Gospel (Lk 14:7-11)

Now Jesus told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ”When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Commentary

Saint Teresa said that humility is walking in the truth. It is the virtue that allows us to accept who we really are with serenity and joy. In the parable found in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how to walk in the truth of ourselves. He helps us see that the most effective way to reach the truth of who we really are is to consider our life from God’s perspective.

In the image of the guests at the banquet who eagerly seek the first places, we can see the attitude of someone seeking a recognition that is premature, a prestigious status without considering whether it really corresponds to the reality of their condition. It is an attitude that, even from a purely human point of view, is not very elegant. Not infrequently, events quickly end up revealing how artificial that position is, placing in crisis the person who had lived outside the reality of their own situation, forcing them “with shame to take the lowest place.”

But with this parable our Lord is not simply warning against vanity. Above all he wants to teach us the way to reach the truth about ourselves. Hence he tells us not to seek eagerly for a place of prominence or to expect to be treated in a certain way. He encourages us to let our Father God be the one to tell us “Friend, go up higher.” That is, to tell us that in his eyes we are always his friends and that the only thing that really matters is being by his side. The reality that we are children of God is the deepest truth about ourselves, in the light of which we can truly value and build up everything else in our lives.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Mary teaches us to walk joyfully along this path that her Son offers us: “for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:48-49).