Gospel in Art: When you are invited, do not sit in a place of honour

The Magdalen at the House of the Pharisees, by Jean Béraud, 1891 © Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 31 October 2026
Luke 14:1, 7-11

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, 'When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, "Give your place to this person", and then you, with shame, will 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, move up higher." Then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'

Reflection on the painting

Yesterday we reflected on how conversations around a dinner table can become awkward when we are asked about our faith. Today, we remain at a dinner setting, but Jesus turns his attention to something that happens before the conversation even begins: choosing where to sit. He notices guests making their way towards the places of honour. We can understand the attraction. Being seated beside the host, or next to someone we admire, can make us feel delighted and perhaps a little important. A place at the table can seem to say something about our place in other people's estimation.

Even in church, where we sit can matter surprisingly much to us. We are creatures of habit, and there is nothing wrong with having a favourite pew or a quiet corner where we find it easier to pray. But I have known people become quite upset when someone occupies "their" seat. Most of us can probably recognise a little of that possessiveness in ourselves. It is a small thing, yet our reaction can reveal how easily familiarity becomes a sense of entitlement.

Jesus invites us to loosen our grip on the place we think we deserve. His advice to take the lowest seat asks us to let go of the need to establish our importance. Humility gives us the freedom to enjoy another person's company without wondering where we rank beside them. While the guests in today's Gospel are concerned about securing the best seats, the woman in Jean Béraud's La Madeleine chez le Pharisien seems unconcerned with having a chair at all.

The woman in our painting is Mary Magdalene. She has lowered herself to Jesus' feet. Painted in 1891, Béraud makes the extraordinary decision to bring a biblical scene into a fashionable Parisian dining room. Around the white tablecloth sit formally dressed gentlemen, while Jesus, in ancient robes, appears among them. The contrast is striking: the Gospel has entered their familiar world of dinner invitations. It invites us to imagine what might happen if Jesus joined one of our own gatherings.

Béraud made the encounter more pointed by giving the diners recognisable faces. Among them are the writer Alexandre Dumas and the historian Ernest Renan, whose features he used for Simon the Pharisee. These were people his audience might have recognised as figures of considerable standing. They were celebrities of their time. She has taken the lowest place in the room, not even a chair, and Jesus makes clear that her love is worthy of everyone's attention.

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-14-1-7-11-2026/