Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Lk 14:1, 7-14) “Be My Guest”
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Lk 14:1, 7-14) “Be My Guest”
When we meet people for the first time, we probably size them up. We see this happening in the gospel story we read today. The people at the banquet were observing what Jesus did. Jesus, for his part, looks at how they are acting.
An important part of the Gospel Story isn’t included in what we read today. The scene that is omitted happens right before what we read. What happens affects the way we interpret what transpires.
When Jesus arrives at the banquet there is a man present who is has dropsy. Dropsy isn’t a term that we are familiar with today. Dropsy was a swelling of the lower extremities caused by water retention. Now this could be caused for any number of reasons. One possible cause is heart failure. Another cause might be that a person’s electrolytes aren’t balanced. Maybe there was a blood clot. Whatever the reason for the swelling, the man was in a very sick situation. He must have known that Jesus was coming to visit the neighborhood, so he came to the dinner. Banquets were public events held in a courtyard of wealthy people. The gate to the courtyard opened onto the street. People could come and watch civic leaders eat but were expected to stay outside. The man with dropsy wasn’t invited. He breeched protocol because he was desperate.
The banquet was taking place on the Sabbath. Healing wasn’t supposed to take place on a Sabbath day. Any conscientious Jew would know this. Healing was considered work. One didn’t work on a on the Sabbath. The people gathered at the banquet watch to see if Jesus will observe religious precedent or not. Jesus heals the man breaking the religious law. He points out that if a child or an ox fell into a well on the Sabbath they could be extracted. Wasn’t this man just as important as an ox?
Jesus then launches into the parable that we have just read. We could look at this parable as teaching about humility. But it also could be looked upon as a story emphasizing inclusiveness. How do we handle ourselves at communal gatherings? Who do we invite to dinner parties. Usually, we gravitate toward those that we know, those that are like us. Isn’t it fascinating how we split ourselves up at parties. If we went to someone’s home, for example, and when we walked in the door, it was stated, men are assigned to the living room. Women are assigned to the patio many would say, “How sexist.” Yet, what happens when we enter the men usually go to one room, women to another.
When I was in campus ministry, I was always struck by how college students divided up in the cafeteria. If you would have put signs up that said, “White people sit here. Black people sit here. Brown people sit over there. Olive skinned people sit here.” There would have been the cry of racism, but left to their own choice, students sat with those who looked, spoke and thought like them. If someone crossed over the artificial boundaries, most of the time, there was discomfort.
Jesus wasn’t just talking about where people sat at dinner. He was taking issue with whether people are invited in the first place. At the end of his parable he says, “Whenever you give a lunch or dinner don’t invite your friends. No, when you have a reception invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and he blind.”
If we place this in a broader context, we might think of our world today. Resources are growing scarcer. Food in Africa is in very short supply now. Grain from Ukraine is not flowing freely because of the war. Ukraine is the main supplier of wheat in East Africa. We worry about the prices of food. But at least we have something to eat. Will we consume less so that others can just eat? Challenges lie ahead of us as the global climate changes. Will we open the banquet hall doors? Or will we close them so that we will have a surplus that we are comfortable with. Will our world divide up into ethnic groups competing for resources or will we unite to solve common global problems?
Jesus, in his unique way of preaching, circled back to the man with dropsy. He asked, “Why was this man not invited to this party? Why do we only sit down to eat with people who we are comfortable with?” Maybe we can take up the challenge of Jesus to place another seat at the table for a stranger. If we invited someone to our home who looked, spoke and had beliefs different than our own, how might that change our way of looking at the world?
Reflection Questions:
1. Who would I be uncomfortable eating with? What does that say about me?
2. Would I go to a party where I was in the minority? Who is having that experience in our country today?
Dear Parishioners,
Trinity Hospital will resume having Extraordinary Ministers of Communion distribute communion to patients starting in September. Sacred Heart had always helped with this ministry. In the last three years some of our ministers have either died or moved. We need your help. If you are an extraordinary minister or interested in this ministry, please call our office and your name will be referred to our pastoral care ministry. There are certain criteria that must be met and training that will take place.
Visiting the sick is one of the corporal works of mercy. Perhaps you have been in the hospital or a loved one has and you benefitted from the ministry of others. If you would like to give back, this is a great way to do it. We would like to get Wednesdays covered and possibly Sundays.
May Our Lady of Peace pray for our troubled world.
Fr. Mark
P.S. We launched our new WEB Page at the beginning of July. This page is very user friendly. It now pairs well with handheld devices. Thousands of people visit our page per month. We are going to be selling advertising on the WEB page. If you would be interested in buying an add or being a patron, contact Melissa Hoffman at our office and she will help you. The WEB page has ongoing costs associated with it and the add revenue will help offset expenses.
