22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 28th August 2016)
Let God be the director in the play of humility – (Luke 14:1, 7-14)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us the fundamental virtue of humility. St Teresa of Avila very simply defines humility as truth. The humble person has their feet firmly on the ground. The humble person knows their strengths and weaknesses but more than anything the humble person knows that God loves them personally as they are. The humble person also knows that when God is at the centre of their life, they can become the best version of themselves, the person He created us to be. The humble person looks for the lowest seat at the table, not out of a lack of self worth, but because he is not full of himself. By doing this, God is able to fill the humble person with His love, and so the humble person sees the world through the loving eyes of God. As a result of this, the humble person also sees the God given value and beauty of his neighbour, and he wishes this to be exaulted rather than he himself being exulted. And why is the humble person exalted? Because the humble person is a conduit of Gods love and so the humble person is a great person to be around.
Pride is the opposite of humility. The proud person is concerned about themselves first and foremost. The proud person is full of himself and therefore cannot be a conduit of Gods love because even though God wants to to give the proud person many blessings and graces, the proud person’s ego has left no room for these blessings and graces to be received. The proud people of the Gospel seeks the best seats. This rests ultimately in a lack of trust. The proud person doesn’t trust that he is a beloved child of God and that as a child of God he is already loved and honoured in Gods eyes. Because the proud person doesn’t trust this beautiful truth about himself, he snatches at honours that are passing and shallow, and lead to him feeling empty, and as the Gospel points out, embarrassed as well.
Pride and humility are like two very different plays of our life. The play of pride is written and directed by us. It is a one man show in which we are the only actors. Its not very creative and people are not very interested in it.
In the play of humility, God has been given the space to write and direct it. God is the main character and we play a very important part, a part that only we can play. The play has a range of characters including the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And although the play has got some difficult scenes, the actors trust that the director will guide them through it in the best way possible. It is ultimately a play of joy freedom and love. The play of humility promises to be a blockbuster.
Fr. Jaimie Twohig, S.A.C.