Reflection for October 29 Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:1, 7-11

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-11

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.  

He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, 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. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.  

Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

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Reflection:

What can humility do to your life? Among many other things humility can give you peace and contentment. With humility you can also have many friends and you would get their silent admiration.  

Many of us are afraid to imbibe and live humility because we are afraid that we would be dominated. But humility doesn’t work that way, humility is not to be afraid to be dominated. And humility is not to think less of ourselves but to think of ourselves as somebody who is not superior than anyone else no matter how educated and learned we are.  

For example, if the situation calls for us to say yes and follow lawful orders by all means we have to say yes and follow. Thus, we have to do the task that is given to us with utmost competence.  We give it our all until we are able to achieve what is expected of us and then we simply fade away from the limelight.   There is always a reward that accompanies humility and that is honor and exaltation not from our fellow human beings but from God.  

In the gospel Jesus tells us about the parable of the wedding banquet. The Lord tells us that when we get invited we have to seat first at the lowest place no matter who we are and let the host have a free hand to bring us to the place which we deserve.    

Why is the Lord very particular about humility? The reason behind is it’s only through our humility that the Lord could pour out His unfathomable blessings upon us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas