22nd Sunday Year C

Humility

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today’s reading gives us a very difficult theme to reflect upon. I am well aware that I am not the good one to say something on Humility. Humility is modesty versus vanity and pride. Recall the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple. Tax collector prays “I am a sinner.” That is humility. Humility recognizes where our dignity comes from: all has been received from God. We may say that we are humble but let me ask you a question do you have anyone whom you hate or dislike or do not want to talk to or see. Then it is sure you and me are proud not humble.
The Law of the kingdom is ironic: If you give to get a reward; no reward will come. If you give with no reward in mind; a reward is certain; a reward on behalf of God.
Humility is truly the foundation of all the virtues, for even the slightest hint of pride taints all our good works. Pride darkens our hearts, obscures the gospel, and prevents us from seeing the truth about ourselves and others. And pride does not need to be absolute; pride can be subtle and very comfortable, encouraging us to believe the lie that we are self-sufficient and worthy of God’s grace.
Saying you’re humble or thinking of yourself as a modest man is actually a perverted form of pride. The key to humility is to get your eyes off yourself and onto the one from whom and for whom and through whom all things are.
Humility requires one not to overestimate his worth; however, it does not presuppose that one needs to underestimate his self worth either; for that would be self-contempt. We simply admit the truth about ourselves: We do not know everything, we do not do everything right, we are all imperfect and sinners. Only the humble can accept that we are not in charge but God is in-Charge.
When it comes to sin and grace we are all on the same playing field, none of us deserves or earns heaven; it is a gift from God to us won by Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.
Each of us, to a greater or lesser degree is called by Jesus in our Gospel to make that journey from pride to humility.
In a few words, Humility is plainly and simply the proper understanding of our own worth. Those who are proud or boastful or snobs do not realize that everything they have has come from God. None of us has anything that was not given to us by God therefore the only thing each of us can boast of is God. Think about it; we do not have anything that was not given to us by God so why be proud. It is all God’s.
So the problem of pride or lack of humility is not really the problem, the problem is one layer deeper, forgetting that since baptism we are all sons and daughters of God, forgetting that we, by ourselves, are not capable of saving ourselves and are saved only by the death of Jesus. We all cost the greatest price, that price is the life and death of Jesus. That is the only thing we can boast of, and nothing else. We are worth the life of Jesus! And so also is the person next to you, behind you, in front of you. So we are all equally precious.
If anything, as the years goes by, we should begin to realize how little we know and be astounded at our ignorance. It takes a certain measure of knowledge to know how little we know.
The New Testament doesn't say: Don't think that your gifts are nothing special. It says; don’t think that your special gifts make you more valuable to God than someone with gifts different from yours.
Paul explicitly warns about boasting in 1 Corinthians 4, he doesn't ever advise the Corinthians to deny that they have talents, but advises them to remember where the talents came from, and that the nature of the talent is not a measure of worth. Don't be puffed up in favor of one against another, he says. "7 For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If, then, you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?"
St. Thomas Aquinas says of humility that it is the recognition of the truth about oneself or about one's surroundings not only in the mind but also in the heart.
St. Thomas reminds us that if we don't have humility in the mind and in the heart, then we don't have it at all. You need to have recognized in your own mind the truth about oneself and accept it in the heart.
How can we grow in humility? Let us remember that humility is the basic virtue of the Christian way of life. We cannot believe unless we are humble and we cannot love our neighbor unless we are humble. Humility is a gift, and we have to ask God for this gift through prayer. Secondly, we need to collaborate with grace and do acts of humility. Obedience to our superiors, be they parents, priests, teachers or bosses at work, is a concrete way to exercise the virtue of humility. Charity is another concrete way to practice humility. Patience, kindness, forgiveness, service, speaking well of others and being a team player are all manifestations of the virtue of humility.
Let me ask you: What do you do when somebody wrongs you? Do you anger easily? That’s pride. Pride lies to us, telling us that we are little gods who should never be inconvenienced.
Pride lies to us, telling us that people have no excuse for hurting us, that they did so on purpose, that they are lower than sewer sludge, and that they deserve our wrath and scorn.
Pride lies to us, telling us that we have the right to do anything we want to do, and to avoid doing anything we don’t want to do. It was pride that made Lucifer say, “Non serviam! I will not serve!” Humility reminds us that God is in charge. He knows what he’s doing, and so we can trust Him completely. Every task we are given is a task that must be done by somebody. The humble soul says, “Here I am Lord; send me,” and then works patiently and gladly. It was humility that made Mary say, “Let it be done to me according to thy will.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.