＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

Sir 3: 17-18, 20, 28-29

 My son, conduct your affairs with discretion and you will be loved by those who are acceptable to God.

 The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself and thus you will find favor with God. For great is the power of the Lord and it is the humble who give him glory.

 For the sufferings of the proud man there is no remedy, the roots of evil are implanted in him.  The wise man reflects on proverbs. What the wise man desires is an attentive ear.

 

＊＊＊2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24a

 What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms,  blasts of trumpets or such a voice that the people pleaded that no further word be spoken.

 But you came near to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem with its innumerable angels. You have come to the solemn feast,  the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven.

There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright brought to per­fec­tion.  There is Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, with the sprinkled blood that cries out more effectively than Abel’s.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 14: 1, 7-14

 One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.  Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said,  “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat.

It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited,   and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you: ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!

Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you: ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests.  For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

 Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives or your wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid.

 When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.  Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright.”

 

Reflection gospel：

READ: The reading from Sirach admonishes us to be humble so we find favor with God. The Letter to the Hebrew speaks of the heavenly feast in which we come, together with the firstborn of God. in the gospel reading, Jesus speaks of humbling oneself so that later on we will be exalted.

REFLECT: Being humble takes on a special place in the reign of God. the humble person recognizes what his status and who she/he is before God. She/he recognizes God as the source of all and her/his origin.

She/he does not place God aside, but instead acknowledges his power and love. She/he does not usurp that which belongs primarily to God. for instance, the cook/chef who is able to prepare delicious and nice-looking dish acknowledges where the ingredients come from and how they are produced. She/he does not claim sole credit for the dish.

(There are many other examples through which we can detect the presence or absence of humility in a person.) the humble person recognizes  the goodness and giftedness of others. She/he does not look down on other people. She/he sees them also capable of doing something great and worthwhile. She/he is free to associate with the poor and marginalized of the society. It does not bother her/him to be with them.

PRAY: Lord, grant us the grace to free ourselves (with ) of pride and arrogance. And may we learn the humility of Jesus.

ACT: Always be grateful for our giftedness. Develop the habit of seeing the good in others and of learning from them.