Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 4, 2006 - St. Charles Borromeo
[Philippians 1:18B-26 and Luke 14:1, 7-11]When you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My frien d, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
When I entered religious life in August 1964, there was something called "order of religion." It's still in existence but not as strict as it once was. We sat in particular seats at prayer and at table and walked in procession in a certain order! It was all determined by the order in which we received the habit (our Dominican "uniform") at the opening ceremony of the novitiate! It's principal importance nowadays is that if there's a tied election, the "oldest in religion" wins! Does it sound archaic? Well, it's nothing new, that's for sure. Look at the gospel scripture for today. In Jesus' day, where you sat at table was an indicator of your social importance in the eye of the host! Is that any different from our "head table" notions at formal banquets? Apparently there could be some "jockeying" for those positions! Jesus uses the opportunity to make a comment about humility! In a Middle-eastern society, the "honor/shame" factor is considerable. If we seek honor rather than letting honor seek us, we run the risk of being shamed by another more important to the host. We are all important in the eyes of God, but we do have a tendency to assume that our importance is determined by exterior things like places of honor (remember James and John and their request for seats at the right and left hand of Jesus in the 'kingdom?'). "Order of religion" put one in one's place and unless one was elected or appointed to some office that required "higher" seating, one was "stuck" and it might be next to someone who sang "off key" or slurped their soup! (Of course, "one" had no annoying habits of one's own, right?) Social mobility is assumed in our Western individualist society. No one is born to a particular "class." We have a hard time understanding "humility." It sounds like poor self-esteem which appears to have assumed the status of a mortal sin in our society! Jesus takes a different view. Knowing one's "place" may result in moving up! AMEN
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