The Key is Humility ~ by Josephine Fernando

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Psalm 68:4-7, 10-11
Hebrews 12:`8-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1. 7-14

The key word in today's message is humility and the key verse is Luke 14:11, which is "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The opposite of humility is pride. It is very clearly written in the Bible that pride has a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

Faith, hope and charity are the tools to live a decent Christian life. When someone humbles himself, he will be exalted by the Lord; for that is a promise given to us by the Lord.

Very often we are caught up by the peripherals of the world. We live in a materialistic world and the focus is on "I and me", rather than "we and us". However, the yardstick that our Lord uses is very different. It is amazing, for the Lord not only taught us how to live our life on this earth, but He Himself lived it.

Though being a King, He chose to be born in a stable at Bethlehem. He also chose to be born as a baby, completely dependent on His mother and father. If He wished, He could have been born in a palace and ruled over us like a King. However, Jesus identified Himself with the least. He came for the lost sheep of Israel. He encountered the miserable people in society, the outcast, those who no one would befriend. Not only that, He was a carpenter by profession.

The Lord had and has everything at His command, but He is the Hope of the hopeless. He did not defend Himself when he was tried and condemned before His death on the Cross. He endured everything patiently for us. He humbled Himself before God the Father, who exalted Him and glorified Him at His Resurrection. What a tough lesson our Lord has taught us, by living His very own life and by not just giving instructions.

We go by beauty, the money we have, the house we live in, the car we drive, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the list goes on and on. We are very much self-centered. In our modern society, we have no time for others. We are selfish. The Lord wants us to share our resources with the less fortunate. To share our meal, clothes, shoes, time, and finances with the needy. The Lord blesses those people who share their resources with others.

Our churches have many outreach programs. We can definitely involve ourselves in any one and render our service to the Lord... by serving His people. For it is written, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren you do it unto me, says the Lord." (Mt 25:40)

So, let us be charged, gear up and shake ourselves and be of service to God's people, in whatever way we can, because drops make an ocean. Mother Teresa has said, "If you want to be humble, the Lord will send you humiliations." All the great saints in our Church are saints today, primarily because of their humility.