Jesus was invited to the house of a leading Pharisee for a meal. When he arrived, he felt that he was being spied upon by the Pharisees. The sight that met his eyes was not an edifying one. The Pharisees were very religious people, and set themselves up as models. Yet here they were scrambling for the places of honor, showing just how proud, vain and selfish they really were. They were there not to honor their host, but to honor themselves. There can be no true spirituality without humility. Jesus says, “Those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
When we humble ourselves, and let go of those things that give us a false sense of importance and superiority, and which separate us from others, we find that we are exalted. We begin to realize our true greatness, which lies, not in ourselves, but in the fact that we are children of God.
Each Sunday we are invited to a banquet – the banquet of the Eucharist. Here Jesus is the host, and we are his guests. Here there are no special places – you can sit where you wish. Here privilege, status, rank have no meaning. Differences don’t count. This is because before God all of us are equal.
It’s not that we are reduced to the same common denominator. Rather, it is that all of us are raised up. We are like people on a mountain top. On a mountain top, to speak of first and last places, or higher and lower places, would be silly. The same applies to the house of God. Here every place is a place of honor. Entering here makes everyone equal. When we cross this threshold, privilege blows away like smoke, and we are all humbled, yet elevated too. We have first of all to be humbled in order to be elevated. We should carry this spirit out into life with us afterwards.
Once the mayor of a town invited all the people of the town to a banquet. Among those who showed up was a man of great distinction by the name of Daniel. Daniel was a great scholar and a wise man. Yet he was very humble and didn’t like being honored. When he arrived the mayor naturally invited him to sit at the top table. Daniel thanked him but said he would prefer to sit among the poor at the table nearest the door. And that he did.
When other distinguished guests arrived, the mayor invited them to sit wherever they liked. Naturally they chose to sit at the top table. The banquet hall filled up, and eventually the only place left was one at the bottom table. Then at the last minute this distinguished man arrived. The mayor had no option but to take him to the vacant seat.
“But
this is the bottom table,” the man protested.
“No, this is the top table,” the mayor replied.
“I don’t understand,” the man said.
“Wherever Daniel sits is the top table,” the mayor answered.
The moral of the story: it’s not the place that honors the guest, but the guest that honors the place. We don’t know in what place Jesus sat during that meal, but wherever it was, that was the place of honor.
The banquet is a symbol of the Kingdom. We shouldn’t be concerned about seeking a place of honor in the Kingdom. We should regard it is a privilege to be invited at all. In any case, in the Kingdom every place is a place of honor.