August 29, 2004
Sirach 3:17 – 29 + Hebrews 12:18-24 + Luke 14:7-14
The first reading this weekend guides us through another reflection from the lesson Jesus gives to those who would be his disciples during this Jerusalem journey.
Remember, Jesus himself was schooled in rich tradition of Wisdom.
Ben Sira wrote first in Hebrew, and his grandson translated the work into Greek.
It was a summary of Hebrew tradition written to keep the faith alive among those who were in exile, isolated from their roots and Hebrew companions.
The Greeks had no specific word for “Humility.”
Every one of their words that related to the idea
had some sense of passivity, weakness, or feebleness.
The Greeks regarded the whole idea of humility as a weakness,
and they held it in contempt.
In contrast to that culture’s perception, Ben Sira would have Hebrews see humility is a virtue, a strength to be cultivated in life as a way of drawing near to truth.
In fact, as time passed, the prophets began to use that virtue in their description of the Messiah. Even in the psalms, virtuous people are described as being humble, and the evidence of humility is trust in God, knowing that God is the source of all greatness.
The Jesus of Luke’s Gospel, headed for Jerusalem has already put his trust in God. He is man entirely in touch with the truth of who he is and who God is.
Still in contrast to the idea of humility the Greeks proposed, Jesus shows us that this strength, this virtue, this quality of a disciple’s life is an active, positive, cooperative trust solidly set upon hope in God.
Jesus and his disciples know the truth about themselves and their God.
They know who they are and what they are.
They know where they are,
and they simply embrace the truth of their trust and hope in God.
The illustration of this that Jesus uses speaks to guests and to hosts.
He proposes a social system without reciprocity.
That divine suggestion flies in the face of most of what we do and why.
Jesus proposes for disciples behavior that is fit for the Kingdom of God.
In the Kingdom, God is the host, and everyone is invited.
Behavior in that Kingdom finds everyone seated together.
There is a leveling of the things that separate people.
Only those stand out who think they are different or better than another.
The humble find their sense of self and their identity in God,
not in comparison with another like themselves.
This is a very important thing for disciples of Jesus to understand.
The consequence of finding one’s identity in God is service, not power.
There is no one freer in the entire world than the humble.
They do not cling to fame or fortune,
because they know that these things
stifle depth and growth in wisdom and in holiness.
Luke suggests in the words of Jesus,
that humility is not pretending that one is “not worthy.”
Humility is facing the truth that all is gift,
and the only proper attitude is not pride, nor arrogance, nor feeling special;
but simply Gratitude.
Luke suggests that the proud think they are worth more
because of their achievements, their status, their power, their wealth,
all of which they may have; but the proud miss the point.
All that stuff is for the service of others and nothing else.
The people around the humble table are people who in truth, need to be there.
We who have set ourselves on the road to Jerusalem as disciples of Jesus
never forget the truth that all this stuff we have is not ours,
and we are not better than anyone because of it.
We cannot ever forget that what we have is there
because we have been chosen by God to be instruments of God’s love,
of God’s mercy, and of God’s goodness.
This is the truth that bears fruit in Humility.
This is the virtue of a disciple, and it is how disciples of Jesus will be known.