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August 30, 2016In the first Scripture reading from the Book of Sirach, we read: ‘My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.
This Old Testament teaching on humility is a lead-in to today’s Gospel. From the evangelist Luke, Jesus’s table fellowship is the context for teaching. Much of Jesus’ teaching takes place in or around meals. Jesus also will share table fellowship with anyone from Pharisee to leper.
Jesus is dining at the home of a leading Pharisee. Jesus has obviously been invited for more than pleasant conversation. The people at the meal are observing him carefully. He is known for not following protocol during his table fellowship. As the story proceeds, the dynamic shifts from the people observing Jesus to Jesus observing them. He is a wisdom teacher offering lessons in humility.
As Jesus observes the how the guests migrate immediately to places of honor, Jesus turns the notions of honor upside down. Jesus says it is humility that brings honor in the eyes of God.
As we well know, in the political arena, in the sports world, and all too often in corporate life, climbing the ladder of success leads us to a self-centeredness that places ourselves at the center of the universe.
The disciples of Jesus are to have a healthy sense of the value and the virtue of humility. C. S. Lewis says that “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” Humility leads to compassion and leads to be involved in the lives of others. Humility is not poor self-esteem; it is not a refusal to take any credit; a humble person is not disturbed by praise. Rather, if we desire to be humble, we need to look into the eyes of people in need and identify with their pain and hurts and to respond with humble love to lift up people in need
Humility is not just modesty about my talents. It is about looking into the eyes of another and identifying with their hurts. Moreover, not just their hurts, we are look in the eyes of another and see God’s beauty deep within their spirit.
And as Jesus indicates in the gospel, without humility we cannot have a relationship with God. To enter the wedding banquet – and heaven will be a glorious banquet with Jesus as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride – to enter the wedding banquet, says Jesus, “take the lowest seat.”
Knowing God makes us humble; knowing ourselves keeps us humble. All is a gift of God and we are the gracious recipients of God’s merciful love. The talents we have are God’s gifts to us. Knowing ourselves and our own limitations keeps us humble.
Pope Francis gives three steps to humility: First, self-forgiveness. This is a tricky concept. It might sound like giving oneself a free pass. But Pope Francis explains it this way. We need to learn to pray over our past history, to accept ourselves, to learn how to live with our limitations, and even to forgive ourselves, Pope Francis clarifies we need to forgive ourselves in order to have this same attitude toward others. Self-forgiveness leads us to forgive others. That’s the second step in humility.
There’s a third step to humility – courtesy. Courtesy is a school of sensitivity and disinterestedness, it means to put aside one’s own interests aside and to focus on the other person. Courtesy means to learn how to listen, to speak and at times to keep quiet.
Can we identify with the host in today’s Gospel parable – the Pharisee who was pre-occupied with the seats of honor at his dinner table? Jesus was challenging his way of acting and inviting us to take the lowest seat. Who are the people in your life who have shown you your weaknesses and made you take the lowest seat where you belonged? At the time, you were angry with them, but today, as you meditate on the passage, you thank God that he sent them to you to help you grow spiritually. Indeed, this is living out the virtue of humility when we can honor those folks who have challenged when we get carried with our own self-importance. Thank God also for the one who invited to see our greatness and to experience ourselves honored by all those who sit at table with us, our family, and our Church family. Yes we want to value and treasure our giftedness, but we also want in humility to accept our limitations and to root our giftedness in ways we give thanks to God.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus has a strange way of looking on whom to invite and who are the most important. The point is everyone is invited to the banquet of Jesus.
As we gather for this Eucharistic meal today, we reflect on how we have gathered for this meal. Do we see each other as brothers and sisters? Do we see ourselves as servants of each other? Do we see ourselves as the servants of all who are poor?
There must be a welcome in our Eucharistic community for the needy signified by the gospel phrase ‘the poor, crippled, lame, and blind.’ What efforts do we make to ensure that no individual or group is excluded from the Lord’s meal?
As C. S. Lewis has rightly said, humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. It is focusing our lives in the service of one other. When we gather at the table of the Lord, we are to take the lower seat and to be sure that all are welcome at this table of the Lord,
