In some of his plays, Shakespeare tells the lives of some English Kings.  One of them was Richard II.  In true life,  he became King when he was very young.  He was powerful and successul; his court was famous for its art and culture,  and people obeyed him.  But one day, everything changed. He lost his throne, he lost his crown,  in his last appearance, he was the humiliated prisioner of the new king. This man who had known so much honour and glory spent his last days in a solitary prison.  We all know of people who at one moment experienced great success be it in politics – Richard Nixon ,  in entertainment – just think of Harvey Weinsten and Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson; in sports – Lance Amstrong in cycling, Tiger Woods in golf who Oscar Pistorius, the notorious blade runner in Sounth Africa. Some time ago the Manager of the Miami Dolphins American Football team, Don Shula was on holidays with his family in Maine. One day as it was raining, he decided to go to a movie with his wife and five children. There was only six other people present when he went into the cinema. When he walked in all six people stood up and applauded him. He waved and smiled and turned to his wife and said: ‘we’re a thousand miles from Miami and they’re giving me a standing ovation. They must see my team on the television here. One of the people came over to shake hands with him. He asked the man; ‘How did you recognise me?’ The man replied: ‘Mister I don’t know who you are. All I know is that just before you and your family walked in, the cinema manger told us that unless four more people showed up, we wouldn’t have a movie today. Maybe this happens to us; we have our moments of glory,  and we have our moments of disappointment.  In this weeks gospel, Jesus gives us some good advice.  He uses the example of guests attending a banquet and their ambition to be in the first places.  Jesus gives us two simple but powerful lessons. He says: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” True greatness in God’s Kingdom is not about honour or recognition, but about humility – knowing that all we have come from God. Second, Jesus calls us to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind – those who cannot repay us. He reminds us that true generosity seeks no reward. God Himself treats us this way, giving us His mercy and salvation as a gift. The banquet that Jesus is talking about is life itself;   and Jesus tells us that the best place is not with the rich and famous, but it is with the people we love and the people who love us.  So today we are invited to walk humbly and to give generously. In doing so, we reflect the love of Christ, and we prepare a place for ourselves at the eternal banquet of God’s Kingdom. The small beatitudes: Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, they will have no end of fun. Blessed are those who can tell a mountain from a molehill, they will be saved a lot of bother. Blessed are those who know how to relax without looking for excuses, they are on their way to becoming wise. Blessed are those who think before they act, and pray before they think, they will avoid many blunders. Blessed are those who recognise the Lord in all whom they meet; the light of truth shines in their lives, for they have found true wisdom.