20160828 HUMILITY AND CHARITY AS THE CRITERIA FOR ENTRY INTO THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
|
First reading
|
|
Ecclesiasticus
3:19-21,30-31 ©
|
My son, be gentle in
carrying out your business,
and you
will be better loved than a lavish giver.
The greater you are,
the more you should behave humbly,
and then
you will find favour with the Lord;
for great though the
power of the Lord is,
he
accepts the homage of the humble.
There is no cure for
the proud man’s malady,
since an
evil growth has taken root in him.
The heart of a
sensible man will reflect on parables,
an
attentive ear is the sage’s dream.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
67:4-7,10-11 ©
|
In your goodness,
O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
The just shall
rejoice at the presence of God,
they
shall exult and dance for joy.
O sing to the Lord,
make music to his name;
rejoice
in the Lord, exult at his presence.
In your goodness,
O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
Father of the orphan,
defender of the widow,
such is
God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely
a home to live in;
he leads
the prisoners forth into freedom:
In your goodness,
O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
You poured down, O
God, a generous rain:
when your
people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that
your people found a home,
prepared
in your goodness, O God, for the poor.
In your goodness,
O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
|
Second reading
|
|
Hebrews
12:18-19,22-24 ©
|
What you have come to
is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total
darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which
made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. But what
you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the
whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven.
You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits
of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings
a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Jn14:23
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he
will keep my word,
and my Father will
love him,
and we shall come to
him.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Mt11:29
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and
learn from me,
says the Lord,
for I am gentle and
humble in heart.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 14:1,7-14 ©
|
On a sabbath day
Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and
they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had
noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, ‘When someone
invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A
more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who
invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then,
to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when
you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when
your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher.” In that way, everyone
with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Then
he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your
friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your
courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor,
the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you
are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise
again.’
HUMILITY
AND CHARITY AS THE CRITERIA FOR ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ECCL
3:19-21, 30-31; HEB 12:18-19, 22-24; LK 14:1, 7-14]
What is heaven like?
It is important that we have some inkling as to what heaven is like if we are
serious about going there. Without knowledge of what is in store for us
in heaven, we would not strive to reach there. So what is heaven like and
for whom? Heaven is really to be with God and with the communion of
saints who have been made perfect in Christ Jesus. It is to have the
heart of God.
Today,
the liturgy gives us the fundamental criteria for living the life of God.
It can be summed up as humility and charity. Indeed, St Francis de Sales
said that humility and charity are both the lowest and the highest virtues
necessary to build the edifice of our spiritual life. Humility is the
foundation and charity is the roof of the spiritual edifice. Why is
this so?
Humility is the gate to all
other virtues in life. Without humility, we cannot grow in true
self-knowledge, honesty, realism and strength in the face of trials, adversity
and in good times. Humility enables us to see and judge ourselves
correctly according to the judgment of God. Thus, in the first reading,
the author advises us to be humble: “the greater you are, the more you should
behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord; for great though
the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the
humble.”
Humility
enables us to recognize our place in the world as given by God. Indeed, we
cannot choose our position in life, whether we are intelligent or dull; whether
we are born with a silver spoon in our mouth or to a poor family; whether we
die young or old. As the first parable in today’s gospel suggests, God
allots us our seats according to what is best for us in His divine wisdom and
providence. Everything is given to us by the grace of God. So a
humble man is grateful for whatever he receives because they are free gifts.
However,
we must be careful not to deceive ourselves in humility. It would be a
gross misinterpretation of today’s parable if we think that Jesus is suggesting
that we should pretend to be nobody by sitting at the lowest place in order
that the host would come and move us up higher and thus “everyone with you at
the table will see you honoured.” Such ulterior motive is pride disguised
as humility. If Jesus suggests that we sit in the lowest place, it is
because we do not know ourselves. Thus, we need others to place us.
Indeed, many of us are so blind that we cannot see our true self and thus we
live either in low self-esteem or a superiority complex.
Humility
is none of these. Humility is not to think of ourselves less, but to
think less of ourselves. In other words, humility must not be confused
with a poor self-image. Pride as a capital sin must not be confused with
a healthy self-esteem. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in our work or
having some pride in ourselves. For pride in this respect is to be understood
as self-respect and respect for the integrity of one’s work. On the contrary,
it would be false modesty to belittle ourselves or to deny our talents and
gifts. This would be a denial and insult to the glory and graciousness of
God.
