August 31, 2025; Luke 14:1, 7-14; 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Perhaps Frank Sinatra said it most clearly when he sang: “I did it my way.” This iconic song asserts whatever I did, right or wrong, I did it on my own terms. No apologies. No surrender. Only me and my will. The song celebrates freedom of choice. Freedom to live the kind of life I want to live. So the question is, should we adopt the message of this song as a model for our lives? Should this song be a guide for living?
Our faith says no. And it does not give that response because it rejects freedom of choice. Freedom is an integral part of human dignity, and all of us have a responsibility to freely choose the best way to live. But our faith rejects an exclusive emphasis on my choice because there are other people in the world. If we were the only ones alive, we could do what we want when we want to do it. But we are not. There are other people around us, and we need them. So it becomes crucial to make room for them. This is the image that comes from the parable in today”s gospel. There is a wedding feast and the guests are taking their places at table. One person, without thinking of anyone else, chooses the place he wants. So the host comes over and says to him: My friend, make room for this man. You are not the only one at the table. In fact there are others more important than you.
So we do have the right to choose. We do have the right to seek what we want. But we must make room for others who also have the right to choose. This truth not only flows from the gospel, it is also the only way that life works. What happens to a marriage when both partners insist on doing it my way? The marriage fails. What happens to government when each political party is only concerned about advancing its own agenda. Chaos. What happens in our world when the premier of Russia decides he wants to expand his territory by including Ukraine. War.
So much of the disfunction in our lives and in our world results from an exclusive focus on what I want. But our faith insists that a good life does not ignore the lives of others. We are called to believe that true strength is not bending others to our will but recognizing that they have a place at the table. So there is nothing wrong with doing it my way—as long as we make room for others who also have a life to live.