Both the First Reading and the Gospel Reading for this Sunday teach about humility. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and later St. Thomas Aquinas, who drew upon his work, both saw virtues as the golden mean between two extremes. Humility can be seen as a virtue between the two extremes of self-absorption and self-hatred.
On the one hand, an exaggerated ego is clearly a vice. In this state, we make ourselves the center of the universe and consider our own wants and desires the most important thing in the world. Being egocentric is deadly for us because it closes us off from God's love and destroys our relationships with others in our lives.
But the other extreme, self-hatred, isn't healthy either. When we hate ourselves we also close ourselves off from God's love and the love of others in our lives. Self-hatred is telling God that we don't believe that his work in creating us was good and that we don't believe that he truly forgives us. Self-hatred locks us into self-imposed, self-destructive darkness.
God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, which requires that we have a healthy sense of self-love or else we could not love our neighbor meaningfully. Genuine humility, founded in healthy self-love, entails that we accept that God created us to be good. At the same time, genuine humility also entails that we realize that we cannot do anything good without God's grace. We are completely dependent on God's work in our lives to live into God's glorious vision for each of us. At the same time, we are not merely passive recipients of God's grace, like robots programmed to act in a predetermined way. We need to actively cooperate with God's grace in our lives.
But how can we build a habit of humility from day to day in the context of our society today? In many ways, contemporary American culture can steer us away from humility. Social media tempts us to exalt over others, showing off and making ourselves look better than we are. The constant push to over-consume can tempt us to seek validation and status through the objects we possess, which others might not have. However, American culture also has elements that encourage humility. In contrast to other societies in human history, for example, American culture values unpretentious wealth. There are many quiet millionaires in American society, who dress simply, lead modest lives, and never give any indication of their net worth to others around them, whereas in other cultures, they might be under pressure to show off their wealth.
Regardless of our financial situation, we should follow their example. We should not seek to exalt ourselves over others on the basis of things we possess or appear to possess. Our practice of humility should also involve how we speak. Do we use our words to cut others down and raise our standing at their expense? Do we boast, claiming credit for everything good in our lives? Or do we use our words to build others up and to acknowledge gratefully God's gifts in our lives. Similarly, we should examine how we present ourselves to others. Is our self-presentation meant to show off and to intimidate? Or are we modest and appropriately reserved?
As the First Reading suggests, genuine humility also means that we do not become inordinately focused on intellectual understanding. Of course, some degree of understanding is beneficial. But the quest to know can become a idol in and of itself. If we become too focused on the intellect, we can become arrogant, thinking that only that which we can understand can be real. Or we can start doubting the perfection of God's ways because we cannot always understand them in this life. True humility requires that we seek to understand as far as possible but then admit the limitations of our very finite minds.
Likewise, true humility requires that we relinquish the desire that we control our lives completely. As with understanding, acting responsibly is important. We should seek to direct our own lives to the extent possible, but always with the desire to submit ourselves to God's will. Even as we seek some degree of control, things beyond us will often act to shape our lives in a different direction. When that happens, we need to trust that God's providence will bring about the best possible outcome for us.
As we contemplate the practice of humility, let us bear in mind that the ultimate demonstration of humility came from God himself, who became Incarnate, taking on human nature, becoming one of us to live like one of us and to offer himself up as a sacrifice for us upon the Cross.
As Bishop Barron has pointed out in his Catholicism series, when Jesus was hanging upon the cross, he was bereft of several of the things our culture prizes most - popularity, wealth, power, beauty, and health. Popularity - the crowds had called for his death. Wealth - he was stripped even of his garments. Power - he was nailed to the Cross and could not even move freely. Beauty - his appearance was disfigured by the torture that had been inflicted on him. Health - he was in the process of being tortured to death. And yet, it was in such a situation that Christ performed the greatest act of love, his sacrifice for the salvation of humanity. His example shows us that we do not need to lead an exalted life. The greatest things can happen in humble situations.
We should also remember that our acts of humility have eternal consequences. As Jesus said, those who humble themselves will be exalted by God for all eternity. The Second Reading gives us a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem that will be our home if we lead a life of humility in this world. We will be with God himself, Christ the King, standing by his throne, rejoicing for all eternity.
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The readings for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, are:
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Luke 14:1, 7-14
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Foot washing - Chapel of the Holy Sacrament - BasÃlica of Aparecida - Aparecida 2014 Wikimedia Commons.
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