The great gift of humility (Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary time. Cycle B)

In a very nice book of homilies, the author imagines the conversation of the apostles in this way: «Peter: “Of course, without doubt, I am the most important! Didn’t He call me the Rock on which that community of His will be built?” John: “I am sorry for you. What you are saying maybe true but that is only a question of administrative bureaucracy. Though you maybe a good administrator, it does not mean that you are important to others. You should look for something else, something more important. You should look for His love. When you do, you will realize that well, he loves me the most.” Judas Iscariot: “The most important person in a group is the one who holds the money. The world is ruled by money. To whom would you entrust your riches?” Philip: “Do you remember when he had that catering problem? Thousands followed Him, eagerly awaiting the words of wisdom that flow forth from His mouth. Nobody knew what to do – not even Him, it seemed. He turned to me for advice. I am sorry for you, but he asked me!”. The lesson of the Lord at that time and twenty centuries later is simple: humility. Humility is the most misunderstood virtue of our times. The humility is synonymous with weakness. Being humble doesn’t mean suppression of one’s personal attributes or abject self-depreciation. No, this is not. The humble person knows his or her places and takes it. The humble person if he or she is supposed to rule – rules; and when he or she is supposed to serve, serves. But even in his most triumphant moments, the humble person remembers that all he or she is and all that he or she has is a real gift from God. Humility is learned in the family setting. There are many obstacles in our formation on humility. Our society does not value humility. Just look at TV programs alone, they are filled with all forms of violent behavior. Violence is glorified and appears more exciting, clever and very much a part of the lives of attractive people. Children are provided with toy guns that help them to mimic the violence they see in TV and movie. Even watching the evening news, one has the impression that people all over the world are fighting each other. Even in the life of the Church, who is a good priest or good bishop? The one who does fundraising campaigns and the one that has a social media company to evangelize? My brother, my sister, today we are called to examine our conscience, and to reflect where our heart and our desires are. Tagore said: “I slept and dreamed that life is only pleasure. I awoke and saw that life is only service. I served and saw that service is pleasure.” • AE