In 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’ 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,
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