By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v11For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”…..
v13When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; v14and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death.” Luke 14:11, 13-14
Jesus gives two words of advice about hospitality and humility. When attending a wedding banquet, take a place of lesser eminence, he says, rather than a place of honour, for you might have to move down the line rather than forward for a better spot when invited by the host. Jesus secondly advises giving banquets and inviting the poor, the lame, and the blind, rather than your friends, for your friends will then be obliged to invite you to a feast they must give. If you do that, you will not be rewarded in this life but blessed in the life to come. This is the gospel lesson appointed this Sunday in exegesis.
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The first part of the Gospel lesson tells us a very real occurrence in life. It tells us about when Jesus was invited to dine with an important religious leader of his time. As they were seated he observed people choosing the best places. Best places I believe would be near the important host. Why would they do that? Seating with an important person would give the impression that you are also as important. And Jesus took the opportunity to teach humility out from this occasion by telling them a parable.In our Filipino culture wherein community get-togethers are part of our socialization we see the parable story happening. Hence, we can relate with the story and the lesson of humility it tries to convey.
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At this point, let me share some researched thoughts about Humility.
Humility is the mother, root, nurse foundation, and center of all other virtues. (Chrysostom).
Humility is the ability to act ashamed when you tell people how wonderful you are (Lee Liechansky).
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According to one theology professor, Christian hospitality is an essential practice of our faith. I agree with him. Jesus commended hospitality when, in his teaching on the judgment of the nations in Matthew, he used the example of a righteous act: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Isn’t that hospitality? I believe so. Jesus welcomed those that the world despised and taught his followers to do the same. When Christian monastic houses were established in the ancient world, hospitality was often at the heart of their practice, hospitality for pilgrims traveling the weary roads, hospitality for the poor or the pursued, hospitality for anyone in need. Actually, Christian hospitality originated within its continuity with Judaism. Jesus, a rabbi himself knew the customs and laws of his people well. In the earliest patriarchal narratives of Judaism, hospitality was required because visitors might be messengers sent from God, and without hospitality, a divine word of blessing might be missed. In the true Filipino culture such is not needed because innate in our culture is our affinity to every person whoever they may be come knocking in our doors.
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Biblical editors and commentators have said that this pericope is about humility. But I believe there is more than that. The deeper meaning that I see is about hospitality according to Christ Jesus our Lord. When we come to the wedding feast where Jesus is the host, whether it’s the table of the preached word and Holy Communion, we lay aside all our normal, daily-routine-world marks of our differing status levels. At that banquet it does not matter how rich or poor we might be, our sex, our orientation, our intelligence, our accomplishments, our racial or ethnic background – none of that matters. We are all welcome. We are there because the host has invited us, and because we’ve been designated beloved friends of Jesus Christ, and therefore beloved friends of one another. This is Christian hospitality.
Christian hospitality is a virtue which is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors.This is a virtue found in the Old Testament, with, for example, the custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace. It was taught by Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, Jesus said that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him.Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants, based on the bible.
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The Saviour warns that those who exalt themselves in this life will be put to shame in the future Kingdom of Heaven. Much more important than earthly honour is our place of honour before God. Such honour cannot be secured by self-assertiveness, for it comes only through humility and servanthood, and by seeking “the praise that comes from the only God.” (Jn.5.44)
v6When you stand before the king, don’t try to impress him and pretend to be important. v7It is better to be asked to take a higher position than to be told to give your place to someone more important. (Proverbs 25.6-7). Humility. This is one of the virtue Jesus is teaching us this Sunday’s gospel lesson.
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The second section of the gospel lesson this Sunday tells us. “to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” because they cannot repay you. Here the world normal manners is turned upside down. What does it mean? In Jesus standard of hospitality, it is not how many that attends your party or their position in society but rather how they are in life. If Jesus was teaching prudent ethics in the first part of the gospel lesson, in this section there is no prudence at all, except for the eschatological calculation that by inviting the undesirable you will be repaid at the resurrection. In simple terms, we shall reap our reward when He comes again as Judge and King.
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But I believe that even now we can enjoy the rewards of good hospitality and of humility with no condition. The gospel call of all ages is this: to be hospitable first and foremost with those in the direst need. How are we responding to that call as individuals and as a church? Let us revisit hospitality and humility in the way Jesus taught.
Let us pray this simple words from a hymn:
Most Loving God,
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
We watch and pray that we might see.
In Jesus Name we pray. Amen!**
