“The high table” is a common phrase we use here in Sierra Leone. It is a term given to the table which is set for the most important guests. To sit on the high table is to give honor and respect to these guests.

Here in Kabala just after Sunday Mass, a couple of Grandpas (one lame, the other a leper, both abandoned by their wives), a couple of Grannies (both widows), two blind men (one accompanied by an assistant, the other walking by himself), used to come to me, all of them gathered at the entrance of the house. They would call me saying, “Fada, a no get natin”. “Fada a no wel”. I found them very disturbing. Sometimes, I would drive them away.

Reading the Gospel story today, whereby these categories of people – the poor, the lame, the crippled and the blind were invited as guests, I felt even more disturbed. In our present day society we enjoy formality and being shown respect. We value being given places of honor in social events and celebrations. It is not surprising therefore that we find this part of the Gospel story spoken by Jesus to be disconcerting.

We human beings do like places of honor, we like invitations and we like to organize celebrations in an ordered manner. There is nothing wrong with this. It is a way of living. It is part of our attitude. This is how society behaves and reacts. But it is in contrast to what Jesus taught.

 In the Philippines, on some islands, there is a traditional way in which guests respond to an invitation for a meal on feast days. At first, when the host invites his visitor to eat and offers him a plate and spoon, it is expected that the guest will refuse saying, “I am not  hungry. I am still full” or , “I have just eaten” . None of these responses is true. It is only after three such refusals that the visitor will finally accept his plate and spoon and approach the table albeit timidly to collect food and to eat. This is accepted as  the “socially correct” way to behave by many Filipinos in response to an invitation for a meal. The Jewish tradition has also its own way as presented in the gospel. The guests are seated around the table in a planned manner. Jesus reacts to this. What about the poor, the lame, the blind and the crippled ? These are the people who are in most need of food. They are the ones who are in most need of our care and attention. They are the weakest, the most isolated and helpless. They cannot afford to pay back an invitation to eat. The reward for those who accommodate them will be only in heaven.

For me, one point of the gospel is humility. Instead of sitting on the high table, it is better to sit on the chairs with the others. Other points are hospitality and charity. The challenge for us Christians is how we view the categories of the people mentioned in the gospel in our society today. Many of them have been neglected. No one cares for them. Some of their families have turned against them because of the situations in which they find themselves. That is why many of them going around begging.

I conclude this homily by mentioning St. Augustine. Today, August 28 is his Feast Day. This great saint spoke about the restlessness in our hearts – the discomforts and the dis-eases in our hearts.   We commit sin, our bad actions have reaches an extreme and we think only of ourselves. But St. Augustine said “ It is only through God that our souls will find refuge, comfort and satisfaction. We are all wounded people. But only God heals our wounded souls. And we all live in peace with Him.