Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Dante Barril SVD – Colegio Verbo Divino, Rome
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
We all love gatherings. Tagalogs call it “salu-salo;” Pinoys in Rome use the term “ihaw–ihaw” quite often. Where I grew up, the expression “pakals” is playfully employed. All these signify what the gospel calls a “banquet,” a gathering, a communion where everyone feels at home.
In the Gospel, Jesus identifies what could turn a banquet of communion into a banquet of division and even competition. Pride. Pride drives one to sit at the place of honor at all cost. It is pride that causes the identification and gradation of seats from the most honorable to the least. Pride at times is the motivation behind our invitations. We hunger for an audience, for a round of applause. So, we gather people so that in front of them we can have our fancy exhibitions. But the seed of pride we sow bears fruits of pride so that those we reduced as audience in our exhibitions will in time strike back to do unto us what we have done unto them.
I attended a reunion once. And I remember how it was emphasized that this and that batch was a great pride of the school because it has doctors, another has engineers and politicians, etc. I still recall how my batch walked high and mighty because we have a priest, me! The entire thing felt like a contest. Yet, a “Jesus-style reunion” would be vastly different. The light will shine not on doctors, engineers, and priests but the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. It will not be a pageant but a procession, a show, not of force but of humility.
Our celebration today is called eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving. So, I invite you who is reading this reflection to take a moment to thank God for the people who have taught you humility, like Sirach in the first reading who teaches, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility…”. Remember your life’s “Sirach” and pray for them.
The eucharistia is also missa, hence mission. The second reading, the letter to the Hebrews, reminds us how God is approachable in Jesus. He who is Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Our mission is not to be unreachable stars but salt and light of the world—agents of communion, of a banquet where everyone feels at home.
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