Luke 14:1,7-11 Real Humility

Luke 14:1,7-11 Real Humility

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At the home of one of the leading Pharisees, Jesus told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table…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, 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…For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

I was worried this Halloween.  I was worried that I would run out of candy.  So on Wednesday afternoon, I went to Albertsons to buy a few more bags of candies just to be safe.  While I was driving, I was thinking to myself, “Let’s see…there are approximately four thousand parishioners here.  We have nearly nine hundred kids in our school…They all know me…I’m gonna need a lot of candy.” 

I bought nearly one hundred dollars worth of candy.  I bought the good stuff:  Kitkats, Reeses, Hersey bars, Hersey kisses, etc…  

I ripped open a few bags and put the chocolates in a large container.  I sat down and waited for the storm to hit. 

6:00 pm:  All quiet.  I thought to myself, “Well, it’s still early.  The kids are having dinner.”  7:00 pm:  Nothing.  I reasoned with myself, “They must be getting ready.”  8:00 pm:  Not a living soul.  I questioned myself, “What is going on?”  I checked the outdoor lights.  9:00 pm:  What the…!!!

Not a single kid showed up at my door.  This coming Monday, I will throw all my candy at them!

I thought I was popular.  I thought I was the only one.  I thought I would get inundated with little hands.  I thought there would be a line at my door.  Instead, I got nothing, no one, not a soul, not even an emergency call!

The Lord said, “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.’”

What a practical tip.  What a helpful hint.  But is it really that?  Is the Lord writing a self-help book full of “techniques” to help his followers to “appear” more humble?  Theoretically (or theatrically) , is it not possible that a very arrogant man could intentionally sit in the back only to be told to come up to the front?  Isn’t seeking attention part of the problem with humility?

The Lord is not offering us some practical tips or helpful hints to be more humble.  The Lord is offering us a humble way of life.  Humility is based on the truth.  And the truth is:  We are nothing without the Lord.

Doesn’t St. Paul sound a bit arrogant in his letters?  In one of them, he writes: “Be imitators of ME for I imitate Christ” (Eph 5:1).  Wow!  Is it humility to equate oneself to Christ?  It is!  But only if you are a saint; that is, if Christ lives and breathes and works through you.  In today’s reading, St. Paul writes:  “That I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.”  Wow!  Imagine for a moment if I went to your house and told you, “You should feel blessed to have me in your presence!”

Any sane person would throw me out the door.

The secret to humility is not found in any self-improvement book.  Rather, it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. 

The secret to humility is found in TOTAL obedience to God’s Will. 

When a humble man acts on a good decision and it doesn’t work out, he will not resort to breaking all the commandments to get what he wants.  Instead, he will trust that the Lord has an alternate plan for him.  He knows (and accepts) that God’s plan is always the better plan.

It’s not so much what we say or do, but how we live.  That’s what made Saul, Paul and Paul St. Paul.

Luke 7:36-50 Hold Fast!

Luke 7:36-50  Hold Fast!

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A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him.  Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.  Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. 

Something wrong is going on when someone sins.  Something worse is going on when someone sins and calls it a blessing.  But the worst is when someone who does not sin turns away the sinner.

This woman's face was her scarlet letter.  Everyone knew her.  Everyone knew who she was.  Even she knew who she was.  She admitted it.  And she knew what she was doing was wrong.  Ah, if only there were more humble women like this woman...But come to think of it, there probably would be if there were more humble men like the Lord. 

By the looks of it, no sinner ever approached a Pharisee.  I wouldn’t.  Would you?  Would you stretch out your hand at someone who would be repulsed by it?  Would you call out for help at someone who saw you and turned the other way?  Didn’t they know?  Didn’t they just turn away?

No wonder the Lord was harsher with the “sinless” than he was with the sinner.  They were making it so hard for others to enter Heaven. 

The Lord did not come into the world to tell people that everything was okay.  He did not forgive our sins by telling us there was nothing to forgive.  Why do I keep telling people who do me wrong:  “Oh, that’s okay.  Don’t worry about it.  We can all be like that.  No big deal.” 

Sin is a big deal.  And it needs to be dealt with in a small and humble way.  That's the only way to deal with sin! 

As I was coming back to the faith of my fathers, I realized that I needed to go to Confession.  To know Scripture and the sacraments was not good enough.  I had to experience God through the sacraments.  I knew I had to go to Confession.  And it was time to go to Confession.  I had put it off way too long.  Over ten years had passed since my last confession and I had plenty to confess.  Teenage years are tough years.  And the last time I had gone to confession was when I was fifteen years old.  Oh boy!

So I decided to go to a parish that was very, very far away from my home.  None of the priests knew me (of course).  None of the parishioners knew me.  I waited in line like all the other poor sinners and waited patiently for the priest to arrive.  He eventually did and I was shocked!

He was a very old Franciscan monk.  I couldn’t believe it.  He could barely walk.  I thought to myself, “If this man hears my Confession he will die!!!”    But then a different thought began to stir in my mind.  I actually smiled.  I was convinced he wouldn’t be able to hear a thing I said.

Well, I told him everything.  He listened.  I cried.  He gave me the best advice I had ever heard.  He ended by saying, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.”  I answered, “For his mercy endures forever.”

Little did I know that this Confession would be the cornerstone of how I would hear all my Confessions.  [Or at least try to hear all my confessions.]

Little did I know that this Confession would bring be back – heart, mind, body and soul – into the arms of Jesus Christ and to an entirely new way of living my life.

Hold fast!!!  This is the ride of your life!

P.S.  We tend to associate the Lord with a few grandiose miracles.  But what we often think little of is what Christ did the most:  he touched the sick and spoke lovingly to the brokenhearted.  He did what the Pharisees should have done.  He did what we should all be doing.