Readings: Eccles. 3:19-21,30-31, Ps. 684-7,10-11, Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24, Luke 14:1,7-14
“The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so, you will find favour in the sight of the Lord… The affliction of the proud has no healing, for a plant of wickedness has taken root in him.” (Sirach 3:18 & 28)
Last Sunday, Jesus taught us to strive to enter heaven through the Narrow Door. Today, Jesus was invited to dine in the house of a Pharisee (the same people that Jesus heavily criticised for their hypocrisy). As always, Jesus took advantage of the occasion to teach two powerful lessons: humility and feeding the poor.
Just as one will be required to bend and squeeze to fit through the narrow door, Jesus’ call for humility requires that we purge every atom of pride to be small enough for the narrow door. So, the real question before us today is: “What exactly does it mean to be humble?” or “How do I know if I am proud or if it is just self-esteem?”
Lesson One: What Exactly is Humility?
Humility cannot be faked; it is not something we do, but rather who we are. Humility extends beyond taking a back seat on various occasions; it is knowing our true worth yet giving God and others their due. There are two dimensions of humility: God-centred humility and People-centred humility.
A. God-Centred Humility.
Our first reading today says: “For great is the might of the Lord; he is glorified by the humble.” (Sirach 3:20). In our opening prayer at this mass, we prayed: “God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good…”
Humility is giving God reverence; it is coming to terms with our nothingness before God, our creator. Humility is channelling the praises we often receive from others to God as the source of our talents, our riches, and, in fact, everything good in our lives. It is ensuring that we do not take the glory that rightfully belongs to God.
Humility is being able to give God thanks from the very depths of our hearts, not grudgingly, as though we are being forced. In truth, proud people cannot give thanks. Even when you help them, they will never thank you because they feel they deserve it or that you have done your duty, and this is the same attitude they show to God.
Humility, as our second reading today points out, is respect for God; it is recognising that “You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” This is the house of God; it is not a place to steal, gossip, play with our phones (even during Mass), walk about like someone on a fashion runway, litter things around, and so on.
B. People-Centred Humility.
This refers to how we treat those we perceive as being inferior to us in any way. Once upon a time, a young engineer got a job abroad. He was the only successful candidate out of over ten thousand applicants who had applied for the position in various countries worldwide. He was truly a genius. The company sent him his flight ticket, visa, and all the necessary documents he had requested to resume his job.
Upon his arrival at the Airport, he noticed a grey-headed man holding a card with his name and standing with other cab drivers. Without greeting at all, he walked to the man and shouted at him for not picking up his luggage. The grey-headed man profusely apologised and carried the luggage obediently. “He must be one of these young billionaires,” some thought, seeing the type of car that had come to pick him up.
On the way to the hotel, the young man constantly berated his driver with insults of all kinds. He almost gave his driver a slap for booking an executive room instead of a whole suite. The next day, upon arriving at the office, this young man received the shock of his life. The grey-headed “driver” was the owner of the company that had employed him.
In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul warns, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but IN HUMILITY REGARD OTHERS AS BETTER THAN YOURSELVES. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:3-8).
Lesson Two: How do I know if I am proud?
In his book “The Way”, St. Josemaria Escriva beautifully answers this question when he wrote: “You are humble not when you humble yourself, but when others humble you and you bear it for Christ.” (The Way 594). The litmus test for humility is how you react when you are disgraced, falsely accused, insulted or humiliated in public.
The very fact that you are angry when people say things that are not true about you or expose your dirty secrets should tell you who you are. Very often, we have an image of ourselves that we project to the world. We lie to ourselves, and we want others to believe this lie by all means. Like the Scribes and Pharisees, we care more about what people think of us than what God thinks about us.
According to St. Josemaria, “If you knew yourself, you would find joy in being despised and your heart would weep before honours and praise… Don’t forget that you are a dustbin. That’s why if by any chance the divine Gardener lays his hands on you, scrubs and cleans you, and fills you with magnificent flowers, neither the scent nor the colour that embellishes your ugliness should make you proud. Humble yourself. Don’t you know that you are the rubbish bin?” (The Way 595 & 592).
If you ever catch yourself saying to someone in annoyance, “Do you know who I am?” bear in mind that the only correct answer to that question is: “dust.” Think for a moment what would happen to you after your death, how strangers will bathe your body or how your friends will laugh and drink to a stupor during your burial. Think of how quickly you will be forgotten. Self-esteem is coming to terms with this truth. It is the maturity we gain when we decide to love rather than lord over others.
Lesson Three: Invite the Poor And Those Who Can Never Repay You.
The third point we must take home today reminds us of the parable of the Rich Fool that Jesus gave a few Sundays ago. “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21). Recall that St. Ambrose teaches us that if we need new barns to store our goods, we should make use of the bellies of the poor, the widows, the orphans and so on.
Today, Jesus is saying, when you give a banquet, do not invite your friends, your neighbours, your family members, not even your rich neighbours. Why? “So that they too would not invite you in return and you be repaid.” Jesus is very particular about this repayment because He wants us to use our wealth to store riches for ourselves in heaven, where thieves cannot break in and steal, where moth and rust cannot destroy.
In our country, there is almost no weekend we are not invited to a party, yet many go to bed hungry, patients die in hospitals due to lack of funds, children cannot go to school, communities lack clean drinking water, etc. Avoid extravagance. When you host a party, remember to feed the hungry, visit the orphans, the prisoners and the sick. Give joy to those who are suffering.
Lesson Four: Pride Comes with Endless Afflictions. The common denominator of proud people is that their actions are always motivated by a powerful desire to “show them”, to make a statement, to prove something. One who is proud lives their entire life like a race competition; they only want to outshine others. Whatever progress anyone makes becomes a problem for the proud because, as soon as they become aware of it, they refuse to rest until they achieve something greater.
When we are proud, nothing frightens us more than the laughter of others, so we live basically to please people, and as a result, despite all that we show to the world, we remain empty within us. The only cure for this affliction is to kill your pride. If you are not happy and feel constantly restless and stressed, pray for greater humility.
Pride (refusing to give God His due or looking down on others) is an affliction which has no cure. You cannot be afflicted and be happy. It is either you drop the affliction (embrace humility) or remain in misery. The word humility comes from a Greek word that means soil (or earth, sand, dust). When you are humble, God will elevate you.
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like yours. Teach us to sing with Mary, your mother, “My soul magnifies the Lord for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.” (Luke 1:46-53). We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Liturgical Colour: Green. Bible Study: Eccles. 3:19-21,30-31, Ps. 684-7,10-11, Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24, Luke 14:1,7-14)
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu