Pastor of the parish of Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou in Paris, Father Jacques de Longeaux comments on the readings of the XXII ordinary Sunday (Si 3, 17-29; Lk 14, 1.7-14). True humility arises from the awareness of our smallness before God, so that his great work may be realized in us.
Let’s not look to this Sunday’s Gospel for a lesson in good manners! The parables of Jesus are revelations. They manifest essential truths about the Kingdom of God, its coming and what it takes to be a part of it. The man who took the last place and who was raised to the first is Jesus himself: “He humbled himself becoming obedient unto death, and the death of the Cross. Therefore God exalted him: he endowed him with the name which is above every name” (Phil 2, 8-9). On the Cross, Jesus identified himself with the poor whom he commands us to receive: “Each time you have done it to one of these least of my brothers, you have done it to me. do ” (Mt 25, 40).
humility is a service
Jesus calls his disciples to follow his example, to walk the path he first took: “He who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 17, 11). This is why Christian spirituality gives first place to humility. It is a specifically Christian trait. The thinkers of Greek and Latin antiquity, who reflected at length on the virtues, ignored humility. They would never have taught that you had to lower yourself to be elevated. Let’s get it right. It is not a question of lowering oneself for the sake of lowering oneself: it is good to develop one’s talents. Humility should not serve as a pretext for the laziness of those who leave their gifts fallow. We must not confuse humility with a lack of self-confidence, nor let ourselves be taken in by the “false humility” of someone who constantly talks about himself claiming that he is good for nothing. to assure him of the contrary.
The truly humble person is aware of his weaknesses, his faults, but also of his talents.
The truly humble person is aware of his weaknesses, his faults, but also of his talents. It makes them bear fruit by putting them at the service of the common good. She accepts, if she has the capacity, to occupy a high position, but she does not derive from it any feeling of superiority which would lead her to despise those who are of a lower rank. She considers her office as a social responsibility for which she will have to account. She is ready to give it up when the time comes to give it up to someone else. The humble person does not take offense when a remark is made to him. She has a sense of humor about herself.
A condition of charity
Humility is a condition of charity. When we love, we do not grow to the detriment of the one we claim to love; we are in truth with others; we don’t look down on anyone or with smugness. True humility arises from the awareness of our smallness in the face of God (the spiritual authors do not hesitate to speak of the “nothing” of the “nothingness” that we are). Creatures, we are little compared to the Creator; sinners, we do not show off in the presence of the holy God. The humble man, according to the Bible, is decentered from himself: he seeks God, he obeys his Word: “The ideal of the wise is an ear that listens” (If 3, 29). When man exalts himself because of his intelligence, his power, his wealth, his technique or his achievements—when he ends up taking himself for a god—he is close to destroying himself. On the contrary, in the presence of God we can only recognize ourselves as poor, small, vulnerable, fallible, powerless.
However, it is not a question of pleasing ourselves in this state. Rather, we believe that God wants to lift us up to the highest, even to his glory. The desire for greatness that we carry is not in vain. If God created us in his image, it is so that one day this image will shine in us with a perfect likeness. But we do not attribute this greatness to ourselves, we receive it from God. We were created for glory! Not the one that comes from men, but the one that comes from God, His glory that he wants to communicate to us so that our life gives Him glory. A glory that will be given to the poor in heart, capable of desiring and receiving it. May the Lord strip us of our petty vanities, of our ridiculous quarrels of precedence, may he give us a humble heart to listen to his Word, so that his great work may be realized in us.
Also discover 15 advice from saints to move from arrogance to humility:
