Sunday Reflection
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus seems to be giving two pieces of advice to the Pharisees at the table with him. First of all, he tells them that when you are invited to a dinner, if you don’t want to be embarrassed, don’t presume that you are the most important person invited and therefore claim the place of honour at the table. After all, some other person more important than you might have been invited and then the host will have to ask you to take a “lower” place, leaving you embarrassed and maybe even angry. Secondly, he says that if you want to practice true hospitality, don’t just invite people to your dinner who will then later invite you to theirs. Invite those who are in need of your company and support, even if they will not be able to return the favour. Trust that God will repay you for your hospitality.
I don’t think the first piece of advice is given just to help the Pharisees avoid being shamed in public, even though the advice is very practical. Rather, I think that Jesus is saying to them –- and to us – be careful how you see your self-importance. It is easy for us to take offense if we think others are not treating us “properly” or “with respect”. I have heard people say: when you think of all that I have done for this parish I would have expected that the parish priest would at least have acknowledged it in some way. Or: I have done so much for this community, the mayor should have invited me to that special dinner. Or: I have given so much to that particular charity, the ones responsible for it should at least know my name. They are more concerned about themselves, important as they see themselves being, than about what they have done for others.
On the other had I have known many people who have been very generous to their parish, very active in their community, or have been extremely generous in giving to certain charities, but who do not stand out, or are honoured, or sometimes even noticed. And it doesn’t bother them. In fact they prefer it that way. I think that Jesus is warning us against developing a sense of great self-importance. He does not want his followers to be taken with themselves.
One man who taught me that you can be great but not concerned about your own self-importance was Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago. I remember when he first arrived in Chicago. The priests asked him what he wanted to be called. He said my name is Joe. Every one smiled thinking that he can’t be serious. But one time he was visiting our theological school in Chicago, and we were having a reception for him. I had to get by him, and I said “Pardon me, your Eminence”. He turned and said: “Larry, (I was surprised he knew my name because we had met only a couple of times before) the name is Joe.” I think Jesus would have smiled.
The second piece of advice is that if you want to practice hospitality don’t do it in such a way that the others have to reciprocate. Practice hospitality for the sake of giving to others with no expectation of getting something in return. Jesus says we should invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” to our parties, knowing that they cannot reciprocate but that God will. When I first arrived in Melbourne, a friend took me to Sacred Heart Mission in St. Kilda. She showed me the hall where they serve 400 sit-down dinners to the “street people” every day. The food is donated and the servers are volunteers. I thought: this is the kind of parties that Jesus wants us to have. Over the years I have been impressed with the number of my friends who make a point of helping out in a soup kitchen on a regular basis or who will help in a St. Vincent de Paul Night van to offer coffee and some snacks to the “street people”. Jesus says that their hospitality will be reciprocated by God.
These are two pieces of advice given to the Pharisees by Jesus – but it is advice that we too can take.
Larry Nemer, SVD