22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
In today's Gospel reading, the guests at the dinner are jostling each other to get a good seat. Who are they most concerned about? Themselves, I guess.
Isn't that a little rude?
Jesus must have thought something was wrong with this, too, because he told a parable about guests at a wedding feast doing the same thing. They've been invited to a wedding feast and they're thinking only about themselves?? Who should they be thinking about?
We all want the attention of the people getting married because we are excited for them, because we love them. Jesus tells us how to get that attention:
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.”
I think this could be the start of a funny situation. What if I'm trying to take the lowest seat and you are trying to get the lowest seat? Now we're fighting again -- to see who can be the least! Obviously, this is not what Jesus means for us to do.
If we're worrying about where we're sitting, we're not focusing on the most important thing.
We don't have to pretend that we're worthless! But when we consider who the host is, do we need to worry about where we sit? We have to remember whose table this is. Of course, it is the table of the Lord. If we're worrying about where we're sitting, we're not focusing on the most important thing. We have been invited! This is something to celebrate! We've been given the call to build the Kingdom of God.
Just us?
Jesus tells us, though, that there are people who still need to be invited -- invited to join in the community of us who are building the Kingdom.
"invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind"
What can we say about these people? Each one needs help in some way. These are people who might feel left out. We are given something to do.
School is starting in a few days. Maybe this week you can take a look around. Who has a need? It may not be obvious like someone blind or someone who cannot walk. What about someone lonely or left out? Who does God want you to invite to the table?