The story is told of a governor of a state who was at a banquet seated at the head table. The governor was very hungry. When his plate was served, he asked for a second piece of meat. The server said, “I am sorry, I have been given strict orders. You only get one piece of meat!” The governor repeated, “I’m hungry and want another piece of meat.”
Again, she said, “Only one piece per person.”
“Madam, do you know who I am? I am the governor. I am in charge of this state.”
Without missing a beat, she shot right back, “Do you know who I am? I am the server of the meat at this banquet, and you only get one piece.”
Our two parables in the gospel this morning both deal with banquets. In the first parable you are a guest and have been invited to a banquet. In the second you are the host and get to invite whomever you want.
More than likely, we have all been invited to an appreciation dinner, a wedding reception or an awards banquet. There are lots of people at the banquet, so you immediately stake out your place at a table. You drape your coat over the chair or lean the chair against the table, or however you claim your own place of honor.
Jesus is not teaching proper etiquette or protocol or playing Miss Manners, even though his suggestion might well be dictated by etiquette. The first parable is simple enough, as a guest, be humble enough to choose the least significant place when selecting a seat. Jesus tells us this parable to instruct us on the behavior needed to enter the eternal banquet, which as we were reminded in last week’s gospel, is through a narrow gate.
So, according to the first parable, the virtue that is absolutely essential if we are to get into heaven is humility. “Everyone who exalts (promotes or boosts) himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Let us not be an egomaniac bursting with our exaggerated self-worth. As our first reading from Sirach states “… conduct your affairs with humility.”
The second parable is about being a host and whom we should consider inviting to lunch or dinner. Again, the emphasis is on the virtue of humility.
Jesus recommends we humble ourselves by inviting those who are crippled, blind or lame. Invite those who are less fortunate than we are. Jesus suggests we invite those we don’t do so well within our everyday life. It is like “Come on Jesus ... really?” Who wants to invite the neighbor who blocked our view when renovating their home or has that dog who barks all night? It takes a lot of humility to invite a brother or sister who you haven’t spoken to since the last family argument. Or the kid in school that cheats or rats on you. Is Jesus really asking us to be that humble?
In this second parable Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom of God, the eternal banquet of heaven, is open to all people regardless of their status in life. We better be humble because we don’t know who we will be sitting next to! The financier could be next to the panhandler, the employer next to the employee they just mistreated, the doctor next to the patient who sued for malpractice or the warmonger next to the pacifist.
Humility doesn’t get a lot of attention today. There is a tendency to do a lot of boasting and exalting.
For me, the simplest definition of humility is truth. It is to admit that:
Any talent or virtue we have is from God.
Any success we enjoy is from God.
Any good we accomplish is from God.
Humility is recognizing that what we have and who we are is all from God.
To be humble is to walk a tightrope between our blessedness and our brokenness. To be humble is to grasp our humanness; we are flawed and imperfect, yet we are gifted and graced.
Humility comes from the Latin word “humus” which means ground. To have humility is to be grounded in God’s image and likeness. It is true that if we really know who God is, we will be humble. And if we know ourselves, it will keep us humble.
I’m not sure where I read this, but I believe it to be true even if you live in an upscale neighborhood, drive a fancy car, wear designer clothes and golf at private courses, keep in mind these “Five Most Important Short Phrases” when talking with others:
It takes a great deal of humility to ask those questions or make those statements.
True humility is illustrated by Robert Coles, a psychiatrist, author and Harvard professor. He wrote a book about Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement.
When Coles was a medical student at Harvard, he volunteered to work at the Catholic Worker. He went to see Dorothy Day who was engaged in a conversation with a disfigured woman who was poorly dressed and spoke broken English. The woman was gesturing wildly and smelled of alcohol.
However, Dorothy Day was listening to her attentively. Coles was waiting and waiting to interview Dorothy Day. Dorothy Day recognized Coles, excused herself from the ranting woman, and went over to Coles and asked him, “Are you waiting to speak to one of us?”
Coles was shocked and could not get over it. “One of us!” Dorothy Day had no grandeur about her self-importance. Coles says he learned at that moment what it meant to be humble.
To be humble is to have a good self-esteem, knowing our strengths and weakness, admitting that God has created us to be just who we are and that we are created in God’s image.
True humility is not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.
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