Saturday, August 28, 2010
22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C
22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C
SIRACH 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
My child, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be
better loved than a lavish giver. The greater you are, the more humbly
you should behave, and then you will find favour with the Lord; for
great though the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the
humble. For the disease of the proud there is no cure, since an evil
growth has taken root there. The heart of the sensible will reflect on
parables, an attentive ear is the sage's dream.
HEBREWS 12:18-19, 22-24
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing
fire, or gloom or total darkness, or a storm; or trumpet-blast or the
sound of a voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that
no more should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount
Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the
millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole
Church of first-born sons, enrolled as citizens of heaven. You have
come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and to the spirits of the
upright who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator of a
new covenant, and to purifying blood which pleads more insistently
than Abel's.
LUKE 14:1, 7-14
Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in
the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him
closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how
they picked the places of honour. He said this, 'When someone invites
you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour.
A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the
person who invited you both may come and say, "Give up your place to
this man." And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and
take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the
lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say,
"My friend, move up higher." Then, everyone with you at the table will
see you honoured. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.' Then he said to
his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your
friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case
they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be
blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid
when the upright rise again.'
REFLECTION
Humility is the theme of today's gospel reading. Today we hear Jesus
speaking about someone at a wedding feast seating himself in a place
of prominence, only to be asked to move to a lower place when someone
more eminent arrives. True humility is not bothering where we sit; not
insisting on being seen only with the right people; being willing to
be overlooked, to associate with those who can do nothing for us.
Humility is not a pose. It is not phony. Humility does not mean the
beautiful woman pretending that she is ugly, or the clever man
pretending he is stupid. Humility means recognizing talents and even
achievements for what they are, namely things given to us by God out
of sheer goodness; things for which we can take little credit or none
but which impose upon us a responsibility.
Jesus reminded us of that responsibility when he said: "Every one to
whom much is given, much will be required." Humility never means
pretending that we are less than we are. Humility means recognizing
that even our greatest achievements are insignificant and an
inadequate return for all that God has given us.
Come to God in that spirit of humility and we will be overwhelmed and
overjoyed at God's generosity. But if we come to God appealing to what
we deserve because we have earned them, then we will get what we
deserve. God is never unfair. When we discover, however, how little we
deserve, we will be shocked.
Suppose, on the other hand, that we decide simply to forget about what
we deserve. Suppose that the lowest place at a wedding reception is
just as acceptable as the place of honor, suppose that we appeal not
to what we deserve but to God's generosity, then we shall have
achieved something more precious than the things which we are most
proud of. Then we shall have attained humility. Humility is the state
of being empty before God. Only when we are empty before God can God
can fill in us His joy, His love and His peace.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Francisco Sandico
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of Cherie Torres
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Rosario Cadag Malagueno &
Regina Malagueno Lopez. Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual
light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in
peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Criste R. Dadua
- Thanksgiving: Atabug Family
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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