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28th August 2022

Homily for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Sir 3:17-18, 20b, 28-29; Heb 12: 18-24; Lk 14: 1, 7-14)

REFLECT: Be Humble to be exalted

Dear friends,

“Pride goes before a fall,” is a proverb that we have heard several times. It indicates that people who are proud-hearted and arrogant will definitely fall or fail. So it is better to be humble than feel proud of things which are passing and just a vain glory. Humility makes life better, brighter and broader. Humility is freedom from pride and arrogance. Humility helps us to be compassionate and empathetic towards others. Humility offers us opportunities to be human and humane to our brothers and sisters.  At times we may be annoyed to practice it, may feel frustrated or disturbed, and may feel as if we are in thorns and traps but humility has its reward, giving us real joys of life. The liturgy of the word invites each one of us to be humble before God and one another. So based on the readings, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.     Humility favors:

The book of Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility is fear of the Lord, riches and honor and life.” Yes, however we may be great in life, but if we walk with a humble heart and spirit we shall find the good will and the compassionate act of God for us. That’s what we hear from the first reading from Sirach, “The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself and thus you will find favor with God. For great is the power of the Lord and it is the humble who give him glory.”

Yes, in order to find favor with God and be under his protection and care, one has to be humble. Because, we know there is no one who can be greater than in all that exists are created. What becomes a stumbling block for our growth is the sense of pride, arrogance and selfishness. These blind us of God’s greatness and ours too as children of God. Our greatness lies in humility. Today most of us experience a fall from great height or pinnacle of success because of the unnecessary or unfitting feel like pride and arrogance. There is no possibility of finding favor with anyone if we are too proud of our humility and our good acts. The good acts that we do should make us favorable to one another and should not be a flattery of oneself or one’s works. So our actions in humble service will find favor with God and with one another.  

2.     The perfect humility:

The perfect humility of God is seen in the sending of Jesus as an expiation for our sins and shame. It is the blood of Christ that has washed away our sins and granted us salvation. That’s what we hear in the second reading from Hebrews, Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, with the sprinkled blood cries out more than that of Abel’s. It shows the perfect way in which Jesus expressed his humility to humanity in his sacrifice, the sacrifice which has sanctified the human race.

The humility of Jesus is not only seen at the time of birth even in death. If birth of Jesus is the starting point of his humility, the death of Jesus shall be the peak point of humility. Because, Jesus by dying on the cross for us he has raised us on high to be with God the Father. It is the humility of Jesus that made us all children of God. So we have Jesus a perfect model for humility. But God never asks us to give up life to show humility but our little acts of love and kindness to one another in humility will prove that we are His children. Let Jesus be our model to follow the path of humility and reach one another and ourselves to God on high.

3.     Humility - a gesture of hospitality:

The Gospel reading presents before us the parable of the wedding feast, unfolding us the humility that the host and the guest needs. The first point from the parable; when one is called for a wedding; it is better and preferable for the guests to occupy the back seats than the front chairs, so that the host will take you to the honorable place before all, if it’s really required or wished by the host. It will make the host convenient to allot places for people invited. It will show the humility of the guest and a respect to the host.

The second point from the parable; call people of different sort and do not restrict only to few who are well-to-do or honorable or wealthy but even those the least in the society… it will show the humility of the host in inviting everyone to make the wedding celebration  great, grand and glorious. Because by calling those who are rich and wealthy, we repay what we have paid for or we are obliged to pay for what they have paid. But by calling those who can’t repay, we show our gesture of love and kindness to them, the least of the people are edified and satisfied by an act of love and humility that we show. By calling the least to such celebrations, we are blessed by them too. Yes, today the wedding celebrations are common. The decorations and the degrees of celebrations vary. The mood and the mode of celebration is such that we even borrow money and lavishly spend to show off; we call people of high ranking to show that the celebration is great.

At times celebrations are based on the comparative mode, trying to out beat or overtake what others have done.  Although some celebrate grandly so posh, there are still people who celebrate occasions moderately without any pride. But how many of us think of the poor, the marginalized, the orphaned and abandoned. They may not repay us financially but they will pay us back courteously. The joy on their faces and delight in their hearts is a blessing in turn for the celebration.

Today there are people who celebrate the weddings in orphanages or homes for the aged or in differently-abled centers in order to give them the joy and obtain blessings for all ages to come. It does not matter how much joy we obtain from others but it really matters how much joy we can give or share. That real joy begins with an act of humility. The hospitality to others begins with a gesture of humility, because humility is a stepping stone to reach greatness in life. So let us humble, God will definitely exalt us.  

RESPOND:

Do I humble myself of the great things achieved or use words of flattery for vain glory?

Do I consider humility as inferiority complex or humiliation? How well and happily do I practice the virtue of humility in my association with others?

Am I humble in extending hospitality to guests and hosts in the family, community and society?

Humility is not inferiority complex or being treated as slaves but it’s one form of giving way to oneself and others to grow happily and modestly. May God bless us to grow in humility. Amen.

Elisha said to a poor widow, “borrow empty vessels and pour oil into them (2 Kings 4:3-4). Similarly, to receive the grace of God into our hearts, we ought to empty them of our own glory. (St. Francis De Sales, IDL, 3rd Part, Chapter - 4, p. 149).  

God bless us all…

Live Jesus