Reflection for the 22d Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

The lectionary translation of the readings for this Sunday can be found HERE

1st Reading:

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

The Wisdom Books of the Hebrew scriptures pass on the advice of their culture. This selection from one of them, the one technically called The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, introduces the theme of today’s Gospel; the highly prized but seldom achieved virtue of humility.

2nd Reading:

Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a

This selection from Hebrews continues what we heard last week and was not chosen to coincide with the Gospel. In it, Paul compares the experience of the Exodus Jews who were afraid of the powerful God on Mount Sanai to the experience of the new covenant where they will be approaching the city of the living God, Mount Zion. This is the new and perfect Jerusalem come down from heaven; only joy, no fear.

Gospel:

Luke 14:1, 7-14

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” _{Lk 14:11}

Setting & Parallels:

This is in a section of Luke’s Gospel about the conflict between Jesus and the teachings of the Pharisees and Herod desire to kill him. There is a brief parallel teaching in Matthew 23:12 but no parallel in the Gospels of Mark or John.

Verse by Verse:

Lk 14:7 “He told a parable to those who had been invited…” | Ostensibly, those invited are the scribes and pharisees mentioned in Lk 14:3.

Lk 14:11 “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled…” | This verse is repeated in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Lk 18:14, and may point back to Ez 21:31 where the prophecy is warning the King of punishment because of his sins.

Lk 14:13 “…invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;” | These are like the anawim, God’s “little ones” mentioned several times in Hebrew Scripture. Because of their need, they must depend completely on God. These are the ones Christians are primarily called to serve selflessly.

Lk 14:14a “…blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” | Humble service to God’s people results in being considered righteous in God’s eyes. N.B. This is not “righteous” in the modern sense of being “cool” but means right relationship with God & His people.

What the 1st hearers heard:

Humility ultimately results in respect, even in this world, and is preferred by God who will repay your for it…

What would change if our community really heard this Gospel?

 We would find real ways to help the needy that don’t treat them as lesser people than us.

What is the good news in this Gospel?

Humility is repaid.

Gospel Reflection

Humility is Knowing and Living the Truth About Yourself

Do you know what splooting is? It’s when a dog lays down on its stomach and puts its legs out behind him. Oftentimes they kind of rest on their front elbows, or whatever a dog’s elbow is called. When my son was young, we had a poster, in his room, of a puppy doing that same thing but with its head pressed to the floor; you know how dogs do. He had his front paws on his face, covering his eyes like he was trying to hide, or something. It was the most horrible-cute sight. Below the picture it just said, “It’s hard to be good.”

That may be the most common humble thought we Catholics have. I experience it in the confessional all the time. Most people seem to think they are just miserable sinners. Personally, I think we overdo that one, in our tradition. We are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but most of us aren’t horrible, evil, sinners either. We should get over that idea. You see, humility doesn’t mean denigrating yourself. It means knowing and living the truth about yourself.

And, the truth about ourselves starts with the recognition that we are not God, even though we may act like we are God sometimes. God is God, and he is the creator. That’s important, too. He is the creator, which means that we are creatures. But what does that really mean in our day-to-day lives? What does it mean in terms of our lived-out relationship to him? Think about it. This is the most basic reality shared by all of us.

It begs the question, Why did God make me? Baltimore Catechism #3 said that God made me to know, love, and serve him in this world; and, be happy with him in the next. I learned that at age seven and it didn’t mean anything real to me at the time. Later, I read one theologian who suggested that God made us because he thought we’d like it. That made sense to me but I still had a tendency to ask what did God make me for, specifically? What does he expect me to accomplish with the life he gave me? Over the years I came up with many self-serving answers for that one.

Finally, I settled on the fact that God made me to be an instance of his love in the world. That’s important to remember when the deacon dismisses us from Mass. That is what I think we are being dismissed to be; to be an instance of God’s love in the normal situations of our day-to-day lives. That is what keeps me humble, because a proud, puffed up person can’t be an instance of love at all. They are just an imposition of themselves on others.

Trying to know and live the truth about myself, also causes me to try to know my abilities and limitations. What gifts do I have that can help me be an instance of God’s love. I do have a tendency to believe I am more capable than I am and, therefore, I use my gifts to impose my way at times. My failures, after imposing my way, cause me to painfully understand today’s Gospel selection. I make myself last, all by myself; nobody has to do it for me. In those instances, I should have known my place and been a part of the solution instead of trying to be the solution.

Also, if humility is knowing and living the truth about yourself, and you’ve been trying to be the best version of the person God created you to be, you should be proud of who you are becoming. That type of pride fulfills the definition of humility; knowing and living the truth about ourselves. In our pride, though, we have to remember that God gave us all that we are and helps us become all that we can be. The gifts that he gave us somehow have to be used to further his purposes even if we don’t understand what his purposes are.

A special case, I think, would be people who have been classified by society and have been oppressed because of who they are, or scapegoated, or kept out of full participation in society, or denigrated in any other way because of who they are. If they are trying to be what God created them to be, they should stand up and be proud to claim who they are. And, we should support them in claiming the dignity of being equal creatures of the one God.

Yes, I’m a creature of the creator God, with a role to play working together with all his other creatures. I’m an equal, in that sense, and all others are my equals. Together we either glorify the creator or, in our pride, we act individually and defeat the purpose of creation. I think we see too  much of God’s creative will being stymied in our society today. Let’s try to not let our pride make matters worse.

God bless you all…

Personal Reflection:

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” _{Lk 14:11}  

Question:

What words or phrases attracted your attention during the Liturgy of the Word on Sunday? What connection do those words or phrases have to your day-to-day life? (Why do you think they attracted your attention?) What might God be trying to say to you through these words or phrases? What response should you make? What action should you take?

Alternative:

Share about/Reflect upon someone you know who is a truly humble person. (Think of their privacy before identifying them.) What is the difference, and why is there a difference, in how you feel being with the  humble person as opposed to being with people who aren’t humble? What would you need to change about yourself to become a truly humble person?