FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Sirach (Sirach 3:17-20.25-29)
Humble yourself so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord.
My son, perform your tasks in meekness; then you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favour with God. There are many who are noble and renowned, but it is to the humble that he reveals his mysteries. For great is the might of the Lord; he is glorified by the humble. The affliction of the proud has no healing, for a plant of wickedness has taken root in them, though it will not be perceived. The mind of the wise man will ponder the words of the wise, and an attentive ear is the wise man’s desire.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 65:4-5ae.6-7ab.10- 11 (R. 11b)
R/. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the poor.
The just shall rejoice at the presence of God;
they shall exult with glad rejoicing.
O sing to God; make music to his name.
The Lord is his name. R/.
Father of orphans, defender of widows:
such is God in his holy place.
God gives the desolate a home to dwell in;
he leads the prisoners forth into prosperity. R/.
R/. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the poor.
You poured down, O God, a generous rain;
when your people languished,
you restored their inheritance.
It was there that your flock
began to dwell in your goodness,
O God, you provided for the poor. R/.
SECOND READING
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews l2: 18-19.22-24a)
“You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God.”
Brethren: You have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.
The word of the Lord.
ALLELUIA Matthew 11:29ab
Alleluia. Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 14:1, 7-14)
“Every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ”
One Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, “When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
Today’s readings teach us the virtues of simplicity, humility and meekness. In our daily life we see people basking in the limelight of prominence and fame, unmindful of the needs and cries of others. but Jesus teaches in today’s parable a different value system where “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted”, “The first among you must be the servant of all”, “The last will be first and the first will be last”, “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed…”
Jesus’ own life is an eloquent example of meekness, simplicity, humility and humble service. The one who was and is in the form of God, takes the form of a human being becomes the servant of others, and befriends and entertains the poor and lowly of the society. Pope Francis reminds us, “We are called to draw near to the poor, to encounter them, to meet their gaze, to embrace them and to let them feel the warmth of love that breaks through their solitude. Their outstretched hand is also an invitation to step out of our certainties and comforts, and to acknowledge the value of poverty in itself” (Message for the World Day of the Poor, No.3). Let us not forget that humility and meekness are virtues necessary for our entry into eternal life.