The Book of Humility

“My Son, Conduct Your Affairs with Humility.”

-        a reflection on Mark 10:35-45 (NAB)

-        By Larry T 

At a social gathering a few weeks ago my friend Lois was describing a recent trip to Minneapolis when before she could finish, another friend, Sharon, energetically interrupted her with “Well, that’s just like . . .”, and launched into a description of her own recent trip to Chicago. Poor Lois wasn’t finished, but settled back into her chair with a sigh.  Just how many times do we hear, “WELL, THAT’S JUST LIKE . . .”? Is it a lack of humility and patience that causes us to trump someone else with, “WELL, THAT’S JUST LIKE . . .”? 

I’ve often thought that our Holy Bible could be retitled The Book of Humility because so much of it concerns humility – either having it, or not having it. Was it the lack of humility that caused the Hebrews to be stiff-necked? Was it the lack of humility that caused the Pharisees and Scribes to ignore the word of God as taught by Jesus? And how many times did our Lord preach humility and extol the virtues of the humble?

The gospel reading for October 21^st, the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is from Mark 10:35-45:

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

³⁶ He replied, “What do you wish (me) to do for you?”

³⁷ They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

³⁸ Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

³⁹ They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

^41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

⁴²  Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

⁴⁴ whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

At least part of this reading concerns the obvious pride and lack of humility of James and John. And allegorically it might address the lack of humility of all mankind. In verses 43 and 44 Jesus gave his disciples a quick, but direct lesson in being of service to others. 

How many of the Pharisees heeded Jesus’ example of humility as related in the gospel of Luke? 

^8 “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,

^9 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.

¹⁰ 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.¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

-LK 14:8-11 NAB 

Was our Lord underscoring the words in chapter 3:17-18 of The Book of Sirach written two-hundred or so years earlier?

^17  My son, conduct your affairs with humility,

and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts

¹⁸ Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,

and you will find favor with God.

But what is the Christian definition of humility? Father John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary defines it as: 

The moral virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself. It is the virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness and leads people to an orderly love of themselves based on a true appreciation of their position with respect to God and their neighbors. Religious humility recognizes one's total dependence on God; moral humility recognizes one's creaturely equality with others. Yet humility is not only opposed to pride; it is also opposed to immoderate self-abjection, which would fail to recognize God's gifts and use them according to his will.

Was Jesus telling me to always treat others with respect and dignity? While in conversation with another person do I live it by patiently allowing them to complete a sentence before I begin speaking? This Sunday when I approach the ambo to read Holy Scripture to the assembly do I remember that my task is to read God’s word to his people in a meaningful way, rather than impress the assembly with my speaking ability? Do I always remember to open the car door for my beautiful wife? Is letting my friend Lois tell her story about the Minneapolis trip without interrupting being humble? Just how many opportunities in everyday life do we have to practice humility? Wow, I’ve got a lot of things to work on!

Blessings to All

The Third Sunday of Lent

Deacon Paul and his family

For the readings this Sunday I have a few links for you all!

The first is to Deacon Paul Rooney's website: angelfire.com.  It is his excellent Didja Know series and he has some wisdom to share on the significance of the Temple for each of us!





The second is to another blog of mine: Talitha Koum, it is a blog in development. The title of the post is First God and I try to grapple with the notion that faith and worship are not necessary for doing good.







If you still need some Scripture reflection to meditate on I always direct people to: Archdiocese of Washington blog, Monsignor Pope never fails to enlighten me on the readings!

Sunday Reading Oct 15/16th, 2011-- Taxation and Misrepresentation

The first reading in Isaiah, (45:1, 4-6) and the Gospel reading (Matt 22:15-21), both have to do with questions about governmental power over a conquored people. Isaiah is written during the time of the Babylonian exile, and in Matthew's time, the Roman government was the administration in power in the region of Palestine.

In Isaiah, the Israelites were hoping to be restored to their homeland, yet were in the position of living in a foreign country hoping for a change in emigration/immigration laws. The Lord, through the words of the prophet Isaiah, helps us to explore from a religious perspective the intellectual wrestling that comes from being a conquored people with the realization that the same power which first took them captive may be the very means for their liberation. Could this foreign monarch be the actual means of God's redemptive plan? A revolutionary thought for a montheistic people looking at a nation that did not worship only one God. Could King Cyrus (which means shepherd), be the instrument of the Lord, called by name by God Himself, even if Cyrus does not even know God's name?

