Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11

Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, your spread a table before me. You are the ultimate host and invite me, when I am humble, to an exalted position. But when I am prideful and arrogant, you wisely humble me. Teach me to understand this lesson of life, so that I may enjoy eternal life with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Invite the Poor: The passage from the Gospel of Luke is a lesson in humility. Jesus is dining at the home of a leading Pharisee as he journeys to Jerusalem. The lesson Jesus teaches is that we need to practice a form of almsgiving by inviting the poor to share our food. “Those who show love to the outcasts and disadvantaged in this life may be assured that God will be ‘in their debt,’ and will repay that debt in the next life. When we show love by meeting the material needs of the truly poor, we are ‘doing God’s work for him’ because, as the psalm taught us, kindness to the poor is the king of thing God does” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year C, 390). Jesus goes so far as to tell his followers to risk ritual defilement by inviting the crippled, the lame, and the blind. What Jesus is teaching is that the Old Testament laws about charity towards the less fortunate take precedence over the laws of ritual cleanliness (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year C, 390). 

2. Humble Yourself: In the First Reading, taken from the Book of Sirach, we hear a summary of the wisdom of the Old Testament. Humility, in the Bible, is counted as a virtue. “The right attitude before God is one of humility, for wisdom lies in being unpretentious, aware that one can always be wrong. Humility is the human dimension and expression of the fear of the Lord” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1077. Humility was not something prized in the ancient world before Christ, but here, in the Book of Sirach, we find an exhortation to humility. And this is good. Moses was considered the humblest man upon the earth. David humbled himself before God when he sinned. Jesus declared himself, “meek and humble of heart.” We always need to learn the lesson of true humility

3. The Blood of the New Covenant: In the Second Reading, the Letter to the Hebrews mentions gathering on Mount Zion: “No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” The Letter is contrasting the covenant Moses mediated on Mount Sinai with the covenant Jesus mediated on Mount Zion. What the Letter envisions is the celestial liturgy, where angels and saints are gathered to worship God and celebrate the creative work of the Father and the redemptive work of the Son. We, who belong to the New Covenant, are called to join in this eternal and heavenly liturgy. We do this by entering the heavenly sanctuary in the Holy Spirit through prayer and sacramental worship (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 2175). The Letter also alludes to the difference between the blood of Abel and the blood of Christ. While the blood of Abel, spilled by Cain, called for vengeance, the blood of Jesus, the New Abel, calls for merciful forgiveness and true peace.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I love you and heed your invitation to approach Mt. Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, where you dwell with the Father and send out the Spirit. I truly wish to be spiritual, and to worship you and the Father in truth.

Living the Word of God: What am I doing for the poor? How am I spending my limited time helping those who struggle? How am I using my talents to help those who are less fortunate? Having responsibly taken care of my family, what treasure am I dedicating to the poor?