Many years ago, a little girl named Sarah lived in a
home for unwed mothers. She was not one of the clients; her mother was the cook
there. Sarah had grown up in the home, and was the special pet of all the girls
who came there. One day, a new girl, young and pregnant had come to the home.
As she sat on the bench, waiting for her intake interview with the director,
she wept. Sarah, now about twelve or thirteen years old, had seen many girls
come and go by then, and she knew most all of them had the same look of despair
when they arrived. Sarah took pity on the girl, who was not far from her own
age. She began talking, and as she did, the girl stopped crying. Then Sarah
began to offer some advice on how to answer the standard questions,
particularly the one about the father of the baby, “When she asks you who the
father is, don’t lie, she hates it when you lie, and, whatever you do, don’t
say he’s dead, everyone says he’s dead.” The girl looked at Sarah, and much to
her surprise, asked her, “So what did you say when she asked you?”
Sarah froze; she was horrified that the girl had
mistaken her for one of them. She loved and cared for those girls, but in her
mind there had always been a careful separation between them and her. She could
love and support them, but she could not be one of them. That, I guess is the
difference between God’s hospitality and ours. God chose to be us. “Christ
Jesus, 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.” (Phil. 2:5b-7)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the
practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about
dining etiquette. Jesus went to a banquet given on the Sabbath to the house of
a Pharisee. Jesus was on trial. People were watching him to see what kind of
person he was. The irony is, of course, that he was also watching them. They
were concerned about who occupied the coveted place of honour. Jesus advises
the guests to go to the lowest place instead of seeking places of honor so that
the host may give them the place they deserve. For Jesus, the daily human needs
of the poor are the personal responsibility of every authentic, humble
believer. The first reading, taken from the book of Sirach, reminds
us that if we are humble we will find favor with God, and others will love
us. The second reading, taken from Hebrews, gives another reason for
us to be humble. Jesus was humble, so his followers are expected to be humble,
trying to imitate his humility.
Humility was Jesus’ favorite
theme. "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who
humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11); "Whoever humbles
himself like a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of God"
(Matthew 18:4); “Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart"(Matthew
11:29). Humility is a strange phenomenon. As a rule, when we
discover we have it, we lose it. St. Augustine said: "Humility is so
necessary for Christian perfection that among all the ways to reach perfection,
humility is first, humility is second, and humility is third." He added,
"Humility makes men angels, and pride makes angels devils." Humility
must be expressed in the recognition of one’s lowliness before God and one's
need for salvation.
Here is a portion of one of Mother Teresa’s
exhortations to her novices: (She will be canonized next Sunday)"If I try
to make myself as small as I can, I'll never become humble. It is humility with
a hook. True humility is truth. Humility comes when I stand as tall as I can,
and look at all of my strengths, and the reality about me, but put myself
alongside Jesus Christ. And it's there, when I humble myself before Him, and
realize the truth of who he is, when I accept God's estimate of myself, stop
being fooled about myself and impressed with myself, that I begin to learn
humility. The higher I am in grace, the lower I should be in my own estimation
because I am comparing myself with the Lord God." Thus, humility is an
attempt to see ourselves as God sees us. It is also the acknowledgement that
our talents come from God who has seen it fit to work through us. I must not
use the God-given gifts to elevate myself above others. Hence, humility means
the proper understanding of our own worth. It requires us neither to
overestimate nor to underestimate our worth.
A man had a gold-plated safety pin which he carried
in his pocket. Frequently he would be seen fingering it. Someone asked him one
day what the significance of the pin was. He told, in answer, how he had run
away from a fine home, mixed with the wrong crowd, gone from one trouble to
another, finally ending in poverty and degradation. He had sold his overcoat to
get money for liquor, and on a cold winter night he had his sweater pinned
together with that safety pin. He walked into a mission to keep warm, and there
the Lord Jesus Christ found him. After he came to know the Lord he started a
new life. It brought him many successes and material possessions. He had that
pin gold plated to remind him of what he once had been before he knew the Lord.
The feel of that pin forever robbed him of any thoughts of pride or conceit
over what he had accomplished. His own strength had left him desolate and
dissolute. He knew what the redemptive grace of Jesus had done.
God can work through us only when we offer a chance
by keeping our pride aside. Humility is like a musical instrument. Left to itself,
its worth is not known. But when it is played by the best musician, its worth
is manifested to all. So are we in the hands of God.
Just as Jesus challenges his fellow guests, so he
challenges us today. Am I vying for the first seat to show my importance to
others? Or am I willing to place myself alongside a huge God and looking on my
own littleness? Let’s pray every day: Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my
life like yours.
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