THE VIRTUE OF HUMILITY

Luke 14:1, 7-14

The readings of this Sunday talk to us about the most fundamental virtue of all, humility. In the First Reading the Book of Sirach places great emphasis on the virtue of humility. In the short section we hear today, the first two verses advise us to be humble, even when others praise us to the skies. “The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.” In the Gospel Reading we see that on a Sabbath day Jesus is gone for a meal to the house of a leading Pharisee. And we are told that “the people were observing him carefully." They wanted to see if Jesus on this Sabbath day would put a foot wrong so that they could accuse him. But before they can observe him, Jesus tells them two parables - one addressed to the guests and the other addressed to the host. He gives them a lesson on the basic Christian virtues of humility and solidarity with the poor.

The first parable is a response to the way the guests took their seats. Jesus had noticed “how they were choosing the places of honor at the table." Generally, at a wedding dinner, only a few can share the top table with the married couple and their immediate family. But here Jesus reverses the normal procedure and what he says is contrary to the guests' and our experience. Instead of seeking places of honor his listeners are advised to go to the lowest place to avoid the humiliation of being asked to move down.

After narrating the parable of humility to the guests, Jesus then addresses the host and gives instructions on choosing guests to be invited. Again Jesus’ advice is so counter-cultural and what he is suggesting is a very difficult thing to do. No host in his right mind would think of inviting the people that Jesus suggests to his supper! No one wants to lose his social status by eating with people he does not know. But Jesus calls blessed those who invite society's outcast. He says: “Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” This gospel’s imperative message is clearly the virtue of humility.

Two questions: What is humility and why should we make it a characteristic of our life and action?  I think humility is not feeling bad about yourself, or having a low opinion of yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to others. True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, it frees us from pride.  Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action. Viewing ourselves truthfully, with sober judgment, seeing ourselves as we are before God and before our brothers and sisters. A humble person makes a realistic assessment of himself without illusion or pretense to be something he is not.  He regards himself neither smaller nor larger than he truly is.

Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge correctly in a human way. Humility frees us to love and serve others selflessly, for their sake, rather than our own. What Jesus is telling us today is that life in the Kingdom of God is not about being the greatest, or the first... but rather about seeing other people as important as we are; and this not in terms of degree, or measurement, or possessions, but rather in an absolute way, a way that ignores all distinctions. Christian life calls us to be brother and sisters.