Luke 14:1, 7-11
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the
leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a
parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the
places of honor at the table. "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, 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. 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. For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
* * *
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you with a faith that
never seeks to test you. I trust in you, hoping to learn to accept and follow
your will, even when it does not make sense to the way that I see things. May
my love for you and those around me be similar to the love you have shown to
me.
Petition: Lord,
please help me to replace my selfishness with love.
1. I Want
to Hear All about Myself: Sooner or later we all experience the
displeasure of having to be around someone who is always promoting himself.
Perhaps we do it ourselves, without realizing how it disgusts the people around
us. I remember working with one such fellow myself. He was the nicest guy in
the world otherwise, but he consistently and continually talked about himself.
He was his own favorite subject. It was his only noticeable flaw, but a fatal
one. I’m sure he didn’t realize it. Probably if you asked him if he talked
about himself more than other people talk about themselves, he would have
answered that he talked about himself about the same amount as others do. He
had plenty of other virtues, and I’m sure if he had rid himself of his major
flaw he would have been one of the most well-liked people where I worked. But
he was always putting himself in first place, and in our hearts we were always
putting him in one of the last places.
2. Number
One in your Heart: On the other hand, you sometimes run into
people who don’t wave their own flag. They seem to exist to support and help
others. Maybe you don’t always notice when they are around, but you notice the
effects. Everyone is happier. There is less stress. People seem less worried.
These people grease the wheels. If you need a hand, they’ll give it to you and
you don’t even need to ask. Their support and friendship are givens. You know
you can count on them. They are assets wherever they work because they know how
to make the people around them more effective. Everybody likes them. They may
not have the greatest personality or a lot of social skills, but nobody cares
because the goodness seems to just ooze out of them. While they seem unassuming
and unimportant, everyone who is around them prizes them highly. Without even
realizing it, they are at the highest places in everyone’s hearts.
3. Will I
Develop my Ambition or my Love? Which kind of person am I? Am I a
shameless self-promoter, always focused on getting as much for Number One as
possible? This strategy might work well in a company where people are faceless
widgets instead of personalities, where the bottom line is the bottom line, but
it is never very successful in real life relationships. Perhaps I do what I can
to help others whenever I can, to make others feel good. That is the way to
real fulfillment. After all, Jesus said that those who wanted to be first must
be the last of all and the servant of all. Have I been foolish enough to think
that Jesus was saying that the way to achieve my ambitions is to serve? No way.
Jesus isn’t concerned with us achieving ambitions, he is telling us how to be
first in hearts. If you want to be first in hearts, be a servant of all. If you
have the humility to serve others, you will attain to a high place in others’
hearts. When you take a low place, they will always raise you higher.
Conversation
with Christ
Dear Jesus, I am always trying to serve myself and my ambitions, and you
want me to be concerned with serving others. Help me to be more focused on what
really matters – loving – than on what the world prizes – empty, self-serving
actions.
Resolution:
Today, I will perform some act of service for
another person, preferably for someone close to me, preferably without their
notice. These are the acts that most deeply express love. Remember, if you
expect something in return, even just thanks, it isn’t love, it’s business.