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Saturday – Thirtieth Week – OT2
Readings: Phil 1:18-26; Lk 14:7-11.
1/ First Reading: NAB Philippians 1:18 What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I rejoice. Indeed, I shall continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. 22 If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. 23 I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, (for) that is far better. 24 Yet that I remain (in) the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. 25 And this I know with confidence, that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.
2/ Gospel: NAB Luke 14:7 He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. 8 “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, 9 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. 10 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. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I. THEME: The two ways of life: to follow Christ or the world
Living in the world, a Christian is always being divided between the two ways of life: the way of Christ and the worldly way. The Christ’s way demands us humility, charity and sacrifice for others; while the worldly way pays attention only to honor, power and protection individual profits.
In the first reading, the author of the Letter to the Philippians highlights the way of Christ’s disciple by letting Christ to be the centerpiece for his all activities. In the Gospel, Christ countered with the worldly way when he praised the virtue of humility and warned all the damages caused by human pride.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: Let Christ to be the center for all human activities.
1.1/ Christ must be the cause and the ultimate end for all human activities: St. Paul “put on” and permeated Christ to the point that he could utter these words during his prison in Rome: “My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”
The cause of his life is Christ, and the ultimate end of his life is also Christ. In his Letter to the Romans, he ascertains: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom 14:8). This idea is also similar with what he mentioned today: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.”
1.2/ Because of Christ, we preach the Gospel for people:
– Many people use the preaching of the Gospel for other purposes, such as: fame, power, and material gains. But to St. Paul, Christ’s true disciple is the one who preaches the Gospel not for any other purpose, but only for Christ.
– There were many people who felt happy when Christ was in prison so that they can freely control the community; but St. Paul still positively recognized the benefits from their works. He said: “What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I rejoice. Indeed, I shall continue to rejoice, for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
1.3/ The joy achieved when people know Christ: The love of Christ can’t be separated from the love for people; moreover, the love for people is the measure stick for the love of Christ. The joy one has when he sees other to know Christ should be the premium prize for those who preach the Gospel. The love for others caused St. Paul to be divided between the two choices: either desires to die to be with Christ forever because this is the best part, or to remain in this world because this will be benefited for others. At last, Paul chose to remain for others’ benefits. He said: “And this I know with confidence, that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.”
2/ Gospel: “Who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
2.1/ Men love vainglory and high places: Jesus gave a popular example to teach people to be humble is to occupy a higher place in a wedding. Jewish ancient custom is different with our today society in which the host arranged the guests’ seats and had people to lead guests to their seats. At Jesus’ time, guests chose their own seats depending on their judging.
The only one who knows the arrangement of seats is the host, guests don’t know who were invited and their relationships with the host. This is why Jesus advised his disciples: “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, `Give place to this man,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.”
2.2/ God loves the lowly: As the verse of the Magnificat states: “God has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree” (Lk 1:52); Jesus also declared many times in the Gospel: “Who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” How could people learn the lesson of humility? The most efficient way is to learn the truth about God, others, and oneself.
(1) To know God: All things we are possessing belong to God; nothing belongs to us. If all things are of God, why could we be proud of ourselves? Our life is also belonged to Him; when it is time to die, we cannot say “no” to Him.
(2) To know oneself: Our knowledge is so limited comparing to vast knowledge of humankind, and whatever we accomplished is so small comparing to so many important works of others.
(3) To know others: Many of great men and women lived a humble life. The Blessed Mary even is the Mother of God, acknowledged that she was only God’s maidservant; she was praised by generation after generation as the most Blessed One, was only because of God’s grace. St. Thomas Aquinas, the author of the great work, Summa Theologiae, denied continuing to write. The reason, as he confessed, is that whatever he has written about, are straws comparing to God’s truth. If these great people are such humble, what do we have to be bragged about?
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We can’t learn to know about Christ; but like St. Paul, we must put on Christ and let him to be the center for all our activities in our life.
– The best and wise way is always humbly choosing the lowest place when we attend public events. Once we choose such place, we shall no longer fear be losing face or competition of others; we shall have the true peace in our soul.
– To learn the true humility, we need to learn truths about God, ourselves and others. Once we already know about these truths, we shall know our place in relation to God and others.