HOMILY: Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 14:1, 7-14
28 August 2022
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
“In my reading of the scripture, I felt an invite to let go of my previous limitations. It was seeing other people, who have sinned beyond anything I could ever conceptualise, also being found in Christ that made me feel like, ‘Oh, that gives me hope.’ I started hearing experiences of other depraved people who had found their way in this, and it made me feel like I had permission.” This was the humble realization of Shia LaBeouf — a controversial Hollywood actor who starred in the Transformers movie franchise and is known for his rowdy and strange behaviour and devil-may-care-attitude. He was recently in the news for converting to Catholicism after studying for his role as Padre Pio in a biographical movie set for international release. A friend remarked: “A true to life “Transformers”!
Humility is the focus of this Sunday’s readings. In the gospel passage this Sunday Jesus says… “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. If someone else more important has been invited, you would surely be asked to take a lower place”. (Luke 14:10) Yun din kaya ang dahilan kung bakit laging bakante ang mga upuan sa harap ng simbahan? (Meant as a joke). I bet if the EMHC and the Lecoms were not obliged to take these places, most, if not all of them, would rather seat themselves somewhere else. Mas madalas unang napupuno ang mga upuan sa likuran. Hindi ba? Just look at the front pews now. Is this really what Jesus is asking us to do? May “seating arrangement” nga ba sa Kaharian ng Diyos? Sa totoo lang, madaming mga taong simbahan ang nag-aakalang dahil naglilingkod sila o kaya malaki ang donasyon nila sa simbahan ay sigurado na silang makakarating sa langit. Going to heaven is not as easy as buying a first-class plane ticket or buying front row seats to a concert. It really depends on the mercy of God. It is His Kingdom and only He decides who gets to spend eternity in His presence.
In the gospel story, Jesus and His disciples have been invited to a Sabbath dinner. As He observes how the invited guests are choosing places of honour, Jesus takes this opportunity to teach His disciples about conducting themselves at a wedding banquet. Jesus tells them to humbly take the lowest place. They should do so to save themselves from embarrassment should another guest arrive and be given a higher place of honour. If we read the gospel passage carefully, we note that Jesus is not really against “honour” per se. Jesus is not a party-pooper or else He would not have accepted the invitation to the dinner given by the leading Pharisee, in the first place. He actually admonishes the guests to humbly take the lower seats so as to be esteemed when they are asked to move and be given due respect and recognition. Ang mga pinupuna ni Hesus ay yaong mga taong kusang umupo sa lugar ng karangalan. They believed themselves to be worthy to be extolled because of who they are, what they have and what they have accomplished. Even today, there are people who feel they are better than others because of their family name, their education, their wealth, or their achievements. How unfortunate if they treat others badly because of their overblown self-image. Jesus, on the other hand, does not judge based on worldly standards of prestige and honour…. He looks into our hearts and our souls.
As recorded in Scriptures, the wedding banquet is one of Jesus’ favourite images for describing the Kingdom of God. We all want to become part of this Kingdom, don’t we? Through the gospel parable, Jesus is pointing out that humility is a key virtue for which we become part of God’s Kingdom. The word humble itself comes from the same word as human and humus, which means soil or earth. In the spiritual sense, humility is the virtue by which we acknowledge our status before God, to know our ‘place’ in the greater scheme of things… It is to recognise that we are “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” who come to God’s table because of God’s invitation and generosity. (Luke 14:13-14) This is purely out of the graciousness of God. Status in life, influence, race, colour… such things have absolutely no importance in God’s Kingdom. Real humility is the awareness and acceptance of who and what we are before God. Nararanasan natin ito sa misa dahil pantay-pantay tayo sa mata ng Diyos. Mahal Niya pareho ang nagmamay-ari ng teleponong I-phone 13 at ang may hawak ng Cherry Mobile. Wala Siyang pakialam kung ang damit mo ay Tory Burch o galing Divisoria. Ang importante sa Panginoon ay ang kababaaan ng ating loob upang ating matanto, matanggap, at mapahalagahan ang grasyang kaloob Niya. Shia LaBeouf came to discover that as he learned to admit the wrongs he committed, he also learned how far-reaching God’s mercy can be. Despite our flaws, God still loves us and continuously invites us to join Him at His table. This should keep us humble and grateful at the same time.
In today’s First Reading from the Book of Sirach, we get more insights on what humility is. Humility has something to do with the realisation that we have been gifted and have been shown favour by God more than we can ever deserve. Humbled by such graciousness, we are invited to show the same graciousness to others. In a sense, gratitude and humility are co-related. The humbler a person is the more likely that person will acknowledge the favour that God has shown him or her, and the more readily that person will also make others experience God’s Kingdom through one’s acts of goodness. Moreover, in criticising the practice of inviting to a banquet only those who are able to reciprocate in kind, Jesus is teaching that one’s generosity must extend beyond one’s immediate circle to include everyone – especially those in need. Pope Francis recently said: “Without humility we cannot encounter God, we cannot experience salvation, and we cannot even encounter our neighbour, the brother and sister living near us.” It is only with a humble heart that we can be disturbed from our comfortable life to recognise those in need and extend a hand to help them.
Jesus says in the gospel passage: “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) Isang paradox o kabalintunaan ang sikreto ng kaharian ng Diyos — na tanging ang mapagkumbaba ang makakahanap ng daan papunta sa langit. We look to Jesus as the perfect model of humility. Although He was God, He became man to save us, for love of us. He accepted death at the hands of those who believed themselves greater than He is in order that God’s mercy and love may triumph. Everything He did was for the glory of His Father. As followers of Christ, we too, must remember giving glory to God in everything we do, even if we achieve greatness by our skill or intelligence. We must not forget that it is by His grace that we live and we thrive and without Him, we are nothing.
Sunday Gospel Reflections 