comfortable with him/her? Humble people exude a sense of calm, probably because they’re not trying to impress anyone. My guess is they have grappled with their flaws and decided to accept themselves anyway.
A truly humble person would not be vying to sit in the place of honor at a banquet, for this person does not have the need to artificially build him/herself up. It is usually the insecure person who seeks attention and stature.
Humble people are people who are at home with themselves, and make others feel welcome too. In this way they model the sense of inclusivity Jesus was recommending to his host in today’s passage from Luke.
God’s sense of inclusivity is vast, wide and limitless. No one is excluded from receiving God’s love and compassion. As we ourselves receive God’s love and compassion, we are then enabled to give those same gifts to others, thus making God’s welcoming presence known to the world.