26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 1, 2023

10-01-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Louis Philip Masi

In today’s Gospel, the Lord severely scolds some of the chief priests and elders of the people. On the outside many of them looked righteous and holy, but as we know from many passages in the Gospels, the Lord is never fooled by a person who looks holy yet is full of filth on the inside. The Lord is never fooled because His Divine gaze pierces deeply into the hearts of those in front of Him — then and now. He knew those to whom He spoke and He knows each and every one of us. In fact, the Lord knows us even better than we know ourselves.

The Lord gives the chief priests and elders a pretty easy situation to evaluate. He describes two sons and asks which of them is an example of true obedience. The first son says “no” when asked to do something but then goes ahead and does what he is asked to do. The second son says “yes,” but never delivers on the promise. When asked which one did the father’s will, the chief priests and the elders respond correctly. They have the knowledge to discern the situation Jesus asked them to think about. Despite their ability to recognize the truth, they are unable to see the truth of their own lives. They are unable to discern that they themselves have been living like the second son.

Tax collectors and prostitutes may have said “no” to God at first, but after hearing the preaching of John the Baptist, they repented. Though they lived gravely sinful lives, they recognized their sin, humbled themselves, and begged for mercy. When they turn to the Lord in this way, God welcomes them with open arms. The chief priests and the elders, on the other hand, seem to say “yes” to God — at least in their public teaching — but they have not repented as John the Baptist urged. These seemingly religious people claim to follow the Lord but do not actually do so. Their lack of humility, and unwillingness to turn away from their sin, keeps them from the Kingdom of God while those who seem to be furthest away are entering the kingdom of God. The chief priests and elders clearly lack the virtue of humility — a virtue that the tax collectors and prostitutes have discovered and embraced.

In their lack of humility, the chief priests and elders stand in stark contrast to the description of the Lord Jesus that St. Paul gives in the second reading. St. Paul reminds us that, although Jesus is Divine, the Son of God, He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance. In the sight of all those around him, Jesus is lowly. He is known as the carpenter’s son from Nazareth. Rather than exalt Himself, He humbled Himself. Jesus came, not in all His glory, but as a servant in order to teach us how to be humble. Humility stands out beautifully when we contemplate the life of Jesus and the depths of His Sacred Heart. He Himself says, I am meek and humble of heart.

It is certainly very challenging to mature in the virtue of humility, especially in our social media-driven world. Humility is challenging because we have a desire to be known and recognized. We want to be seen. We often want to be the center of attention. We want to be better than others. We want to get ahead of others. Yet, if you have been around someone with very little humility, you know that it is not very pleasant. Arrogant, narcissistic, self-centered people are usually not enjoyable to spend time with. Those who are humble, on the other hand, usually make good friends. They listen to us rather than desire only to be heard. They put the other first. They show care, concern, and compassion . . . because humility draws us out of ourselves. Thus, St. Paul tells us, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.

No matter what your state in life, humility is essential. The husband or wife who puts him/herself before his/her spouse will inevitably cause the relationship to suffer. Spouses who are humble, on the other hand, always thinking of the other first, cause the relationship to flourish. The priest who seeks to build himself up and does not put the needs of others before his own causes his flock to scatter and fall away. The priest with humility, on the other hand, builds up the Kingdom of God. So, Christ and the Church challenge us today to take a look at ourselves. In what ways do we need to grow in humility? How can we begin to put others more and more before ourselves?

In just a few moments, we will approach the Sacrament of the Lord’s humility. Not only did the Eternally Begotten Son of God take on human flesh, but He has also given us His Flesh to eat. Christ humbled Himself through the Incarnation. Christ humbled Himself on the cross. Christ continues to humble Himself by the transformation of the simple elements of bread and wine into His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. As we approach this Sacrament today and at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are reminded of the humility of the Savior and Redeemer. Christ humbled himself . . . and because of this, God greatly exalted him. If we refuse to humble ourselves, we will be locked out of the Kingdom, but if we do humble ourselves, with Christ we too shall be greatly exalted by God.