October 31
Humility or Humiliation?
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Today’s Gospel:
Luke 14:1, 7-11
(Humility or
Humiliation?)
One Sabbath when he went to dine at the
house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose
the places of honor, saying to them, "When you are invited by anyone to a
marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man
than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to
you, `Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the
lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that
when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher'; then
you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Reflection:
What is true humility, and why would
anyone want it, since nobody enjoys the thought of being last? It’s a fair
question, and I’d say there is no need to get your feathers ruffled over it,
because humility in God’s eyes is a good thing, and all it really asks is that
we take our thoughts off ourselves long enough to stop seeing ourselves as
better than anyone else. It is a sobering kind of equality, where we are
neither better nor worse than the people around us, and it is the opposite of
pride, which is why being humble keeps our selfishness in check before it has a
chance to take over.
Humility is really our true self-in-action, honest and real and without the
masks, and when we live that way we serve others far better because our own
desires are no longer getting in the way. A truly humble person doesn’t serve
for fame or fortune or any sort of gain, since success is measured only by how
well we have helped someone else, and that makes humility about giving rather
than taking, even when what we are giving away is the front seat. So think
about how you drive, and whether you let the other car merge in front of you,
or let someone have the closer parking spot, or slow down to make room for a
driver who is stuck, because those small, everyday moments are where humility
actually gets practiced. It is also anything but weak, since it takes real
strength and self-control to think of others before ourselves all day long,
while it is the weak and selfish who put themselves first every time, and it is
only by God’s grace that any of us can live this way.
Just imagine how peaceful our world would be, and our communities, families, and friendships, if all of us lived humbly to the fullest, because selfishness, pride, and greed have destroyed so much around us. Humility can be the saving grace for it all. Little by little, each time one of us puts someone
else first, a bit more peace takes hold, and the people watching us might even
start to wonder what makes us different, which gives us the chance to point
them to Jesus, who humbled Himself all the way to the cross for every one of
us. It is Beneath the Standard of Mary that we learn how humility is not
thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less, just as Mary did
when she called herself the handmaid of the Lord and let God do great things
through her. Keep smiling, my sisters and brothers.
Where in your daily life do you most struggle to put someone else first?
What is one small act of humility, as simple as letting a car merge, that you
could practice today? And who might see Jesus in the way you choose to serve
this week?
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely
shared.
