20231104 SUPERIORITY COMPLEX MUST BE OVERCOME BY CULTIVATING TRUE HUMILITY
04 November 2023, Saturday, 30th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Romans 11:1-2,11-12,25-29 © |
The Jews have not fallen for ever
Let me put a 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 |
Psalm 93(94):12-15,17-18 © |
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 | 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.’
SUPERIORITY COMPLEX MUST BE OVERCOME BY CULTIVATING TRUE HUMILITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ROM 11:1-2, 11-12, 25-29; LK 14:1, 7-11]
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 us too, think that we are superior to fellow Catholics, considering ourselves to be holier or more exemplary than them.
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 seat 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 sit 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. 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 ourselves as being 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; all our gifts are His. Therefore, instead of feeling proud about our position 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 His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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