In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sometime before being invited to dine at the house of a
leader of the Pharisees, Christ was confronted by another Pharisee.[1]
At that time, He was about to heal a woman who was bent in half by a spirit of infirmity
in her bones for over eighteen years. It was again a Sabbath and this Pharisee tried
to stop Jesus because of the Sabbath laws. Jesus called him a hypocrite and
asked if he would not loose an ox or donkey on the Sabbath to drink water. If
an animal should be loosed to drink water on the Sabbath, should not a true
daughter of Abraham be loosed from her bonds on the Sabbath also?
Continuing His journey toward Jerusalem, our Lord came to be
invited into the home of yet another Pharisee, this time a leader of the sect. It
also seems that all the Sabbath dinner guests were carefully observing Jesus, scrutinizing
His words and actions for flaws of which they could accuse Him. Seeing a man
with dropsy, likely a temptation planted by the host of the dinner, our Lord
did not wait to be admonished by the observant Pharisees. Instead, He opens the
dialogue by asking if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath.
Our Lord’s question is not asking for information, nor
testing the knowledge of the Pharisees. It is mocking their pride. These
experts in the law know that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Everyone recognizes
that it is lawful to heal, bless, cure, and save on the Sabbath. The questions
of our Lord on this occasion leave the Pharisees caught in their own trap. If
they say yes, it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, then they are admitting the
fault in their sinful attempts against Jesus. If they say no, they are denying the
mercy and love of God, something that, despite their actions, they claim to
uphold.
After the miracle, the Pharisees are rendered incapable of
responding to Jesus. They have no words to say. Anything they might say will
only further accuse them. They are silent in their shame. They are like a child
who stands accused of breaking the window, trying to hide the baseball bat
behind his back and afraid to speak. To speak would be to admit their sin. To
remain silent is to deny the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God.
In this context, our Lord delivers a teaching on humility.
He is not strictly giving the Pharisees a lesson in etiquette. It is true that
according to human groups, you will gain more prestige by sitting in the lowest
place and waiting to be invited to a higher seat. However, having such
knowledge and using it to your advantage is not humility. It is pride
masquerading as humility. Choosing the lower place to manipulate your host into
inviting you higher is the same as manipulating your host into stroking your
pride.
Pride is the love of your own excellence.[2]
“Humility is the virtue by which a man recognizes his own unworthiness because
he really knows himself.”[3]
It is so very easy for us to overlook our own pride because it brings results.
Results make us feel better. Feeling better about ourselves causes us to love our
own efforts, our own ideas, ourselves for our own excellence.
Pride is not the same as striving for excellence. As a Christian,
you are called to be the best grandmother you can be. You are even called to strive
to be a better salesman, machine operator, or writer than you currently are.
You are called to strive to be better so that you can better serve your neighbor.
As a better grandmother, you can help guide your grandchildren into virtuous
lives. As a better salesman, you can better provide for your family and help
connect your customers to the products they need, not just the products that
will earn you a higher commission.
Striving for excellence is not the same as loving your
excellence. Loving your excellence is thinking highly of yourself; striving for
excellence for the sake of recognition from others; and seeking worldly gain
solely based on how great you are. This is pride. This is sin. This is, in
fact, the basis of sin.
Eve was drawn to eat the forbidden fruit by curiosity. She
desired to taste, to know, that which had not been given to her to taste or
know. This curiosity was an expression of pride. She believed the lie of Satan
that God was holding something back from her and she believed that she was
deserving of everything. She believed the knowledge of good and evil was the
just reward for her excellence.
Humility, on the other hand, is the basis of our salvation.
The Son of God humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. He took on our flesh and
made Himself unworthy of salvation by bearing the sin of the world. He who knew
no sin became sin for you, so that you would become worthy of His salvation.[4]
It could even be said that Christ humbled Himself so that He could learn our
suffering, and having learned our suffering, He might bear it to the cross and
bring it to an end.
It is because the Son of God took on flesh for our salvation
that humility is the fundamental Christian virtue. It is the basis of the
Christian life. The Christian must always strive toward humility because such
an endeavor means you are striving to live as Christ.
There is a single road between sin and salvation. Each step
toward salvation is a step away from sin and each step toward sin is a step
away from salvation. Thanks be to God we are not left alone on this journey.
Christ died for you that you would share in His life. The victory over sin and
death is won for you. The gates of eternity stand open. The days of your life
on this side of glory are perilous because they contain temptations to pride.
Every day presents you with manifold opportunities to turn away from salvation
and indulge in your pride, the love of your own excellence; to take the highest
seat of honor and stick up your nose at those less fortunate than you.
Yet every day also presents you with the opportunity to
repent. Every day offers you the opportunity to look at yourself and recognize
yourself for who you are. You are a sinner. Sin lies at the door, waiting to
devour you.[5]
You are unworthy of salvation because your heart is willing to turn from God
and indulge your flesh.
You are also a child of God. You have been washed in the
waters of Holy Baptism. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who forms your
prayers to be acceptable to the Father.[6]
You have received the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Because you know the mercy
and love of God, you have access to the Father. You may come to Him and beg
forgiveness.
You recognize your unworthiness, and you know what to do
about it. You come to God in prayer and beg for forgiveness, knowing that
because of the blood of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. You can repent without
fear because you know that Christ has died for you.
You are a saint. This is nothing to be ashamed of nor
something about which to become prideful. You are a saint because you have been
made a saint, a holy one. You are a saint of God who is worthy of eternal
salvation. You are worthy of eternal bliss because you wear the robe of
Christ’s righteousness. You have been called out of the darkness of your pride
and into the marvelous light of Christ’s humility.[7]
You are a pilgrim, journeying with Christ through this side
of glory until you are called home. You have been called to humility because
you have been called to imitate Christ. You fulfill this call to humility by
recognizing who and what you are in the sight of God. You are unworthy of His
love, yet He loves you. You are unworthy of His mercy, yet He has had mercy on
you. You are unworthy of His forgiveness, yet He forgives you. You are unworthy
and yet in Christ, you are worthy of the glory of heaven.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
St. Luke 13:10-17.
[2]
Bernard of Clairvaux, “On the Steps of Humility and Pride,” Bernard of
Clairvaux: Selected Works, The Classics of Western Spirituality, translated
by G.R. Evans (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1987), IV.14 [112].
[3]
Bernard of Clairvaux, “On Humility and Pride,” I.2 [103].
[4]
2 Corinthians 5:21.
[5]
Genesis 4:7.
[6]
Romans 8:26-27.
[7]
1 Peter 2:9-10.
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