You're Invited to a Party!

The Catholic Liturgy for the 22^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 1, 2019. Gospel of Luke 14:1-14. Theme: Invited to a Party!

What an interesting and revealing opening line we have in today’s gospel! “On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.” Actually, in the original Greek of this gospel, the words “observe carefully” carry the meaning of “to watch closely and not miss a thing” with an eye to catching someone in a violation of Jewish law.

You see, the Pharisees were a branch of Judaism that put great emphasis upon the external rituals and actions of religion. If you did the right thing and obeyed the rules, then you were all good with God. Where your heart was, was of secondary importance to many of them. They were also very politically active social leaders in Israel.  The top guns among them, such as the host of this dinner party, rubbed shoulders with the movers and shakers of the day and were pretty influential themselves.

The Pharisees were hoping that violation of the laws – along with its punishment -could be applied to this wandering preacher and purported miracle-worker, Jesus of Nazareth. They had well heard how he seemed to downplay God’s law by saying that the human person was of more importance than the rules. They saw how he ignored the Jewish rituals of remaining pure by not touching or associating with those regarded as public sinners and disease-ridden outcasts. They were insulted that this he would claim to be sent by God while at the same time exposing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leadership, jeopardizing their social and political status and power. And they were furious that so many of the common people listened to him.

But Jesus, knowing full well their real intentions, accepts their invite. He wants these people to experience a real change of heart, and begin living a new way of life with a new way of thinking.  He wants them to receive the gift of salvation that brings deep inner joy that no one can take from them.  He puts himself at risk of ridicule and prosecution because he is more concerned about them than he is for himself.

And that is something that St. Luke wants us to learn through today’s Gospel story.  Jesus’ parable of the dinner party and about the invitation to the poor and lame to come as guests, is really all about how we must see ourselves and how we must relate to others if we hope to enter God’s kingdom.

In the first part of the parable Jesus deals with how the Pharisees – and by extension us - see themselves.  He warns them and us not to build our lives on seeking honor and prestige because these are fake attitudes that fool us into thinking we are more important that we really are. People with this fake perception of themselves believe that they are totally self-sufficient, not needing anyone’s help to get by in life and to do well, not even God’s. An overblown proud view of oneself does warrant an invitation to the Kingdom of God.

But the humble person, on the other hand, is someone who realizes that he or she is not the indispensable center of the universe. Humility recognizes one’s strengths and abilities but equally and readily acknowledges our sins and weaknesses. Humility is not putting oneself down, but is instead, an honest self-assessment that strives to see oneself with God’s eyes, so to speak.   The humble person easily and often falls on their knees before the Lord, either thanking him for the blessings in their life or repenting of the wrong they have done.

Jesus closes up his teaching – and Luke closes up his story about it – by pointing out that humility also changes our attitude towards others and not about just ourselves. It enables us to stop seeing people in the light of what they can do for us, and start looking for what we can do for them.  Jesus’ host invited the powerful and wealthy to his dinner party, not because he necessarily liked them, but for the sake of climbing the social ladder.

Instead, Jesus calls us to think of others in the light of service and mercy. He lists things that most of us would see as curses: destitute poverty, crippling health conditions, and lack of social influence, and calls these things invitations to sit in the highest seats at a party to be held in the Kingdom of Heaven!  What he wants us to know and take away from this parable is that, through the attitude and lifestyle of humility, we can see ourselves more clearly, follow him more faithfully, and love others more deeply until we reach the ultimate and everlasting dinner party of Heaven.