The Jews looked back with nostolgia on the Davidic monarchy which at the time of Isaiah was the epitome of their own national history in terms of politcal autonomy. In captivity by a foreign king, what is the relationship between God and non-Jewish kings? If all power comes from God, and this man is the power-that-be, how is God using this man in salvation history? This reading sees minds stretching beyond the early selective localized prism of the Jewish salvation story, glimpsing inklings of a dawning more-global religious perspective and more integrated view of God's influence.

How can God's choice of this foreign power be justified? Isaiah says "to show that God is God alone, and there is no other." The Israelite prophets, though diverse, had one theme in common, and that was that there is one God who is creator rather than a plurality of gods running the universe. God is the one for whom all creation lives, moves and has its being. The Israelite people, through this Babylonian exile, experientially come to the realization that foreign kings are no exception. People that do not know God are also moved to action by God, whether they realize it or not. The Jewish people did end up being returned to the country from which they had been captured, and Cyrus was indeed the instrument of their peaceable return to their homes.

Several hundred years after that return, Jesus, in the Gospel, speaks as a prophet coming into a disordered world, to the Israelites, again a conquored people, conquored this time by the Romans. This time the Jewish people are ruled by foreigners but are not in exile. Essentially the same question comes up. Could the Roman authority and the sovereignty of God be reconciled, or were they mutually opposed? He comes up with a creative answer.

Jesus drew out of the crowd
(to present to crown-fishing Ceasar)
an Image untaxed nor withheld from musing Eleazar
and none too pensive to put in the saving of David

"Do we need to pay taxes to Ceaser?" is the question that the pharisees, the religious leaders use to test him. Jesus simply turns the question back on them--the money they hold has Ceaser's image, so why not give him back the portion he asks? He neatly sidesteps political intrigue or arguments regarding the legitimacy of the Roman presence in Palestine. The same story, if told in the present-day, might show Jesus sending a polemical person with a tax-bill in hand to pay their taxes rather than discussing taxation proposals, theories, or getting cornered into one unyielding political affiliation or another.

As with the Jewish people in the Babylonian captivity and the Jews of Jesus' time, there are many Christians, people of other faiths or no religious faith at all, in our own country and all over the world, that struggle with issues of how to live as good citizens and how to peaceably and effectively promote justice in their society, sometimes in the most difficult of situations. At times the questions may seem insurrmountable or the answers irreconcilable. In studying the Scriptures, much insight can be gained from both Jewish political and religious history as well as Jesus' ability to approach practical problems with creative answers, and, conversely, to approach intriguing problematics with practical solutions.

The second reading, from Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy to the early Christian community in Thessalonia going through difficult times of religious transition, is such an encouraging note, one that is timeless and appropriate communication for any group of faithful believers working with another group for peaceful solutions under any circumstances.

"We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for all of you, and constantly remember how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ. We know brothers, that God loves you... "

Peace,

Gazelle

Be Not Afraid: A reflection on Sunday's Gospel, by Gazelle Johnson

Heidi, I am sure the profound thoughts in the shower made their way into your reflection, applied to the real life of where you are   Since you reflected on the 1^st reading, I will follow with the 2^nd and Gospel readings today.

St. Paul’s Storm:  What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood.

St.  Peter’s Storm:   Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink.

My Storm:  It really bothers me when Christians separate from one another due to differing Biblical interpretation.  I would not like to see anyone “cut off.”  It really does cause me mental anguish

Our Storm:  It was windy last night.   Really windy.  There was thunderstorm warnings.   I snuggled into the comfort of my bed,  and said a prayer for those who recently lost their homes due to severe storms.  You never know, in the morning…  This morning I found out that friends had lost trees, had minor property damage.  We had a branch on the apex of the roof.  

 I have family members who  attend a protestant mega-church.  This church recently collected large amounts of aid for the victims of the midwestern storms.  Catholic charities also are doing much for the victims of the storm, as well as numerous generous secular groups.   Neighbors help neighbors.  Good Samaritans every one.

They are all Jesus’ hand reaching out to Peter, to those sinking in the waves of the struggles of this life.   They do it for love of neighbor.   When I see them work together to solve a common problem, I see that they are all Jesus’ hand reaching out to Paul, to those sinking in the waves of separation due to different understand of religious theological development.

We are reminded to look at Jesus, how God saves through the means of humanity, his creation which he loves.  The storm is stilled.   There is still work to be done, trees to be chopped, boats to be repaired, Biblical truths to glean…and share.

Jesus’ Hand:  Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped.   We’re all in the same boat—and Jesus is here.  God with us.  When you take the hand of your neighbor, you take the hand of Jesus.  When you give your hand to your neighbor, you are the hand of Jesus.  Be not afraid.

Gazelle