My Dear People,

Jesus Christ entered the home of a leading Pharisee on a Sabbath after receiving an invitation to dine at his house. He had invited Him because he was seeking an occasion to find reason to accuse Him, since the Sacred text says “they kept their eyes” on Him. 

It would not have been a surprise that at the house of a leading Pharisee, many would have been hostile to the Redeemer.  

Speaking to the scribes present and to the Pharisees, Christ told a parable. 

It is possible that one of them had been asked by the head of the family to yield his place at the table to another guest of more importance; and maybe he had complained because Jesus began addressing everyone there, encouraging them to take the last place, if not because of virtue, at least in order to not lose face in front of the others. 

Certainly, Jesus would have preferred to encourage them to seek the last place because of true and sincere humility, but the guests were not capable of this. So, He was content to convince them at least for human reasons. With this, He wanted, in a way, to promote good manners, which are a sort of preparation and disposition toward true virtue because they always represent a power over one’s weakness and a first attempt at charity toward others. 

It is important, in fact, even for the purpose of seeking virtue, to temper one’s actions through a sound education and proper etiquette. True virtue always results in a graceful and gentle way of doing things, but when virtue is missing or has not yet formed, a graceful and gentle way of acting produces in the soul a natural disposition that may facilitate, later, the action of grace. Jesus Christ, obviously, does not exhort anyone to act for a natural purpose, but rather to understand that a lack of virtue will lead to a lack of external behavioral forms that in turn will awaken the contempt of others. Hence, to the Pharisees who, after all, were only interested in being honored in front of everyone, it was enough reason to encourage them to stop being so proud and arrogant—attitudes that were so harmful to their souls. 

Perhaps if souls who are beginners in virtue were taught proper etiquette and civil behavior, they would gain virtue itself. Etiquette is like a fine garment put on a poor commoner; it is a motivation to exchange certain bad habits, maybe acquired since birth, with more decent habits. It is then used by the Lord for elevating the spirit. It is the first refinement of disposition that gives itself to God, a stroke of nobility taught to those who are not habitually genteel. 

In teaching them to choose the last places at the table, Jesus noticed that at the table of the Pharisee, all the guests were distinguished, and therefore there was a race to take the top place. 

It was a vain, ostentatious display of their importance—lavish ceremonies done for self-serving purposes. Jesus, looking into their hearts, saw what went beyond those invitations made for pure opportunism for returning an obligation, or for hindering others; and He felt in that room the chilling absence of any acts of kindness or spiritual motivation. Thus, He turned to the Pharisee, who had invited Him and asked him, next time give dinner, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, and in so doing receive merits before God for his eternal life. 

Exhorting him in this way, Jesus gave him a spiritual benefit directing him to the path of true good and so giving him a precious return for the invitation He had received on that day. 

The exhortation of Jesus to the Pharisee is very precious to us and is a guide for a very common habit among all peoples, The giving of a banquet, which is usually done to increase the joy of a celebration, should inspire us not to make it a poor reflection of pride or personal interest. Jesus wants the poor and the unfortunate to also participate in our celebrations, not necessarily literally inviting them to the dinner—which would be commendable—but always  including them in our joy. 

A meal cannot be reduced to gorging. That, of course, would be a shameful thing to do! Rather, it is a gathering of family members and dear friends in an outpouring of generosity, because joy naturally extends itself to others. 

Now, as we are all children of the celestial Father, it is right that we share and are generous with those less fortunate. If only the value of our charitable alms could be understood, and we could see the many blessings the poor bring to our celebrations, we would never omit them from our almsgiving and charity. In this way, our banquets will not be reduced to essentially a disguised Epicureanism; and, our simple joy on earth will be changed into the joy of Heaven. 

[Taken from Reflection on the Gospel of Luke by Don Dolindo Ruotolo]

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente