Scripture
1st Reading: Sarach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
2nd Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Gospel: Luke 14: 1, 7-14
Two guys are talking about fishing. One says to the other, “I am NEVER going to take my kids fishing with me, ever again!
“That bad, huh?”
“They did everything wrong! EVERYTHING! They talked too much, they made the boat rock constantly, they tried to stand up in the boat, they baited the hook wrong, used the wrong lures, and worst of all, they caught more fish than me!!!!!!!!
The theme that runs through our readings this weekend is “Humility”. Have you ever heard anyone say to you, “I want to be more humble?”
There is just something about humility that we have a hard time wrapping our heads, our hearts around. You could say this about the father who was talking about taking his kids fishing.
What would happen if this man said something like “Boy, you kids did great today in catching all those fish. Maybe I should take you with me all the time!” How do you feel the kids would have felt if their father had said that to them? He would have swallowed his own pride and would have shown humility in its simplest but most powerful form.
So, what is humility: The New Webster’s Dictionary says; “ Humility is the act of being humble. Humble is being modest, low in rank or position.” This definition does not say better than the next. Jesus is saying in today’s scripture that we are all just an important as the other.
There is no part of our lives where true humility is not important. If we were more humble, we would love others better. We would be less angry and more forgiving. We would be kinder, more generous, less judgmental. We would be better people.
As Christians we have had humility shown to us through the life, passion, death of Jesus Christ. What is more humble than hanging on a cross, giving your life for those whom you love!!!! The truly humble person has a profound belief that God loves them. And this core belief leads them in two opposite directions at the same time.
First, that God is limitlessly awesome, and that as a mere creature we are so far beneath Him that words cannot describe it. At the same time, the fact that this awesome Creator could care so much for us means that we must have unimaginable value, which no one can take away, whether we are the head of a corporation or on the streets looking for shelter.
How does this affect the way we act? It makes us gentle with everyone we meet. It makes us unshakably confident about who we are, that we are able to see the best in others, no matter how those other people act. Its more than just being positive, it is the way we actually see ourselves and the world around us.
Humility is not so much a skill to be developed, as it is a way of being. So, the question is, how do we look when we are being humble? Its not like humble people never get angry, but it certainly doesn’t happen often, and it very seldom is something that is about them personally.
Look at Christ as an example of humility. Think of all the times he met with people who were sinners-how did He treat them? Now think of all the times He met with people who wanted to trap Him or make Him look bad- how did He treat them? Now think-throughout all the gospels, how many times did Jesus get really upset? Just once that I can remember, and that was in defense of His Fathers House.
Our readings focused on humility. The first reading from Sirach stated “the greater you are, the more humble you must be.” And Jesus gave an example of the practical, everyday side of humility. The truth is that humility opens us up to the presence of God in our lives, everywhere we go.
It is only through humility that we can see God in every person that crosses our path. It is only through humility that we can see the will of God for us. It is only through humility that our love- for God, for our family, for our friends and neighbors, for ourselves can grow.
This is the way that we serve the least among us. Being of humble spirit gives us the strength to be able to sit with those who are destitute, those who do not look like us who are deformed or disabled and we gain the strength to be with those who are in pain, sorrow, joining them in their brokenness, helplessness, and neediness. Being in humble heart allows us to go to them to meet God.
We are humble when we realize that all we have-our families, friends, our talents, our dreams, and even our next breath are wonderful gifts from God. Being humbled means that we realize that we and those at the table with us are loved equally by God and precious in his sight. In God’s eyes we are all at the head of the table.
Jesus did not place himself at the head of the table. He did not come in power and might but rather chose to be born at the very end of the table in the tiny little backwater town of Bethlehem where there was no room in the inn.
If God placed himself at the head of the table of creation he never would have forgiven us or paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. Yes, indeed, our families, our neighborhoods, our parish, our towns, our cities and our countries , even our world would be such better places if we remembered the important lesson of today’s readings and lived humble lives.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
I mentioned earlier about love for God, our families, friends. Arrogance and pride do not demonstrate self-love, it demonstrates a profound sense of weakness that we hope to hide from others through our actions. Humble people are personally secure because they don’t need the validation of others, they have nothing to prove. They know that God, the great Creator, already loves them. How can we add anything to that?
We cannot fully participate at Mass without humility. If we come into the Church without reverence, e have already missed the point of being here.
Without humility, we cannot clearly hear the word of God pouring out through the scriptures. Without humility, you and I cannot see the Creator who humbles himself to come to us in the form of basic food and drink.
This is the message of today’s readings. Humility is central to the way we live every aspect of our lives. We are more fully human, and personally powerful, and happy, the more we become humble.
The greatest symbol of humility we have is the crucifix. As human beings our greatest fear is that if we are humble, we will not get off that cross. In truth, the genuinely humble person knows that cross is real and unavoidable, but it is not the end. And that is the secret to humility.
The humble are not afraid to become small.
Humility says “I know who I am in God’s eyes-And that’s enough.
Humility is listening to God tell us who we really are.