{"id":5894,"date":"2025-08-30T17:27:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T16:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=5894"},"modified":"2025-07-15T13:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:35:54","slug":"commentary-on-22nd-sunday-of-the-year-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-22nd-sunday-of-the-year-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on 22nd Sunday of the year C 31.08.2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEXT \u2014 Luke 14: 01, 7\u201314 \u2014\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Jesus\u2019 \u00a0life of compassion and concern\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

Dining with Pharisee<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 One Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Place of honour<\/strong><\/p>\n

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, 8 \u201cWhen you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, \u2018Give place to this man,\u2019 and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Lowest place<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, \u2018Friend, go up higher\u2019; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Who humblest himself<\/strong><\/p>\n

11 For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Invite the poor<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, \u201cWhen you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid.<\/em><\/p>\n

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

EXPLANATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1 One Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOne Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Luke records at least ten meals (Lk. 4: 38\u201339; 5: 29\u201332; 7: 36\u201350; 10: 38\u201342; 11: 37\u201352; 14: 1\u201335; 15: 22\u201332; 19: 1\u201310; 22: 1\u201338; 24: 28\u201330).<\/p>\n

The Pharisee sect did not have rulers over its members so this host may have been the president of a synagogue who was also a Pharisee as was Jairus (Lk. 8: 41) or perhaps a member of the Sanhedrin, the leading council of Judaism (Lk. 23: 13).<\/p>\n

The Pharisees regularly held a special meal on the Sabbath. The food was prepared beforehand to observe the Sabbath rest from work. In this incident Jesus was probably invited at the Synagogue service, as the other guests would have been.<\/p>\n

Jesus was the guest of honour because of his reputation as a worker of miracles or his teaching both of which indicated that he was a prophet (Lk. 7: 16\u201317). There was another reason for the invitation. The Pharisee and his guests wished to learn what he taught that was contrary to what they accepted. Chapter 14, this current chapter, has a meal setting throughout to teach some of the controversial points between the Pharisees and Jesus. There had been previous encounters such as \u201cWhen he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross\u2013examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say<\/em>.\u201d (Lk. 11: 53\u201354; 7: 36\u201350; 11: 37\u201354; 13: 10\u201317).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, 8 \u201cWhen you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, \u2018Give place to this man,\u2019 and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNow he told a parable to those who were invited<\/em>\u201d \u2014 What follows is not a parable but an observation with a deeper meaning than first appears.<\/p>\n

\u201cthose who were invited<\/em>\u201d \u2014 refers to the lawyers and Pharisees (Lk. 14: 2), frequent objectors to what Jesus said and did.<\/p>\n

Luke plays on the meaning of the Greek word for \u201cinvited<\/em>\u201d. Here it is shown that some who received invitations may have taken it for granted that they were chosen because they were worthy of special treatment. That may not have been so, as will be explained now.<\/p>\n

\u201cwhen he marked how they chose the places of honour<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus was at this meal and was being observed by the other people present. He was capable of playing their own game of observing what they were up to!<\/p>\n

\u201csaying to them, \u201cWhen you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, \u2018Give place to this man,\u2019 and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus was not at a \u201cmarriage feast<\/em>\u201d but he told this \u2018parable\u2019 about being invited to a \u201cmarriage feast<\/em>\u201d because he wanted to link his message to the \u201cmarriage feast<\/em>\u201d which in the Bible symbolises the kingdom of heaven. He was not teaching rules of etiquette and good social manners.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, \u2018Friend, go up higher\u2019; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, \u2018Friend, go up higher\u2019; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The Pharisees took it for granted that Jews were the first into the kingdom of heaven and also that they would be the highest honoured with places of prominence. Jesus warns them against their attitude. There are criteria other than what they presumed was their right by race and religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriend<\/em>\u201d implies that the person who is asked to move to a lower place is not as close to the host as the other person who is a \u201cfriend<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

