20220713 HUMILITY OF THE WISE
13 July, 2022, Wednesday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16 © |
Assyria's arrogance and coming ruin
The Lord of hosts says this:
Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger,
the club brandished by me in my fury!
I sent him against a godless nation;
I gave him commission against a people that provokes me,
to pillage and to plunder freely
and to stamp down like the mud in the streets.
But he did not intend this,
his heart did not plan it so.
No, in his heart was to destroy,
to go on cutting nations to pieces without limit.
For he has said:
‘By the strength of my own arm I have done this
and by my own intelligence, for understanding is mine;
I have pushed back the frontiers of peoples
and plundered their treasures.
I have brought their inhabitants down to the dust.
As if they were a bird’s nest, my hand has seized
the riches of the peoples.
As people pick up deserted eggs
I have picked up the whole earth,
with not a wing fluttering,
not a beak opening, not a chirp.’
Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it,
or the saw more strength than the man who handles it?
It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it,
or the club moving what is not made of wood!
And so the Lord of Hosts is going to send
a wasting sickness on his stout warriors;
beneath his plenty, a burning will burn
like a consuming fire.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 93(94):5-10,14-15 © |
The Lord will not abandon his people.
They crush your people, Lord,
they afflict the ones you have chosen
They kill the widow and the stranger
and murder the fatherless child.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
And they say: ‘The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob pays no heed.’
Mark this, most senseless of people;
fools, when will you understand?
The Lord will not abandon his people.
Can he who made the ear, not hear?
Can he who formed the eye, not see?
Will he who trains nations not punish?
Will he who teaches men, not have knowledge?
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:25-27 © |
You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
HUMILITY OF THE WISE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 10:5-7,13-16; MT 11:25-27 ]
Who are the truly wise? Very often the wise are mistaken for those who are intellectually brilliant and have much knowledge of the world and sciences. Yet, wisdom and knowledge are entirely two different aspects of the intellect. Indeed, there are many professionals, doctors, lawyers, scientists, and academicians who might know much about their expertise. They can be skilful and knowledgeable, doing their work very well. But their personal life is a mess. Some live very complicated lives because of their professions, and the stress they carry each day, and these often result in their losing their sense of direction in life. For them, life is about being successful in their profession, earning fame, honour, and wealth. Such people lose touch with the origin, essence, and source of their being.
This was the case with the King of Assyria. He was so full of himself when he conquered the Northern Kingdom. He thought it was his strength and military strategy that made him successful in the wars. So he boasted to everyone. “By the strength of my own arm I have done this and by my own intelligence, for understanding is mine; I have pushed back the frontiers of peoples and plundered their treasures. I have brought their inhabitants down to the dust. As if they were bird’s nest, my hand has seized the riches of the peoples. As people pick up deserted eggs I have picked up the whole earth, with not a wing fluttering, not a beak opening, not a chirp.” Such arrogance and pride; giving all glory to himself and his efforts. With this thought, he also believed he could overcome Judah, the Southern Kingdom as he did with the Northern Kingdom.
Many of us are like him as well. When we are successful, we attribute success to our hard work and our ingenuity. We think that by our own strength alone, we have achieved our goals. We do not give credit to God and His divine plan for us. And even if we give glory to God, many of us are not sincere because deep in our hearts, we think it is by our efforts. Because if we are sincere, any achievements will bring us gratitude and make us humble at the grace of God working in us, knowing that we could not have done it ourselves if not for His grace. When we act with pride, we reveal our true feelings about ourselves. Yet the truth is that without God’s grace and the help of so many people in our life, we would never have been able to accomplish anything. We owe our success to others. Not only to people but our circumstances, the opportunities that come our way, our inherited genes, wealth, etc.
Indeed, this is what the Lord said to Assyria to put him in place. “Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, the club brandished by me in my fury! I sent him against a godless nation; I gave him commission against a people that provokes me, to pillage and to plunder freely and to stamp down like the mud in the streets. But he did not plan it so. No, in his heart was to destroy, to go on cutting nations to pieces without limit.” It was God who assisted him all the while. He was being used as an instrument of God to call Israel to repentance. It was not his doing but his success was permitted by God to disciple His people. He should not have been so smug as to think that his triumph was due to his strength and power.
As a result of his pride, he would face disastrous consequences. Pride is the cause of the downfall of every man. The book of Proverbs warns, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18) Indeed, the Lord asked, “Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it or the saw more strength than the man who handles it? It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it, or the club moving what is not made of wood! And so the Lord of hosts is going to send a wasting sickness on his stout warriors; beneath his plenty, a burning will burn like a consuming fire.” When we are merely instruments of God, just like the axe, we should give glory to God instead. God is the One who makes all things possible. All glory goes to Him alone.
Indeed, the truly wise are those who know God and their place in life. Instead of feeling so great about ourselves, we must be humble and grateful for whatever position we are in. We have, as St Paul says, nothing to boast of except the mercy and grace of God. “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:27-29,31)
But this understanding and conviction can only come to those who are humble of heart. The Lord exclaimed, “I bless you Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.” This does not mean that those who have intellectual gifts are despised. Or worse still, to despise the necessity of acquiring knowledge and skills. That would be naivety. Rather, it is a question of attitude towards God and how we look at ourselves and our talents. It boils down to pride or humility. Children recognize that they are dependent on their elders and their parents. They are receptive to their elders and ready to learn, never thinking that they know everything. To be children of God means to adopt the same attitude of an inquiring, learning mind, and always grateful for what we learn and those who teach us. In this way, we never become too proud of ourselves, even if we have attained great heights in our intellectual pursuits or acquired skills.
In the same vein, only the humble will recognize Jesus as the revelation of the Father. Jesus said, “Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” St Paul wrote, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Cor 1:30) Jesus for us is the way to the Father because He is the revelation of God. In Jesus, we see the Father. St John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (Jn 1:18)
Of course, those who are proud or arrogant, cannot accept that God would deign Himself to assume our humanity. They find it absurd when we speak about the incarnation of our Lord or even His resurrection. When St Paul preached at a meeting of the Aeropagus about the resurrection of our Lord, we read, “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered.” (Acts 17:32) Today, many people also cannot accept the doctrine of the Incarnation or that of the resurrection. They can accept the death of Christ, but the resurrection is difficult to accept. This is because they only use their reason alone. Certainly, whilst reason can lead us to know that God exists, as St Paul argued in his letter to the Romans, “what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Rom 1:19-20)
What is required is faith! Faith presupposes humility. We need to recognize our human limitations to know who God is and to receive this knowledge from Him. Only God can reveal Himself to us and He chose to do so through Christ. In faith, we accept the reasonable testimony of the apostles and the early Christians on their encounter with the Risen Lord. In faith, we accept the testimony of millions of Christians who have encountered Him through the ages. So humility is the gateway to faith in Christ. Without humility, just reason alone, we cannot come to believe in Jesus. The church invites us to imitate the humility of Mary, the Centurion whose servant, and the Synagogue Official whose son was healed by the Lord. As the Lord said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 20:29)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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