22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C
TRULY HUMBLE?
Promoted to a higher position, you
cannot now share the news to others lest they think you are boasting.
Informed by the principal that
you have been approved as a scholar, you restrain your joy for fear it might
make you feel proud.
Your eyes are always cast
downward as you walk so as not to appear intimidating.
When bullied and heavily
criticized, you avoid confrontation so you prefer to keep quiet.
In the meeting, you refrain from
sharing your thoughts because you do not want to sound imposing.
In the above situations, is one
acting out of humility? Certainy NOT!!!
We think that humility is a trait
that embellishes the person, adorns character, and enhances the self.
And indeed, humility is a virtue
that improves any one who embraces it.
But to stop at this idea is to limit
the significance of being humble. It is only half the picture.
It also invites parodies and
pretensions that imitate humility because in reality, it runs short of being a genuine
human and Christian trait.
The Lord tells us: the one who
humbles himself will be exalted and the one who exalts himself will be humbled.
But what is humility for Jesus?
Humility is not humility for its
own sake. It is not “feeling” humble; not “looking” humble; not even being “convinced”
that you are humble. It is not being “fulfilled or satisfied” that you are
already humble!
True humility is not an interior
attitude or disposition only. For then it will be incomplete. For humility to
be true, it must affect others, enrich others, inspire others, and lift others
up.
That is why the Lord continued on
by illustrating the real humble person – the one who cares for the disadvantaged,
opens his home to the poor, and shares his life with others in need.
A humble attitude sanctifies a
person only if it passes on to actions that uplift and help others.
A charming debutante decided
against following the trend her friends took.
While they celebrated their 18th
birthdays in lavish hotel parties for their rich families and classmates, this
young woman decided to throw a party for street kids and orphans who never
experienced attending one.
She did not proclaim her
humility, but the poor around her felt it so powerfully!
