Matthew Mt 23:1-12 Whoever Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted!Jesus said,
“Whoever serves me must follow me.” (Jn 12:24-26)
“Whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” (Lk 9:48)
“Whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Mt 16:25)
“Whoever wants to be first must be slave to all.” (Mk 10:44)
“Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, my sister…” (Mt 12:50)
“Whoever drinks the water I will give will never thirst” (Jn 4:14)
“Whoever has will be given more.” (Mt 13:12)
“Whoever wishes to come after me must pick up his cross and follow.” (Mk 8:34)
“Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt 23:12)
Invitation
We could do a meditation for weeks on just these gospel passages. Truly, the Good News of Jesus Christ is that he is constantly inviting me, personally, to a life of holiness. “Whoever” wishes (or desires) to follow me is more than welcomed to do so. Yes, the Lord personally invites us to his banquet, to follow him, to humble ourselves before him. The gift is set before me, and all I have to do is accept it. Répondez s'il vous plait. Every morning I should wake up and ask the Lord, “How may I serve you?” My way of life – my outlook on life - will be radically different from this day forward. To be humble means to make myself available to serve the Lord. My life will take on new meaning, “I am here because the Lord needs me. The day I die will mean the Lord no longer needs me!”
Conditions
Along with the invitation come certain conditions. Of course! How else would we know when the King expects us or how we should dress? “Whoever” wishes to follow Jesus must follow his example. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Otherwise, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.” The Lord, who gave more, loved more and forgave more than anyone else did not “taste and see” the good life; but he did live the best Life, the greatest life, the truest life! “Whoever humbles himself, for my sake, will be exalted.”
Acceptance
“Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘the scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.’” Our Actions speak much louder than our words, because our actions will speak long before we open our mouths! St. Francis would tell his missionaries, “Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words.” This holds true for all those in positions of authority – fathers and mothers included. Popes, Bishops and priests must obey and practice the Father’s Will. If they don’t, what a scandal! But we are still called to do and observe all things whatsoever they say. Children are to obey their parents, but what a scandal if their parents practice what is contrary to The Father’s Will. For this reason, the Lord warns us all to be childlike and to heed the words of Our Father. We have been created in the image and likeness of God, not the other way around. Our fatherhood and motherhood are created in the image of God’s eternal Fatherhood. There is only one Father, Our Father, and he who pro-created (or baptized) little “Adam” named after him. Acceptance of God’s Will reveals man’s glory, and “the glory of the Lord will dwell in our Land” (Ps. 85:10b).
“I am here because the Lord needs me. The day I die will mean the Lord no longer needs me!”
ReplyDeleteThis speaks to me. I’ve been blowing around wherever the wind blew me most of my life. I’ve been mostly in a whirlwind, chasing my own tail. I didn’t stop to ask God what His plans for me where, where He prefer I spend my time and talent or even what I could do for Him. Now I’m ready to step out of the chaos of the swirling winds, stand back and seek His guidance and HOPE and PRAY He gives me the GRACE to go where He sends me. If I can’t go until the job is done, I better listen, be obedient and do some serious work to make up for lost time!