Lk 14: 1, 7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.
But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Living With a Grateful Spirit
When I taught high school, many students would initial their papers with JMJ (Jesus, Mary, Joseph) asking that God may intercede for higher grades. Later on, I learned of a student who used to initial papers: IJHTBH (I’m just happy to be here). In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is encouraging us to be like the humble guest at the banquet who initials his experience with IJHTBH. It implies enjoying what is being received in the present moment rather than enjoying the pending fulfillment of expectations, to be honored by success of some sort.
Rather than expect certain outcomes from what we do, Jesus is encouraging a grateful spirit that develops spiritual freedom. The freedom from expectations means we can give without counting the cost and give without asking for reward.
Right here and now, I can pause and thank God for every moment of this day and live them for love of him.
—Fr. Juan Ruiz, SJ, was ordained a priest this summer and is currently serving at Gesú Catholic Church in Miami. He is a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve as you deserve,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds
To labor and not to seek to rest,
To give of myself and not ask for a reward,
Except the reward of knowing that I am doing your will.
—St. Ignatius of Loyola