HUMILITY AND HUMILIATION

 

Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Scriptural Texts: Sirach 3:17-20.28-29, Hebrews 12:18-19.22-24a, Luke 14:1.7-14

The readings of this twenty-second Sunday offer us religious counsels on humility and meekness. Humility means not thinking too highly of ourselves and filling our minds and hearts up with pride. Possessing the virtue of humility makes us put other people first. Sadly, we live in a time when many people see humility as a sign of weakness. However, like C. S. Lewis, the readings of this Sunday remind us that true humility is not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.

In the gospel reading, Jesus tells the story of a man who chose to sit in a place of honor when invited to a wedding feast (Luke 14:8). The man was not told to sit there but deemed himself deserving of sitting there. By selecting a place of honor at the wedding feast, the man conveyed to everyone else at the party that he was one of the most important persons there. But this same man who exalted himself, was humiliated when the host came and said, “Give your place to someone else” (Luke 14:9).  The proud man was humbled and humiliated when he was told to go and sit in the lowest place at the wedding table.

As the book of Proverbs tells us: “when pride comes, then comes disgrace” (Proverbs 11:2). Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). One’s pride will bring him low (Proverbs 29:23) because pride always brings humiliation. Jesus tells us that whoever puts himself above others will be put down, but whoever humbles himself, will be honored (Luke 14:11). God often reveals his mysteries to two sets of people: those who fear him (Psalm 25:14) and the humble (Luke 10:21-24). God looks kindly on the lowly and the haughty he knows from afar (Psalm 138:6).

Jesus tells us that when we are invited to a marriage feast, we should rather be humble enough to take seat in the lowest place so that when our host comes he may say to us, ‘Friend, go up higher’ (Luke 14:10). In that way, we will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with us. What Jesus is teaching us here is that we must humble (not exalt) ourselves before others.  When we sit in the lowest place, we convey to everyone else that we do not consider ourselves any better than anyone else. Humility brings honor. One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor (Proverbs 29:23).

When it comes to humility, Jesus is our ultimate example. Our practice of humility should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Due to the fact that Jesus humbled himself, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).

Our life should be a life of service and humility; one that seeks the good of others especially those in the fringes of the society; those rejected by all (Luke 14:13). Our life should be one that is willing to lay down rights and privileges in order to glorify the Father. As the book of Sirach tells us in the first reading, the greater we are, the more we must humble ourselves (Sirach 3:17). If we truly wish to be humble, we must learn to think of ourselves less often, think of others more often, and think of God most often. Let us know that if we do not humble ourselves, we will be humiliated.