In today’s Gospel Our Lord teaches thus that is we want to achieve great things, from a Christian perspective, we have to “aim low” in order to aim high. Practically everybody wants first class on the plane, but not everybody has the resources or the connections to get it. Why not forget about a seat you probably don’t deserve (or the person who’s sitting in it) and focus on the privilege of having a place on the flight at all? If you’re going on vacation upon arrival you’re going to care less about what seating you had on the plane.
When you realize that everything you have and are is a gift from God you realize that whatever you receive is a motive for gratitude. It won’t matter whether you’re sitting at the main table or on a folding chair by the service door: someone has thought of you and invited you to partake of their joy. Dissatisfaction comes when you think you’re entitled to a place at the main table and everyone knows your place in the banquet is not much beyond a folding chair by the service door.
The only thing worse than putting someone on a pedestal is putting yourself on one: it just makes the fall that much more embarrassing. Ask Our Lord today to help you grow in the humility to “aim low.”
Readings: Romans 11:1–2a, 11–12, 25–29; Psalm 94:12–13a, 14–15, 17–18; Luke 14:1, 7–11.