20201031 HUMILITY IS MEASURED BY OUR SELFLESSNESS
31 October, 2020, Saturday, 30th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Philippians 1:18-26 © |
Life to me is Christ; but death would bring me more
Christ is proclaimed; and that makes me happy; and I shall continue being happy, because I know this will help to save me, thanks to your prayers and to the help which will be given to me by the Spirit of Jesus. My one hope and trust is that I shall never have to admit defeat, but that now as always I shall have the courage for Christ to be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results – I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake. This weighs with me so much that I feel sure I shall survive and stay with you all, and help you to progress in the faith and even increase your joy in it; and so you will have another reason to give praise to Christ Jesus on my account when I am with you again.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 41(42):2-3,5 © |
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.
I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
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: | 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 14:1,7-11 © |
Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled
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.’
HUMILITY IS MEASURED BY OUR SELFLESSNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Philippians 1:18-26; Psalm 42:2-3,5; Luke 14:1, 7-11 ]
The theme of today’s gospel is on humility. Jesus underscored the importance of acting humbly when we are invited to a dinner. He said, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour.” What does it mean to be humble? How do we know that we are humble? Humility in today’s scripture readings is spelt out in terms of selflessness. A truly humble person is selfless in his relationship to God and to others. He is not focused on himself but on glorifying God and loving his brothers and sisters.
A humble person does not focus on his position, his prestige and his privileges. He is at ease with everyone and he is happy wherever he is. He does not seek places of honor, praises and recognition. This is because he is very much aware of his limitations and inadequacies. He knows himself well enough. He knows where he stands before God and before others. No matter what he does, he knows that he cannot compare with many others who could do better. He knows he can never be the best because there will always be others who are better than him. He does not think highly of himself or lowly of himself either. He does not think of himself at all. He is just what he is. It does not matter to him what his position in society is so long as he is able to serve. At any rate, all these positions do not really matter because when death knocks at our door we will be reduced to skeletons like everyone else. Even if we do not meet death yet, the moment we are no longer in office or hold positions in public life, we are just like everyone else. Indeed, a humble man allows God to place him wherever He thinks fit. Hence, the Lord exhorts us to choose the lowest place so that God could then assign us the place where we should be. We must not think so highly of ourselves because “a more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, ‘Give your place to this man.’ And then, to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place.”
This indeed was the case of our Blessed Mother Mary. She is truly the icon of humility. Upon receiving the news that she would be the mother of God, in all humility, she said, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Lk 1:34) And then when the angel explained to her that it would be by the power of the Holy Spirit, her response was, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) Upon receiving the news that her cousin, Elizabeth was with child and now in her sixth month, she went to help her till she gave birth to John the Baptist. She was forgetful of her position as the mother of the Savior. Instead, when Elizabeth praised her, she directed all praise to God, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Lk 1:46-49) And at the Wedding Feast in Cana, she quietly saved the wedding couple from embarrassment, without seeking recognition of any sort when she asked her Son to intervene with the miracle of the wine. (cf Jn 2:1-11)
St Paul in the first reading demonstrated the same humility whenever he spoke of himself. He was always conscious of his shameful past. He confessed many times that he “was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Tim 1:13,15) But he was forever grateful like Mary of God’s mercy and grace. “I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:13f) He knew that it was the prayers “and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” that he would eventually be delivered from imprisonment even though he left everything into the hands of God.
Selflessness is not only with respect to the way we view ourselves but also seen in the way we serve the Lord. Although many of us think that we are serving the Lord, many of us serve from impure or less than noble motives. This was the case of some of the preachers and missionaries during the time of Paul. Some of them were actually happy and relieved that Paul was imprisoned because he was a threat to their status and popularity. Isn’t this true when we see our competitors falling out of the race for positions in the church or in organizations or at work? But this was not the case for St Paul. He did not mind that others were taking his position in the community so long as they were also working for Christ, even if their motives were dubious. He wrote, “Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.” (Phil 1:15-18) He knew that in the final analysis, God would vindicate him. So with great faith and self-surrender, he wrote, “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance.”
The only concern of St Paul was that the gospel was preached regardless who was the instrument of the Good News. It did not have to be him, so long as people could hear the gospel and be converted. All that mattered at the end of the day was that Christ was exalted. “Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.” The whole focus of St Paul was always directed to the Lord. When a person is focused on the Lord, he forgets about himself, his needs, his pain and his sacrifices. Often resentment in work and ministry comes about because even when serving God and His church, we are more concerned about our privileges, positions and remuneration. When we are busy with God’s work and serving our people, we do not have time to consider our personal needs. “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.” He was not absorbed in himself but it was all about the proclamation of the gospel. All he was concerned was that Christ be exalted and preached.
Indeed, so selfless was Paul in his love for the Lord and his people that he said, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” His only purpose in life was to serve God and His people. Paul was singular-minded in his passion for Christ and the gospel. He lived for the Lord and for the gospel. He lived for the sake of his people. Even though he preferred to be with Christ since that was the ultimate goal in life, that would be for himself. He was equally happy to sacrifice himself for the people by remaining on earth. “Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.” Indeed, no greater joy is there than to enter into heaven with the rest of our brothers and sisters. We do not enter heaven alone!
In the final analysis, to be humble means to lose ourselves completely in Christ. In his letter to the Galatians, he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:19f) The key to living a life of humility like Mary is to lose ourselves in Christ. When we are in Christ, life or death does not matter. As he wrote to the Romans, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom 14:7f) For Paul, his only concern was that Christ was proclaimed in his life or in his death. Regardless, he would always be in Christ because Christ lived in him. Sharing in the life of Christ is what ultimately matters.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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