Sunday 28th August 2022. Read Sirach 3:17-29, Psalm 68, Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24 and Luke 14:7-14
“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) and 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 so as to be small enough
for the narrow door.
At face value, our readings
today appear all too easy to understand so much so that for many Christians
unfortunately, humility is just a matter of taking the back seats at events or
dressing shabbily. So, the real question before us today is: “What exactly does
it mean to be humble?” or better put, “How do I know if I am proud or if it is
just self-esteem?”
Lesson One: What exactly is
Humility?
The first point we must take
home today is that humility can never be faked. It is not something we do; it
is what we are. Humility goes beyond taking back seats, 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, they will change
Church on harvest day because they see no reason to give. Even when you help
them, they will never thank you because they feel they deserve it or that you
have simply done your duty and this is the same attitude they show to God. How
many of us here have joyfully done our family thanksgiving this year?
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 while mass is going on), walk about like someone on a fashion runway, litter things around so on.
B. People-Centred Humility.
In very simple terms this has
to do with how we treat those we believe are less than we are in any way. Once
upon a time, a young engineer got a job in one large cooperation abroad. He was
the only successful candidate out of over ten thousand applicants who had
applied for the position in different countries all over the world. He was
truly a genius. The company sent him his flight ticket, his visa and everything
he 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 coming earlier to carry his luggage. The grey-headed man profusely
apologised and carried the luggage obediently while the young man walked
gallantly to the car eliciting the admiration of virtually all the ladies at
the airport. “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 all kinds of insults. He almost gave his
driver a slap for booking an executive room instead of a whole suite. The next
day, upon getting to the office, this young man got the shock of his life. This
grey-headed driver was actually 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 you are humbled by others and you
bear it for Christ.” (The Way 594). Simply put, 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 and you will learn to live more humbly. 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.
As Nigerians, we love
celebrations, so much so that there is almost no weekend we are not invited to
a party. It is not just a mortal sin but also a crime against humanity that in
a country filled with so many hungry people, patients dying in hospitals due to
lack of funds, children unable to go to school, communities lacking clean
drinking water, etc., Christians would be spraying money (dollars) on the floor
at a party.
Must your wedding be the talk
of the town? Whoever says you must paint the town red to do that burial? Will
the dead rise to eat cow meat or wear new clothes? If you do not invite so and
so to that occasion you are planning, will it stop your celebration from being
memorable? Painfully, some foolish ones go to the extent of borrowing while some
get into crime and engage in all kinds of nefarious activities just to host
such parties. Truly, we should be ashamed of ourselves if our conscience does
not bother us.
Lesson Four: Pride Comes with
Endless Afflictions
The common denominator of proud
people is that their actions are always motivated by a very strong desire to
“show them”, to make a statement, to prove something. One who is proud (whether
rich or poor) lives their entire life like a race competition. When we are
proud, we have only one life goal; to outshine others. We never have peace of
mind because when the ego is in charge of our lives, we are constantly under
threat. We are never satisfied with what is ours. Whatever progress anyone
makes becomes a problem to us because as soon we know about it, we refuse to
sleep until we achieve something greater. 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, there is always this feeling of emptiness
within us.
The only cure for this
affliction is to kill your pride. We cannot be proud and happy at the same
time. If you are not a happy person, if you feel constantly restless and
stressed out, examine your heart because all your problems may just be hinged
on your pride.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, meek
and humble of heart, make my heart like yours. Teach me to sing with Mary your
mother the Magnificat: “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).
Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have
Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year
C. Bible Study: Sirach 3:17-29, Psalm 68, Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24 and Luke
14:7-14).
© Rev. Fr. Evaristus Abu
