20171104SUPERIORITY COMPLEX MUST BE OVERCOME BY
CULTIVATING TRUE HUMILITY
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
First reading
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Romans 11:1-2,11-12,25-29 ©
|
Let me put a further question: is it possible that God has
rejected his people? Of course not. I, an Israelite, descended from Abraham
through the tribe of Benjamin, could never agree that God had rejected his
people, the people he chose specially long ago. Do you remember what scripture
says of Elijah – how he complained to God about Israel’s behaviour? Let me
put another question then: have the Jews fallen for ever, or have they just
stumbled? Obviously they have not fallen for ever: their fall, though, has
saved the pagans in a way the Jews may now well emulate. Think of the extent to
which the world, the pagan world, has benefited from their fall and
defection – then think how much more it will benefit from the conversion
of them all. There is a hidden reason for all this, brothers, of which I do not
want you to be ignorant, in case you think you know more than you do. One
section of Israel has become blind, but this will last only until the whole
pagan world has entered, and then after this the rest of Israel will be saved
as well. As scripture says: The liberator will come from Zion, he will
banish godlessness from Jacob. And this is the covenant I will make with them
when I take their sins away.
The Jews are
enemies of God only with regard to the Good News, and enemies only for your
sake; but as the chosen people, they are still loved by God, loved for the sake
of their ancestors. God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 93(94):12-15,17-18 ©
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The Lord will not abandon his people.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord,
whom you train by means of your law;
to him you give peace in evil days.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
The Lord will not abandon his people
nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just
and all true hearts shall uphold it.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
If the Lord were not to help me,
I would soon go down into the silence.
When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’;
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Col3:16a,17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
Or
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Mt11:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
says the Lord,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Luke 14:1,7-11 ©
|
Now 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.’
UPERIORITY COMPLEX MUST BE OVERCOME BY CULTIVATING TRUE HUMILITY
Sometimes,
Christians tend to be proud when they compare themselves with
unbelievers. They adopt a superiority complex and a
condescending attitude towards those who are of other religions. This was
the same situation of the early Christians during the time of St Paul. They
thought themselves as the ’saved’ and the Jews as condemned and fallen.
Of course, this was also the attitude of the Jews. They were too proud to
accept the Christians because they felt that they were the Chosen people of God
and the Gentiles had no share in that honour. Many of our practicing
Catholics too think themselves superior when they look at fellow Catholics,
considering themselves to be holier or more exemplary than the rest.
Why do we act in
this manner? This is because we are ignorant. As St Paul
says, “I do not want you to be ignorant, in case you think you know more than
you do.” We do not know the hidden plan of God. As he said, “There is a
hidden reason for all this…. One section of Israel has become blind, but
this will last only until the whole pagan world has entered, and then after
this the rest of Israel will be saved as well. As scripture says:
The liberator will come from Zion, he will banish godlessness from Jacob.
And this is the covenant I will make with them when I take their sins
away. The Jews are enemies of God only with regard to the Good
News, and enemies only for your sake; but as the chosen people, they are still
loved by God, loved for the sake of their ancestors. God never takes back
his gifts or revokes his choice.”
So St Paul makes
it clear that we must be humble and grateful for having
received the gifts of God. We must never think of ourselves as better
than the rest of the world. Indeed, without the mercy of God, we would
not be what we are today. Hence, we can learn from each other. For
the Jews, it behooved them to emulate the Christians whereas for the
Christians, they should have been grateful to the Jews, for “the pagan world,
has benefited from their fall and defection – then think how much more it will
benefit from the conversion of them all.” The truth is that we are
not perfect and good in everything. For those things that we are good at,
or the virtues that we have, others can imitate us. For ourselves, we can
also learn from those who are weak and have made mistakes. They can teach
us holiness too.
Within this
context we can understand the gospel teaching on humility.
What is true humility? Obviously, the opposite of humility is
pride. For some, like the example given in today’s gospel, they
have vain pride since “they picked the places of honour.” Such
people think highly of themselves and sit themselves in high places and expect
to be treated as such. This is very real in life situations. Some
of us lack humility and choose places that are meant for others. Of
course, choosing the seat of honour is but only an example of what we think of
ourselves.
Yet, we must not misunderstand
Jesus’ teaching on choosing the lowest seat so that when your host
comes, he may move you up higher and in this way, “everyone with you at the
table will see you honoured.” Such a tactical move would be false
humility because one chooses to seat at the lowest ranked place, knowing that
this is not meant to be his in order to be exalted. This would be subtle
pride, for it is not because such a person is humble but he pretends
to be humble. In actual fact, he knows that he belongs somewhere
else.
Why then, did
Jesus advise us to choose the last seat at the banquet? Because we do not know our
place in society! Many of us do not know who we are and where we stand in
life. Just like the Jews and the early Christians, we do not know our
place in life. Most of us either think too highly or too lowly of
ourselves. As a result, either we suffer from superiority complex
or low-self esteem, both having nothing to do with humility. A person who
has an inferiority complex is not to be mistaken as humble. It is just
that he is unable to compete with others but deep in his heart, he wants to be
above others.
Hence, since
most of us lack self-knowledge and awareness, we must be placed by
others. This explains why many of us need affirmation in whatever we
do. If we know our strengths and ourselves, then we would not seek for
affirmation so much. This desire for affirmation is but the
manifestation of the lack of love of self, stemming from the lack of knowledge
of self.
Consequently,
humility is to know where you stand and who you are, no less, no
more. In such a perspective, it means that humility
requires self-knowledge and then acceptance of one’s strengths and
weaknesses. Only with self-acceptance, can we be comfortable with
ourselves. Unless, we are comfortable with ourselves, how can we be
comfortable with others, regardless of who they are? When we recognize
ourselves as loved by God with all our talents and imperfections, then we do
not need to project ourselves in such a way as to win others’ acceptance.
This means also
that humility is the gateway to right judgment and charity.
Only a humble person can feel with his fellow human beings in their
weaknesses. For when we see ourselves clearly, we know that we are no
better than others. On the other hand, in our weaknesses, we do not condemn
ourselves either, because we see ourselves as one with our fellowmen in
sin. As a result, we learn compassion. People seeing us without any
airs about ourselves will also feel at ease with us because we do not project
to others that we are so perfect.
Most of all, humility
teaches us to be grateful. Instead of comparing ourselves with
others, we learn to be grateful for all that we have and are because of God’s
mercy. Everything belongs to Him and all our gifts are His. Therefore
instead of feeling proud about our positions in life or our wealth and talents,
we should be even more humble, for without His grace, we are nothing.
This makes us more generous in sharing our gifts with others.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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