08/31/2025
Luke 14:1, 7-14 On a sabbath
Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people
there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. "When
you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the
place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by
him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your
place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the
lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so
that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher
position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For
every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself
will be exalted." Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you
hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your
relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you
have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to
repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
John Maxwell, the leadership
expert, tells the story of a CEO who arrived late for an important board
meeting. Even though he was the head of the board of directors, he slipped
through the door unannounced, took the first available seat, not wanting to
interrupt the discussion. One of the junior members objected by saying,
“Please, sir, come sit at the head of the table.”
The wise leader smiled and replied,
“Son, wherever I sit is the head of the table.” As Rooster reminded Maverick in
the movie “Top Gun,” “It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.” In other words, true
leadership is not demonstrated by one’s position on the company ladder, or your
place at table, or even the plane you fly, but by the qualities of the heart:
integrity, courage, honesty, cheerfulness, and above all, humility.
In the gospel today, Jesus echoes
the same attitude of the tardy CEO. He tells a parable about places to sit at a
banquet, and he advises: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet
do not recline at table in a place of honor.” Instead, Jesus indicates where we
should sit: “go and take the lowest place.”
And why should Christians play musical
chairs at dinner and grab the cheap seats? Jesus explains: “For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled and everyone who humbles himself will be
exalted.” Like the tardy CEO, Jesus too teaches that it’s not external marks of
distinction that indicate greatness but the internal character of soul,
especially humility.
Martin Luther King Jr. famously
hoped for the same, when he said: “I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.” Or put in movie lingo, “It’s
not the plane (the color of our skin); it’s the pilot (the content of our
character).”
My friends, we all select our seats
with great care, whether we’re picking a plane seat, a movie theater seat, or
even a car seat. But let me suggest three scenarios in which to select your
seat with more humility, that is, choose the lowest place. The first
seat-selection scenario I learned in seminary. Our rector, Msgr. Kenneth Roeltgen,
gave us several classes on etiquette, one of which was about seating when you
eat out at a restaurant. He pointed out that some seats are more desirable than
others.
For example, the seat which gives
you a view of most of the restaurant is better than the seat where you have
your back to the people. Furthermore, you should offer that seat with a view to
the oldest member of your party or to the lady in your group. Can you guess why
to offer the best seat to the lady? Not only because she can see everyone in
the restaurant, but more so that everyone can see her. I learned more profound
theology in that one class than in four years of ethics and dogmatics.
The second seat selection scenario
is in church, especially when you come to Mass. We Catholics are incorrigible
creatures of habit and once we pick a pew to plant ourselves in, we set deeper
roots there than the redwoods do in California. Growing up in Little Rock my
family attended St. Theresa’s Church. I could walk into church blind-folded and
find the pew we sat in every Sunday. So, God help you if you sit in someone’s
pew on Sunday. Get ready for the death stare.
But folks, we should be happy
people are sitting in any pew in church on Sunday even ours. Why? Because at
least they are not sitting on their couch at home. We may never know the
courage it took for someone just to walk through the doors of a Catholic
church. Like Jesus suggested, we should “go and take the lowest place” and
humbly and happily find another pew. “It’s not the plane (or the pew); it’s the
pilot.”
And for the third scenario of
selecting a seat, I want to say a word about the horrific shooting at
Annunciation School in Minneapolis. Our hearts and prayers go out to the
precious children – especially the Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski who died –
to their families and the entire school community. Such a school shooting is
the stuff of a mother and father’s nightmares.
We have taken extra precautions
here at Immaculate Conception School, including having armed officers at our
Thursday school Masses. So, I hope students and families feel an added level of
safety and security in coming to church. But I want to pick-up on Bishop Robert
Barron’s remarks in the wake of the shooting. Among other things, he said the
children who died were clearly martyrs for the faith. They died for Jesus.
Why is that? Well, there can be
little doubt the shooter harbored anti-Catholic biases and motives. That is, he
intended to hurt not only students and staff but also take a shot at the
Catholic Church as an institution. Whether or not Fletcher and Harper were
ready to be martyrs for the faith, they began their academic year by kneeling
in church and asking for the Lord’s blessing on their new year and their life.
And they now will be forever
remembered as children who not only lived for Christ, but also died for our
Lord and Savior, because they picked a pew in church. In the end, the ignorant
shooter did not make a ghastly mockery of the Church, he made two glorious
martyrs of the Church: St. Fletcher and St. Harper. And those two students
stand in heaven today as extraordinary examples of how “everyone who humbles
himself shall be exalted.” Because after all, when you’re flying to heaven,
“it’s not the plane (that matters); it’s the pilot.”
Praised be Jesus Christ!
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