22nd Week of Ordinary Time
Sirach 3:17–18, 20, 28–29
Psalm 68:4–5, 6–7, 10–11
Hebrews 12:18–19, 22–24a
Luke 14:1, 7–14
A number of years ago, I led a pilgrimage to Italy that included some extra travel with an old soldier who had served in World War II. He had always remembered a winter stay in the Bologna region of Italy where he made the acquaintance of an Italian family. He had jotted down an address but never used it. Decades later, he had a pastor who knew Italian and who could assist him to get in touch with the family.
We happened to arrive in Monghidoro on the evening of a big dinner held to thank all who had participated in the local festival. The little boy who had made friends with the American soldiers and who used to ride on the front of their jeeps through town was now known to the locals as Lo sheriffo, that is the sheriff. He had no public office, but it was clear that he was boss of the town.
Lo sheriffo showed us where we were to sit for the dinner. We sat down and watched the crowd gather. Soon, someone came to tell us that this table was reserved for the town dignitaries, the mayor and other local officials. We said lo sheriffo had told us to sit there.
Suddenly, their whole attitude changed. The folks who were ready to put us in our place became our advocates who told everyone that we were guests of lo sheriffo.
Of course, it was a magnificent, multicourse meal. Included in the first course was the tortellini, a specialty of the area. When the meal was over, the ladies of the town asked whether we liked their tortellini. We had been transformed at the word of a dignitary who had no official position to being people sought for our endorsement of the fruit of their labors. No doubt there are restaurants in the area that list on the menu that the tortellini has the approval of an American soldier and his priest companion.
Our experience easily brought to mind the Gospel for this Sunday. Jesus’ advice to take the lowest place and the promise that we will be given honor in the eyes of all shows that He understands human nature. We are destined for greatness, but it is not something that we can attain by our own power. We can cooperate with grace and grow in our capacity to receive what is offered, but only when we set aside our pride. Humility wins the heart of God.
Poverty is a fact of our world. Yet, there are many degrees of poverty. Many parts of the world are materially poor, where people lack basic necessities. This kind of poverty is due to greed, the selfishness of those who have, who do not share what they have with those who have not. No matter how we might try to convince ourselves that we do not bear some responsibility for this situation, it is a cry for justice.
Another kind of poverty possesses the spirit. When we fill our hungers and thirsts with the “stuff” of this world and close our hearts to “the more,” we reveal our narrowness of spirit. Mother Teresa came to America and pointed out that she had never experienced such poverty as ours among the “poorest of the poor” that she served throughout the world.
The call of the Gospel is to see everyone through God’s eyes. We are invited not to seek glory for ourselves but to discover the needs of those who cannot repay. The witness that the world seeks is not a material sharing, though that is a good place to start. Rather, the true longing of the human heart is for the spiritual food that comes from a living relationship with God that moves us out of our narrow vision.
God, in His goodness, has made us to be a home for the poor. We are capable of living the Gospel in a way that draws others into the fold.