What is your favorite saying on a t-shirt?

It was a gift from the Kirksville Awakening retreat community for helping out with their retreat. I don't wear the shirt much, because I am not a huge fan of yellow - but the quote is my favorite non-scripture quote of all times. It comes from a speech by Nelson Mandela. (read quote)

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be???

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, permission to do the same we unconsciously give other people. As we are liberated form our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Note where the true sense of worth comes from - not from without, but from a deeper identity, a more profound truth that is uncovered within, not without. And if you want to know the humility that Sirach speaks of in the first reading we proclaimed - perhaps it would be very good to let the words of this quote sink in. "Who are you not to be..."

There are two characters in today's gospel story. Both would fail the Mandela quote. Both seek their esteem from without - the host - for only inviting the beautiful people. And the guests, for scrambling for places of honor. Seems silly, doesn't it. But we see it all the time, don't we? When people are getting a group of friends together - for a party or a run to Taco Bell - don't you see them at times looking at who is in the room before they issue a blanket invitation. Because they want to be with the 'popular people', or the 'in crowd'? It is a way of saying: Notice me! - because I am surrounded by wonderful folks...

Or we jockey for position - a bit more subtly, but it is still there. The 'St. Louis question" (which is: What high school did you attend" or 'what parish do you belong to?") are subtle ways of finding out a person's background. It is one thing to answer: DeSmet or SLU or VIZ and another to answer St. Mary's or St. Elizabeth's. Even the question: "where do you live?" can be a form of vying for attention. I got to answering that by saying: "I'm from LA" which actually stands for lower Affton, as a way to deflect some of that stigma...

Jesus tells the guests at the wedding - beware of that kind of thinking. It will not serve you - or the world - very well. When our identity comes from honors that we try to collect from without - we are on shaky ground.

And yet, these college years are formative of so much of that identity. Is there a wisdom, a path that Jesus holds out for us that will set our self worth on a firm road? Yes! The gospel teaches us that self esteem self worth, true humility is centered in being a son or daughter of God and acting according to that truth. Which is to do the Godlike things of our nature like:

telling the truth, keeping our word, giving to those who cannot repay, letting others have the spotlight. Like not shrinking from the task which is ours to do. I know a man who struggled for years with his vocation to the priesthood - and what it all came down to was the quote of Mr. Mandela - he feared what the priesthood would ask him to be - gifted, talented, using what God gave him in visible public ways. That question: Who are you NOT to be? haunted his frame - because to say yes to that, was to put his feet on a road that was much larger than he wanted to be on. Yet, here I am - because of the grace of God and the love of many people has allowed me to own my own gifts, rather than to shrink from them. And I live, hopefully, the life that I am called to - as a Son of God.

I want to leave you with this quote - and ask that it work it's way into your prayer and reflection this week. Because like's Jesus' response to the one at the banquet - I think you'll hear within it the invitation: Come up higher, my friend..."