cogdogblog
Several years ago, I had a client who was getting her business off the ground and asked me to help her build her “brand.” She was in a field that was relatively new to the Midwest at the time and she wanted her promotional materials to tell potential customers why her particular service was an important emerging trend in the overall industry.
In the process of kicking around a few ideas, I suggested that she label herself the “premiere” professional in her field. My client was extremely hesitant. As a humble person, she didn’t want to appear egocentric or as if she thought she was somehow better than the competition. (There wasn’t a lot of competition in this space, mind you, but suffice to say, she was not the kind of person who would “toot her own horn.”)
“I understand what you are saying, but did you know that ‘premiere’ doesn’t only mean ‘best’?” I asked. “According to Webster’s Dictionary, it also means ‘first’ and you were the first person to launch this kind of business in the city, were you not?”
She conceded my point, but remained unconvinced. “But won’t people assume I am referring o the other definition?”
I told her that we could clarify that point in her literature, but I did think it was important to establish her place in the market. As the first such professional, that in and of itself was an accomplishment that should be highlighted.
“You have to trust that by claiming your place, and doing such a good job for your clients, you will quickly earn your reputation as the area’s ‘premiere’ professional, no matter which definition they assign to the word,” I said.
She agreed to give it a try and within a few short years, she really was the “Premiere” person in her field. She was featured in a variety of local publications. She was interviewed in various broadcast outlets. She expanded her services. She gave presentations…and I cheered her on all the way. Throughout her career, she never lost her humility but once she determined her place, she let her customers elevate her business until it grew beyond her wildest dreams.
In today’s gospel, Jesus offers up a similar lesson in humility. While he cautions his followers against assuming an exalted place at the table, he encourages them to claim their place appropriately and go forward from there. If they were invited, then they have something to offer to the assembly and it is important that they allow that “something” to shine. If they do, in time one’s place at the table will rise the way one graduates from the kids’ table at Thanksgiving.
But we all have a place. And it’s important we claim it, define it and distinguish ourselves with humility so that one day, we too will be exalted.
Today’s readings for Mass: PHIL 1:18B-26; PS 42:2,3,5CDEF; LK 14:1, 7-11
