Learning from Life Events

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Saturday of 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, October 30th, 2021
Texts: Romans 11 :1-2a.11-12.25-29; Ps. 94:12-15.17-18; Luke 14:1.7-11
Jesus used every opportunity to pass His message. He used what happened in the occasion He attended to teach people. This shows that Jesus learned from life events; an event did not pass without learning from it. As Christians we have Him as our model and as such His life teaches us lesson: we should always seek to learn from life events. God do speak to us through events that are happening around us. Today Jesus teaches us from life events that we are to humble ourselves for us to be exalted. He makes us to recognise that life event also teaches us to be humble that we might be exalted. He tells us that exalting ourselves gives us up for shame. It is said, "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'." He tells us that humility leads to honour when He says, "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."
The parable also teaches us that we should give up self-importance. The parable reminds us of possibility that there is someone more important than us. St. Paul teaches the same thus: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regards others as better than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3). The attitude of self-importance could lead to oppression and injustice.
The attitude of self-importance was the problem of the religious leaders of Jesus' time. They could not see God in Jesus Christ because of their assumption of self-importance. The attitude of self-importance blindfolded them that they could not see the salvation and redemption that Jesus Christ brought to them. What they could do was to seek His mistakes and downfall.
St. Paul, in today's first reading, reminds us of God's faithfulness; He will not reject His people, He will save them. What St. Paul means by God would save them was that they would come to faithful in Jesus Christ. St. Paul notes that the extension of salvation to the Gentiles is part of God's plan to save the Jews. He says, "But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." He adds that the coming to faith of Jews would be of greater benefit to God's plan of salvation. In his words "Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!" If they turn to Christ, they will be more hands to evangelize the world. The few that had faith in Him were the ones that evangelize the world. Those of us who are lukewarm Christians are responsible for the want of labourers in the Lord's harvest, today. He also suggests that God has certain number of Gentiles to win before the full inclusion of the Jews into the new people of God.
The take of St. Paul, today, seems to undermine God's universal plan of salvation because it shows that the inclusion of the Gentiles was as result of trespasses of the Jews rather than God's lan of salvation. St. Paul is an advocate of God's universal plan of salvation (1Tim. 2:4). Hence, it could be said that he is only talking about the benefit of the inclusion of the Gentiles to the salvation of the Jews. He only expressed his hope when he said God would save them after certain number of Gentiles had been won. Man's actions do not change the plan of God. God includes the Gentiles because it has been part of His plan to save them.
 
Thank You, God, for always speaking to us in our daily experiences, grant us the Spirit of discernment that we may discern the message You have for us in the happenings around us. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke