Readings: Philippians 1:18b-26; Luke 14:1, 7-11
When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.
The tricky thing about today’s Gospel is that Jesus is not proposing a strategy or a technique to shape our behavior. Were I to choose the lowest place just to be called up higher, I might as well push ahead to take the seat of honor to begin with. It would be the exact same thing.
If I can simply be content with less than prestige, that would be moving in the right direction. I could be perceiving reality on its own terms, rather than our fictions about “honors” or “disgrace,” “entitlements” or “disenfranchisement.”
When I can look at both fortune or misfortune in the eye, not being carried away by either, and search out where God is in all this, well, that’s a treasure no one can take from me.
Kathleen Mitchell says
Please allow me to comment about the relevance of your words, to my life. After many decades, I was chosen to be a matron of honor last month for my older sister’s wedding. I agree with what you wrote, that there is a blessing for me, if I avoid wishful thinking, or self-importance. If I fail to understood or interpret correctly, I apologize. So many times what could have been a joyful event can feel more like a huge drama of self grandeur display, or self indulgence. My little clan and I are still recovering.
Blessings to you.