06 Nov
The Housemaid’s Jewels
There was a house-warming party at the newcomers’ in an elitist and rather snobbish neighbourhood. The ladies had come all decked up in their finery. As would be expected, during the course of the evening, the womenfolk assembled in the drawing-room and the conversation got focused on what each one was wearing – custom-made necklaces, dazzling bracelets, studded rings… and, of course, they began discussing what they considered were their prized possessions.
The house-maid was standing by, clearing the crockery and every now and then eyeing one or other of the ladies as they described their fascinating piece of jewellery. One of the ladies noticed her, and clearing her throat to catch her attention, asked the maid condescendingly, “And you, my dear, do you have any precious possessions of your own?”
“Why, of course, I do, ma’am,” said the matronly woman without the slightest degree of self-consciousness. “In fact, they’re in the kitchen. Would you like to see them?”
“Let’s have a look, then,” said the lady with a slight grimace.
The maid left, then returned immediately, drawing in a little boy and a girl by their hands. They were her own children.
“These,” she told the women, “are my precious possessions.”
- What thoughts, feelings, occurred to you while you went through the story?
- What do you think is the ‘moral’ of the story?
- taken from “Persons Are Gifts”, by Hedwig Lewis, SJ
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Romans 12:5-16
All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ accordingly to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.
Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.
Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor.
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Luke 14:15-24
One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus, “Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come along: everything is ready now.’ But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.’ Yet another said, ‘I have just got married and so am unable to come.’
“The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ said the servant, ‘your orders have been carried out and there is still room.’ Then the master said to his servant, ‘Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.’”
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Today’s gospel reading is a bit strange. Usually we see the master of the house as God, who throws a feast for us all, then some of us, preferring wealth, work, or relationships, choose these over God’s invitation, and then God invites other people to come. But something about this parable doesn’t fit into the image we have of God. Why would God force people to come to his banquet? Today’s reflection explores another meaning of this parable.
The master of the house throws a great banquet, but the people he invites to come don’t want to come. Perhaps this is because they see something ugly in him, and so they make excuses not to come. The master of the house is now left with a great banquet with no one to attend, and if this continues, he will lose face. So he orders his servants to go into town and grab anyone they can find to come for the banquet, just so that he will not lose face. Even this is not enough, so he orders his servants to force people to come and fill the spaces he has in his banquet.
In the light of this interpretation, we see that the villain in the parable is actually the master of the house, while the heroes of the parable are actually the people who make excuses not to go for the banquet. Perhaps this is because they know that the master of the house is not a good person. We see him exploiting people – the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. He uses them to make sure that he does not lose face in having thrown a banquet that no one wants to attend. He uses these people to make himself look popular, because the people he originally invited did not want to attend.
This is in contrast with yesterday’s reading, where Jesus tells a leading Pharisee to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. These people are not invited in today’s reading; rather, they are made to come. This apparent ‘love’ for the disadvantaged that the master of the house is showing is what St. Paul calls a ‘pretence’. It is not real love that the master of the house shows, because he is using them to save face. This would not have happened if the master of the house had genuine love and respect for his fellowmen.
We too at times use our fellowmen, especially those who are weaker and less advantaged than us. We use them in their weaknesses to bolster our own appearance of strength, of wealth, or intellect. One common example is when we make fun of other people at their expense. We use their weaknesses as a way of bolstering ourselves, at making other people think that we are humorous, witty, intelligent… We put other people down so that we will appear to be smarter than others. What we are actually doing is what Pope John Paul II calls “the negation of love” – when we use another person for our own selfish pleasures.
Let us pray, therefore, that the Lord will show to us how we have been selfishly using other people for our own pleasure or benefit, how we have not been thinking of others and their needs, and how we have been sowing the seeds of division. We also pray that the Lord may enlighten us as to how we can engage the heart in a true and harmonious relationship, which expresses a real communion with and tenderness for the other, confirming and helping the other towards fulfilment. Amen.
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Give Thanks to the Lord for: Those who truly love others and work towards confirming and helping others towards fulfilment.
Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 07 Nov – Romans 13:8-10; Luke 14:25-33
Thu, 08 Nov – Romans 14:7-12; Luke 15:1-10
Fri, 09 Nov – Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22; Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Sat, 10 Nov – Romans 16:3-9, 16, 22-27; Luke 16:9-15 or Sirach 39:6-10; Matthew 16:13-19; Memorial for St. Leo the Great, pope, doctor of the Church
Sun, 11 Nov – 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 3:5; Luke 20:27-38; Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer’s own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.
