Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Sedfrey Nebres SVD – Sacred Heart Parish, Quezon City
Monday 31st Week in Ordinary Time
We Filipinos are fond of inviting visitors, especially visitors who are influential, popular, or renowned in our community or society.
I’ve lost count of the occasions I have been to when everyone had to wait in hunger before taking a bite of the food because a politician or an aristocrat they invited was running late to the reception of a wedding or post-baptismal banquet. We love inviting such people thinking that having them present adds value to the occasion.
In today’s reading, Jesus makes a rather radical statement as regards courtesy to visitors we invite not only to special occasions as such but into our life. He points out that the value of inviting people should not be about our own gains but rather more about what we can give and share to those who cannot return the favor.
This is an important lesson for us who have gotten used to a culture of power and influence. Ultimately, our value as persons will not be weighed by the kind of people we know or to whom we are connected. Rather it is the openness of our hearts to the powerless and needy, and our welcome for the abandoned that will define our value in the eyes of God.
