Gospel: Holding A Banquet

Today is the Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel proclamation will be lifted from the narrative of St Luke (tap here for the complete Mass readings from USCCB).

Meals played an important role in the society in which Jesus lived. More than a time for sharing nourishment, they were a time to share ideas and to model different aspects of social relationships. In St Luke's Gospel, the places that a person ate (at the home of tax collector, 5:29), the person with whom the person ate (sinners, 5:30), whether a person washed before eating 11:38), and, as in the case here, the place that a person sits while eating are all very important. The narrator says Jesus tells a parable, but it is really wise advice to both guests and hosts about finding through happiness at the heavenly banquet.

Jesus warns guests to wait before taking their places at the table lest they be asked to move if someone more important arrives. This is more than just a question about dinner etiquette. It is advice on how to find your true place in the Kingdom of God. Jesus advises hosts not to invite people who would be expected to repay them to dinner but to invite those who could not repay: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This is where real blessings can be found.

In these sayings, St Luke gives us not only advice on how to approach the end of times but also on how to live according to Jesus' vision of a good society. St Luke's Gospel also advises us how the Church must be part of bringing about this social good. It is yet another example in St Luke's Gospel of the reversal the kingdom brings about.

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