11 For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Self\u2013promotion is not how one attains a prominent position in the kingdom of heaven; it is by God\u2019s selection. Humility is necessary for salvation. Humility means that one does not place oneself first or higher than is the true position. It is not by one\u2019s own presumptions and efforts that one acquires entrance but by God\u2019s help and grace.<\/p>\n

The Greek syntax means that \u201cwill be humbled<\/em>\u201d and \u201cwill be exalted<\/em>\u201d are to be understood as \u201chumbled<\/em>\u201d and \u201cexalted<\/em>\u201d by God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, \u201cWhen you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said also to the man who had invited him, \u201cWhen you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is a second thought that Jesus puts before his host. The first concerned when a person is an invited guest at a meal. This second concerns when one is hosting a meal.<\/p>\n

What are the motives one should have in inviting people to a meal? The first is not to be motivated by self\u2013promotion and self\u2013love, expecting a return invitation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus spent his life working for the benefit of the poor, both physically and spiritually. He teaches that working for the poor, maimed, lame and blind means that they cannot repay and reward materially those who help them. So those who host them cannot expect any present or future return.<\/p>\n

\u201cyou will be blessed<\/em>\u201d \u2014 We are accustomed to eight beatitudes because Matthew gives a list of eight in one place. This present beatitude in Luke is his thirteenth so far. Those who \u201cinvite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind<\/em>\u201d are \u201cblessed<\/em>\u201d because they will be \u201crepaid at the resurrection of the just<\/em>\u201d. The only reward that is forthcoming is from God at the resurrection for those who lived lives of altruistic love. That reward will be fellowship with God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n

The setting for today\u2019s Gospel reading is hostile \u2014 the Pharisees are seeking how they can catch Jesus out in something he says or does. If they can only find something, they will attack and, if possible, even bring about good reasons for his death. That is their aim. The situation is really serious.<\/p>\n

Jesus had been sent into this world from his Father who is \u201cthe God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger and rich in kindness<\/em>\u201d, one of the most common verses in the Bible, occurring almost forty times with slight word changes. This shows how the Father wishes people to see and understand him. As his Father\u2019s visible presence on earth Jesus must mirror that compassion and mercy. The Father\u2019s sole aim in sending his incarnate Son into an antagonistic world that had turned its back on him was to save souls and bring all people to conversion and to heaven. Such was the Father\u2019s intense hunger for the love of his creatures to whom he had given everything.<\/p>\n

St Paul has a superb divinely inspired description of the incarnation and the humility of God \u2014 \u201cIf then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death \u2014 even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father<\/em>\u201d. (Phil. 2: 2\u201311).<\/p>\n

When Jesus appeared on earth he was born in a stable, the son of poor parents. Poor shepherds were his first visitors and witnesses of his birth and of the heavenly joy that accompanied it. Immediately, the world he came to save tried to kill him and was responsible for St. Joseph fleeing to Egypt with mother Mary and child.<\/p>\n

When Jesus undertook his public ministry of manifesting God\u2019s love for humankind, he proclaimed \u201cbe compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate<\/em>\u201d (Lk 6: 36). He invited all people to be reflective of his Father the Compassionate. Jesus gave personal example by a life of compassion and concern for everyone. He made himself the servant and slave of all. All of this he crowned with his humble and agonizing death on the cross for all, between two thieves, showing how the most holy could identify with the representatives of all sinners that brought him to this death.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s reading we see his humble compassion extending to the Pharisees. He does not reprimand them or expose them but shows them practical love by pointing out to them how they must live and love God. He speaks of the marriage feast, a reference to their invited life to come in heaven. He points out to them how they can be sure of this wedding invitation. On their part it requires humility, that is, abasing oneself before others and their needs, not seeking and taking delight in the externals of religion but in love which puts God and neighbour above all else, including self. If only all could be like Jesus, \u201cmeek and humble\u201d, how the world would be changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2014 Luke 14: 01, 7\u201314 \u2014\u00a0Jesus\u2019 \u00a0life of compassion and concern\u00a0 Dining with Pharisee 1 One Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. Place of honour 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8408,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5894\/revisions\/8408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}