The Parable of the Invited Guests
In the Gospel of Luke, one of the leading Pharisees invited Jesus to dine in his home. The people there were observing Jesus carefully, but Jesus was observing them too! After Jesus saw how the guests were choosing places of honor at the banquet table, He said: “Do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you, he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.” (Lk14:8-10)
If you are invited over for dinner, you should never seat yourself at the head table. This is practical wisdom, because chances are that someone will come by and tell you to give up your seat for someone else. How embarrassing that will be! A better strategy would be to look for a seat at a less prominent table. It would be more respectable if you are asked to move to a seat at a more prominent table. Clever people may use this strategy to gain praise for themselves. Taking a lower place because of humility is one thing; but taking a lower place in order to move up and gain praise is another! Let us be mindful that when we do humble acts, we must do so with a humble heart. Otherwise, the humble act is merely a prideful act in disguise!
At first glance, it seems that Jesus is giving us a very practical teaching which helps us to avoid embarrassment and incur honor. However, the parable of the invited guests also reminds us that the Kingdom of God is for those who are humble of heart; Jesus said: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) Without humility, we will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. That is because we cannot get to heaven through our own merit. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) When we come to Christ our Savior, we come as sinners and we must come in humility. We acknowledge that we come to Him in need of salvation. In His mercy, He gives us the grace of forgiveness, which we receive with humble gratitude and we make a commitment to live our life for Him.
If you have used ink cartridges, don’t throw them away! Please bring them to the church office. Every ink cartridge we recycle gives us $2 off for our next ink purchase. Any size ink cartridge is accepted.
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick will be ministered today by Fr. Bill after the morning Mass. This sacrament is intended for persons whose health is seriously impaired by illness or old age.
Pastoral council meets today at 12:30 pm. Finance council meets today at 1:30 pm.
Monday, September 2, is Labor Day. Mass in Chinese will be offered at 11:00am. There will be no Mass in English at 12:00pm.
Let’s discuss our faith! Today at 12:00 pm in the conference room, Fr. Bill will discuss why everyone needs faith, the human pursuit of fulfillment in life, and how to connect with God. If you interested, come and join us.