August
28, 2016
22nd
Sunday in OT
Sirach
3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14
I remember this
story about a robber who held a man at gunpoint demanding: “Give me your money
or else you’ll die!” The man with an air of superiority said, “Don’t you know
who I am? I am the honorable Congressman of this place. You should give due
respect and honor to me.” The robber looked at him and said “In that case, since
I am a taxpayer, give me back my money.”
We might find
the same kind of person in today’s gospel as Jesus observed how people in the
banquet were looking for seats of honor. The guests must have thought that of
all the guests here, they are the most important. So they deserve to be in the seats
of honor. The guests were invited to honor someone but here they are honoring themselves.
This is what proud people do. Pride is one of the seven capital sins. It means
that if not addressed, pride can become the root of other vices. Our readings for
today tell us that we can overcome pride with humility. But what is humility?
How can we become humble persons?
Let
us reflect on this in three points:
HUMILITY
IS A CHOICE. It does not come to us by chance. We have to choose it. The virtue of
humility tells us that if we really want to acquire humility, we need to practice
it through repeated actions to the point that it creates a certain disposition in
us to be humble. That is why the first line of the first reading tells us to
choose humility. It says, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility.” If
humility does not come to us by chance, the same is true with its opposite
which is pride. Proud people do not become proud by chance. It can be that they
have repeatedly doing actions that filled their hearts with pride. What can we
do to develop the virtue of humility and conquer pride?
HUMILITY
INVOLVES KNOWING YOUR LIMITS. Pride means making oneself God. Pride
means we want people to worship ourselves. Pride leads us to think that we can
do everything on our own. This is the total opposite of humility. The first reading
tells us that humility involves knowing your limits. Humility came from the word
“humus” which means ground. Humility means being grounded in the reality that we
are not God. Humility means accepting who we really are –our strengths, weaknesses,
success and failures in life. There are things that go beyond our capacities.
This affirms the fact that we are mere finite beings and we are not God. Becoming humble means accepting the reality
that we cannot do everything on our own – we need others and we also need God
in our lives. So what’s the point of aspiring to be humble?
A
HUMBLE PERSON PLEASES GOD. Human experience tells us that we love to be in
the company of friends who are humble. But it is not just human beings who love
to be with the humble. The first reading again tells us, “be humble and you
will find favor with God.” Now we understand why God is pleased with Jesus. It
is not only because He is the Son of God. The second reading tells us that the
humility of Jesus, who did not seek honor for Himself, pleased God. God is
pleased with humble persons. What will
be the response of God to the humble? Jesus in the gospel says, God will exalt
the humble person. So instead of seeking seats of honor for ourselves, we
should seek humility. We should choose humility. Because in the kingdom of
heaven, those who exalt themselves will be humbled while those who humble
themselves will be exalted.
St Augustine
once said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that
makes men (and women) as angels.” In this mass let us beg for the grace to
conquer pride by choosing humility. May we strive to be humble so that we may find
favor with God. Amen.