Simply
put, humility means accepting who we are, no more, no less. Humility is
therefore a true understanding of who we are. A humble person makes a
realistic assessment of himself without illusion or pretense to be what he is
not. True humility frees us to be ourselves by freeing us from despair
and pride. Such a person does not have to wear a mask or put on a facade
in order to look good to others. He is not easily influenced by
accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success or failure. As Blessed
Mother Teresa said, “If you are humble, nothing will ever touch you, neither
praise nor disgrace because you know what you are.”
True
humility acknowledges the gifts we have but does not boast about them since
they have been received as free gifts from the Lord. So, if there is
anything to boast about, it is to boast of the goodness and generosity of the
Lord.
Hence
true humility, which evokes gratitude, always leads us to the exercise of
charity. When we are humble and grateful that all we have comes from God,
such a realization would give us the same empathy for others. We would
see that our goods and talents are meant to be shared, since all of us are
undeserving of God’s gifts. We know that what we are today is due to
God’s grace. Realizing our own poverty will enable us to put others
before ourselves, their needs before our own. Instead of competing with
others, we will help them to attain what we have. Instead of being proud
and arrogant, we listen to them for they too have something to offer us.
Consequently, if we have the heart of God in us, we too want to be gracious and
give to all those who cannot repay us in any way. Such unconditional love
is true charity. Thus, charity and humility always go together.
Indeed,
just like false humility, we must not misunderstand the gospel as encouraging
us to practise false charity. When Jesus said, “When you give a lunch or
a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for
fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return”, what kind of fear is
He implying? Certainly, it is not the fear of being repaid in such a way
that we feel small. Indeed, there are some people who like to give but
they do not like to receive. For in giving, they feel that they are
superior, whereas in receiving, they are like beggars. Of course, the
other fear of being invited back is when there is a competition to be better
than the other. There are some people who like to outdo each other so
that they are one “up” on the other. Such a competitive spirit springs
from pride and egotism.
Rather,
the fear that Jesus speaks about is “holy fear.” In other words, it is
the fear that our love for others would be reduced to a pagan love. What
is a pagan love if not simply an exchange of love and gifts? To
love those who love us is not really love because we still primarily love
ourselves. The only difference is that instead of loving ourselves
directly, we love others so that we can receive love in return. But the
love of God is an unconditional love. It has no motive other than for the
good of the other person. So to love like God, we must love without
motivation and without vested interest. Such love is truly an emptying of
oneself and therefore a charity in humility.
But is
there anything wrong with hoping to receive an eternal reward, if not an
earthly reward? Are we not still being self-centered? Jesus seems to
encourage that, for He said, “when you have a party, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are
fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.”
Firstly,
we must understand the words of Jesus in context. The reward that Jesus
is speaking about is not some kind of merits earned because of our hard work
and sacrifices. We must realize that even if we can do good works, it is
because of the grace of God. Without the love of the Holy Spirit in us,
we cannot do any good in a selfless manner. Pure love and selfless
service come from God alone and His grace.
Secondly,
when we speak of the eternal reward, we are speaking of a share in the life,
joy and happiness of God. When we share with others and exercise charity
humbly, we share in the heart of God. In the process of giving, we
receive. So the reward that Jesus is speaking about is not something at the end
of time. Rather it is given the moment we die to ourselves and rise to a
new life in Christ.
If we
want to grow in humility and true love, we must learn from Jesus. As St Paul
wrote to the Philippians, Jesus “though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human
form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”
(Phil 2:6-8
).
).
Indeed,
among the saints, we can learn best perhaps from St Ignatius of Loyola who
always reminded his followers that we must always put God above all things so
that we can find Him in all things. In everything we do, we must seek for
the greater glory of God. As such, we are called to choose poverty rather
than riches; humiliation rather than glory; failure rather than success. Only
when we deliberately choose the lowest seat, then we can be free interiorly for
God’s service, accepting happily whatever lot He chooses for us. For such
a man, he is always contented, never asking for more and happy with what he
has.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment