CCC 525-526: the Incarnation as a mystery of humility
CCC 2535-2540: the disorder of concupiscence
CCC 2546, 2559, 2631, 2713: prayer calls for humility and poverty of spirit
CCC 1090, 1137-1139: our participation in the heavenly liturgy
CCC 2188: Sunday lets us share in the festal assembly of heaven
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| “Banquet at the house of Simon” (detail), by Bernardo Strozzi, 1630 |
Reading 1: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
My child, conduct your affairs with humility,
and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.
Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,
and you will find favor with God.
What is too sublime for you, seek not,
into things beyond your strength search not.
The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs,
and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise.
Water quenches a flaming fire,
and alms atone for sins.
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Commentary on Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach, the author of this book provides a list of “wisdom sayings.” The haughty attitude of unworthy children gives the author a vehicle to extol the virtue of humility. He points these exhortations specifically at Hellenistic philosophers (“What is too sublime for you, seek not”) who attempt to bring God to the level of mankind. The prophet reproaches them for trying to apply human logic to things of faith. In the final verses, the son of Eleazar moves into the virtue of almsgiving. He identifies this means of atonement as giving to the traditional poor of the Old Testament – the orphan, the widow, and the poor (Deuteronomy 24:14-18).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
R. (cf. 11b) God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
The just rejoice and exult before God;
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the Lord.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
The father of orphans and the defender of widows
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
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Commentary on Ps 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
Psalm 68 gives thanks to God for his saving works. In its historical context, the reference to the homeless and prisoners refers to the Diaspora. Christians see it as having a broader connotation. The psalmist sings of God’s special attention to the poor to whom the Lord has provided a home and sustenance.
CCC: Ps 68:6 238
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Reading II: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Brothers and sisters:
You have not approached that which could be touched
and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast
and a voice speaking words such that those who heard
begged that no message be further addressed to them.
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
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Commentary on Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a
A stark contrast is portrayed in this passage between the old covenant (Mt. Zion - the Law of Moses) which is heartless in its judgment, and the new covenant (Mt. Sinai – the heavenly Jerusalem), made perfect by Jesus.
“This remarkably beautiful passage contrasts two great assemblies of people: (and Covenants) that of the Israelites gathered at Mount Sinai for the sealing of the old covenant and the promulgation of the Mosaic law [taken from Exodus 19:12-14,16-19], and that of the followers of Jesus gathered at Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the assembly of the new covenant. This latter scene, marked by the presence of countless angels and of Jesus with his redeeming blood, is reminiscent of the celestial liturgies of the Book of Revelation.” [5]
“The last mentioned reality of the heavenly sanctuary is that which has opened it to the faithful, the sacrifice of Jesus. The Blood of Abel cried out for vengeance (Genesis 4:10) that of Jesus brings forgiveness and access to God (Hebrews 10:19).” [6] (See also Colossians 1:20.)
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Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then he said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
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Commentary on Lk 14:1, 7-14
In this passage from Luke’s Gospel (see also Matthew 22:1-10) the virtue of humility is exhorted in an allegorical parable that depicts the messianic banquet. He first speaks of the charism of humility using the example of a feast (just like the one to which he was invited) saying that one should assume the lowly station and be invited up, rather than assuming the higher station and being dismissed (Proverbs 25:6-7). He then turns his attention to the gathering itself, telling the Pharisee who had invited him that his efforts should not be to the rich who might repay him in kind, but for the poor, the crippled and the lame who needed his service. In this way God’s purpose would be satisfied.
The entire story places emphasis on God's first invitation of the Hebrew people and then the broadened invitation expressed by Jesus in the story. When those first invited (the Hebrews) rejected Christ’s invitation to revelation, his message was expanded to include all peoples. The joined imagery of the banquet and the invitation recall that similar invitation extended in Isaiah 25:6-10a.
CCC: Lk 14:1 575, 588
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Reflection:
How easy living the life God intends for us would be if all of the rules by which we, as Christians, were required to conduct ourselves were as simple as the Ten Commandments. That list of ten cardinal laws is nicely black and white. Love God (keep him first) is a bit tough at times, but once we get beyond the rules about the Sabbath, there is simply a list of things we may not do. Sure, sometimes in our daily lives, it is difficult not to lie, but we can generally rationalize little white lies, and telling a whopper lands us in the confessional with a clear cut violation of our most direct set of behavioral requirements.
What Jesus throws us today (supported we must add by Sirach) is one of those very difficult “gray requirements.” We call them gray because there is a scale when it comes to measuring humility. On one end of the scale there is complete lack of humility, easily identified as pride or arrogance. It is obvious to the observer that a person exhibiting these traits has fallen into the sin of pride. At the other end of that spectrum is the one who is completely self-effacing. The person with no sense of self-worth, self-esteem or appreciation for God’s gifts poured out abundantly on all of us likely suffers from what psychologists would call clinical depression, and possibly even suicidal tendencies, again easily identified as sin. (Recall, my working simple definition of sin is: a conscious failure to love; love God, love one’s self, love others, and love what God has created for us.)
Most of us sit somewhere in between these two extremes, struggling valiantly to appreciate the great love God has for us, and at the same time, not feeling prideful over our great good fortune in having discovered the love of God and Christ in our faith. We fight against the secular message of the New Age philosophers who would have us so filled with pride that Dives (the rich man who wanted a drink from Lazarus in Luke 16:19ff) would see us as arrogant. We are told that our children need to be self-confident and have high self-esteem and we ask ourselves: how much is good?
How do we measure ourselves on that scale? Clearly the Lord values humility, but at what point does humility become servile to the point of allowing sin out of timidity? We must balance our humility with a single measure, love. We ask ourselves: at what point am I called to love myself as much as I love the poor? At what point am I to honor God’s creation of me as much as offering myself to the person who would destroy me as sacrifice? The Church, after all, calls those who seek martyrdom sinners. Even those religious who practice extreme asceticism are cautioned by the Church to moderation. We must, through our love of God and love of others, find a balance in ourselves so that we please God with our humility, our praise and our thanksgiving for his gifts.
Alas, all of God’s commandments are not easy, and today we are reminded of our need for humility and the difficulty we face in finding balance along that scale. May we always err on the side of loving the Lord too much, and, in doing so, be invited forward, not pushed back.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Banquet at the house of Simon” (detail), by Bernardo Strozzi, 1630.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 249.
[6] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 61:68, p. 402.
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