Homily from Sunday September 19TH – 25TH Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we continue our reflection on discipleship, today, we are concentrating on humility and it cautions against the destructive effects of pride, competition, and selfishness in the life of the Church, at our workplaces, home or even when we volunteer in a parish. When we pass the front door of a church, we know that we are entering into the house of God. We bless ourselves, genuflect. We move with respect and pray in silence. Here everybody is special, there is no difference before God, rich, poor, powerful, sinner everybody is a child before God. In God’s eye, all of us are children.
We heard Jesus talking about his passion, death, and resurrection last Sunday and today as well. Jesus, the suffering servant through his passion and death, taught us the ultimate humility. Since the disciples didn’t understand about it, Jesus again started to teach about discipleship. In the Gospel, we heard the disciples arguing about “who was the greatest among them”. Like the disciples, we see arguments and hostile interactions rather than a respectful discussion among Christians everywhere. We must understand that the Church, which is the body of Christ, continues to suffer when there is division and destructive pursuits for honor, privilege, power, or competition for greatness. The secular society sees greatness, power, wealth, influence etc. Jesus says, a Christian cannot let these values to govern his/her life as disciples which is why Jesus taught the disciples that the true nature of greatness is in humility.
Our Lord replaces the secular criteria of greatness with that of humble service. To make his point, Jesus says, greatness is in the ability to receive one who is like a child in the name of Jesus. Here it is not the innocence but the helplessness of the child Jesus talking about. When Jesus placed a child in the center of the group and embraced the child, our Lord demonstrated that a simple and powerless individual is worthy of acceptance, respect, and love. Jesus is teaching us the greatness is in the ability to accept and receive powerless and insignificant in terms of social status.
Christian disciples can minister and serve others because they have the eyes of faith which allow them to see the presence of Christ in the powerless, vulnerable people and those lacking social status. This Christ-like attitude makes them humble, helping them to abandon pride in their heart. It is this faithful recognition of Jesus in others that distinguishes a Christian disciple from a mere social worker.
A proud person at heart focuses only on his benefit, looks at the failures of others, thinks they are always right, they do what they want, like to be served, recognized and appreciated and the list goes on. We don’t want to be like that. On the other hand, following Jesus is following His servanthood to serve and a call to humility. They will be overwhelmed with their own spiritual need, they will be compassionate and forgiving, recognizes the need of others, desires to serve and to give, motivated to be faithful, rejoices when others are recognized, genuinely repentant, quick to admit their failure and seek forgiveness and of course, not concerned with self and always listen to others and serves other without selfish motives.
So, let us offer pride at the altar and ask for the graces to be humble disciples of Jesus through a real conversion of our heart, during this liturgy.
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