Humble/Humility

Sunday Reflection

8/28/22

What if in reality being humble and completely confiding in the Lord and his will makes us the true conquerors of this world?

There is so much I could say about being humble. It’s a large topic to speak about because it’s a BIG theme throughout the Gospel. However, not too many people today practice humility or being humble. This is part of why its called the narrow path. Cory Asbury’s song “Sparrows” got me thinking this week about what prevents us from putting all our trust into God and it dawned on me that we are plagued by worldly logic and unable to humble ourselves like the things mentioned in the song.

In a world that is dominated by pride, the humble appear weak and as losers in the eyes of men and women but the Word of God for today invites us to become humble and meek. Humility does not consist in belittling ourselves, but rather in that healthy realism that makes us recognize our potentials as well as our misery. Beginning with our misery, humility makes us take our gaze off ourselves in order to turn it toward God, to the One who can do everything and who even obtains for us what we would not succeed in obtaining on our own. “Everything is possible to one who has faith.”” (Mark 9:23).

Being believers does not mean drawing near to a dark and frightening God. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of this. No. Dear brothers and sisters, we have drawn near to Jesus, the Son of God, who is mercy, and it is only with his mercy that he can speak to our misery. This is why it is important to understand one’s own reality. In our lives, everyone, can experience events that put us in contact with our own frailty, our own limitations, our own misery. In this experience, we can lose everything, but we can also learn true humility. We can allow life to make us bitter, or we can learn meekness.

Too many times people base their worth on the place they occupy in the world. A person is not the position he or she holds. A person is the freedom that he or she is capable of that is fully manifested when he or she occupies the last place, or when a place is reserved for that person on the Cross. The Christian knows that his or her life is not a career after the manner of the world, but a career after the manner of Christ. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (cf. Mk 10:45). “He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (cf. Philippians 2:8)

So act in true humility. Do not be frustrated by trying to just create an “image” for yourself. “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.” (cf. Philippians 2:3-4) “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (cf. Matthew 5:12) Know your own limitations & live within your own capabilities.