Meriting Esteem from Our Companions at Table

30th Week of Ordinary time (Saturday 2015)

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ

Reflections on Romans 11:1-2A, 11-12, 25-29 / Psalm 94:12-13A, 14-15, 17-18 /  Luke 14:1, 7-11

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

Firstly, something about St. ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ, SJ: He was a Jesuit brother; married with three children; entered the Society at age 40 yrs;  had academic deficiencies; He stayed in the Jesuit House at Majorca and was porter there for 46 years.  What a saintly life?  

The first reading asks:  Has God rejected His people?  For those of us with issues of rejection and abandonment, the thought can be quite disturbing, right?  Sometimes we say:  I’ve been rejected by many already … wala lang …. for many things … maybe because of the way I eat, for not regularly brushing my teeth, for not cleaning my room, for the way I intrude into conversations, for being too functional, overly work-oriented, having no time for friendships, for the way I demand too much affirmation from others, for my DARK past and history, for being poor or for being rich, for being outspoken, for often been too defensive or overly dramatic, nag-iinarte, etc.   People reject us, right? And the thought of being rejected by God Himself can be, for some, the mother of all rejections?    Saint Paul asks this question:  Has God really really rejected His people?  Saint Paul interjects:  OF COURSE NOT!  (said TWICE in today’s first reading).  We will not be rejected by the Lord.  He will not reject us nor allow us to completely fall … though He may allow us to stumble in life a lot.  

There’s a saying:  Sometimes we have faces only our mothers can love!  We have to acknowledge that not everyone will like us or love us.  But even if our own mothers will reject us,  God will never abandon His own people (and that’s our Psalm for today).  How do we know?  Saint Paul himself experienced it.  This is not a mere spiritual thought.  We will, in prayer need to experience God’s DEEP and ABIDING LOVE and ACCEPTANCE of us, no matter what or how we think of ourselves.    

How therefore do we sometimes think  of ourselves?  Jesus talks about a parable, about party guests who thought of themselves in a somewhat over-inflated way.   They wanted the best seats in the room … the places of honor … only to be EMBARRASSED and publicly at that … and REJECTED … when the host asks one to GIVE WAY to a more distinguished guest.  As the story goes, with embarrassment, this guest seeking the best seat had to move and take the lowest place in the room.  He caused EMBARRASSMENT to himself, right?  What we can learn from the Gospel is this, sometimes WE INDEED EMBARRASS OURSELVES!  Nagmumukhang kawawa tayo dahil rin sa ating mga sarili.  We unknowingly embarrass ourselves.  A reflection we can make about the parable is;  Our Lord will not embarrass us.  Let us not also cause embarrassment for ourselves.   Always, I think the call is to learn from our mistakes. 

I specifically like the line from the Gospel today:  the people there (in the party) were observing Jesus carefully.  They were observing Him for a lot of reasons … ie. to listen to him, to entrap him, etc.  In our case, I think it will serve us well … to truly and most attentively OBSERVE JESUS CAREFULLY … how he moves in our lives, how He speaks, how He calls,  how he acts.  In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the host who RAISES UP THE LOWLY:  ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’  This is MOST IDEAL, isn’t it … rather than causing embarrassment for ourselves.  The humble will always be raised.  We ALLOW JESUS TO RAISE US RATHER THAN WE RAISING OURSELVES.   Then, as the Gospel pictures the scene:  You will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

ENJOYING THE ESTEEM OF COMPANIONS at TABLE … isn’t that what we pick up from the life of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.  He never occupied a place of honor in any Jesuit House.  A mere PORTER, DOOR KEEPER … he who welcomed guests and ministered to their needs.  He must have suffered a lot of rejections in life also (he almost didn’t make it into the Society).  And yet for 46 years, he must have been simply observing Christ carefully … carefully enough to recognize that it will be Jesus who eventually will raise him up to enjoy the esteem of his companions at table.  We pray that we be delivered from our propensities to seek PLACES of HONOR and EMBARRASSING ourselves in the eyes of God.  We allow Jesus to raise us up rather than us raising ourselves.  And much like the example of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, may our good deeds merit for us the esteem of our companions at table.