August 29, 2010
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.”
In today’s readings, we have the opportunity to reflect on the virtue of humility in the life of the baptized disciple. Although our Lord taught a great deal on humility, it is often misunderstood. When people talk about humility, it often has the connotation of shyness or being a timid wallflower. It’s usually characterized in a sort of mock-humorous way, not unlike the medieval monks who founded our civilization are characterized as bumpkins from a backwards era. But if we really think deeply about humility as our Lord teaches it, we discover some fo the most profound and practical truths of our humility.
Well, what would be an example of our Lord’s teaching?
“Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ … For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
We can understand our Lord’s teaching on humility as avoiding the two extremes of ambition and false humility. “Ambition” gets close to the Lord’s word “exalt” or “boast.” He is saying that our natural desires for achievement are good, but they often turn into a form of pride. We frantically pursue after ever-greater goals, but all for the sake of our own fame and glory. Or we try to achieve things – even good things – for which we are unprepared or which don’t help us grow in holiness. So the idea here is to know oneself – your strengths and weaknesses, to acknowledge them and to seek growth that gives glory to God.
The opposite of this would be false humanity – for example, mediocrity, over-shyness and timidity. Humility doesn’t mean passivity or being reactive to everything around you. It means facing the truth of oneself and “owning” one’s gifts and vocation. A humble person has a full, deep personality. Notice that almost all the saints have strong personalities – and they accomplished great things, but it was always as a result of knowing their true selves in the light of a deep, personal communion with Christ in prayer.
In our times, humility has been replaced by many counterfeits. We want achievement without putting in the effort, and we get defensive when we are justly corrected. We chafe at the notion of having a “state in life” or even the older idea of “knowing your place” while being content with our own mediocrity and dependence on others. Jesus tells us that all these spiritual ills flow out of not being humble before God and seeking His will before all else.
We can grow in humility if we acknowledge our nothingness and total dependence on God; on the need to accept humiliating events as opportunities for learning holiness; of being a person of sincerity with oneself through examination of conscience and with god in acknowledging our faults; by having a readiness to change our minds, being open to correction by not always trying to have the last word, and by not trying to be the center of attention.
The strong, saintly, humble personality can do much for God when He/She is humble. By being humble, we become more consistent in our growth in holiness and we find more joy and true peace in our lives. Families are happier. Let us reflect on our Lord’s words on humility as we approach the altar to receive humility himself at holy mass.
-Rev. Todd Molinari
