September 1, 2013: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Look around you at everybody. Who needs what you can give — a smile, help with school, to be included? Ask Jesus what he wants you to grow to be.

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.” (Luke 12:49-53)

All this month the Gospel teaches about growing up, no matter how old you are.
Today Jesus is like a carpenter who went to the bishop’s house. Everybody’s looking at him because he was different.

Jesus gives the guests some practical advice so as not to “get disrespected.” The real point is in the last sentence, ‘invite the poor, the crippled, you’ll be blessed because they can’t repay you.”

When you give something, don’t give to somebody who will just pay you back. Instead, give it those who can’t pay you back.

There’s a workshop circling the globe called, “Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream.” That’s what Jesus did.

Jesus wanted wake us to hope for what’s really important. Jesus wanted everyone to get a fair share. The most important thing is for us to really get that God is God and we are not. Those were the important things about the workshop, which was started by very poor people in the Amazon valley who wanted to give to the rest of the world without being repaid. They are like Jesus. We can’t pay him back for all he’s given us.

Action:

Look around you at everybody. Who needs what you can give–a smile, help with school, to be included?

Ask Jesus what he wants you to grow to be.

Jesus says your worth is not what other people think of you. Wake up. To be humble is to know who you really are and what your gifts are.

Google: “Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream.”