The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the importance of an attitude of humility in our relationship with God and others to open our perception of how we best serve in the Way of Jesus.
Humbly Serving
The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel declares about those who return to God that “they shall surely live.”
* [18:25] The LORD’s way is not fair: this chapter rejects the idea that punishment is transferred from one generation to the next and emphasizes individual responsibility and accountability.1
Psalm 25 is a prayer for guidance and for deliverance.
* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides.2
The reading from the Letter to the Philippians urges us to imitate Christ’s humility.
* [2:5] Have…the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus: or, “that also Christ Jesus had.” While it is often held that Christ here functions as a model for moral imitation, it is not the historical Jesus but the entire Christ event that Phil 2:6–11 depict. Therefore, the appeal is to have in relations among yourselves that same relationship you have in Jesus Christ, i.e., serving one another as you serve Christ (Phil 2:4).3
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the Two Sons.
* [21:32] Cf. Lk 7:29–30. Although the thought is similar to that of the Lucan text, the formulation is so different that it is improbable that the saying comes from Q. Came to you…way of righteousness: several meanings are possible: that John himself was righteous, that he taught righteousness to others, or that he had an important place in God’s plan of salvation. For the last, see note on Mt 3:14–15.4
Barbara Dilly comments the Lord knows us by the way we follow him.
In the New Testament reading, we see that following Jesus is about learning how to live humbly, regarding others as more important than ourselves, and to do nothing out of selfishness. We are to look out for other’s interests and not our own. Today I pray that the Lord knows me by the way I follow him, not by how upright I appear to be in the eyes of the world.5
Don Schwager quotes “The Father and his two sons,” by an author unknown from the 5th century A.D.
"Who is this if not the God who created all people and loves them with a fatherly affection, the God who preferred to be loved as a father rather than feared as a lord, even though he was Lord by nature? On this account, at the beginning of the commandments of the law, he did not say, 'You shall fear the Lord with all your heart' but 'you shall love the Lord with all your heart' (Deuteronomy 6:5). To elicit love is not characteristic of a lord but of a father. Of the two sons in this parable, the older one represents the Gentiles, since they come from their father Noah. The younger son represents the Jews, who come from Abraham. 'And approaching the first, he said, "Son, go and work today in my vineyard." 'Today' refers to this present age. How did he speak to his sons? He didn't address them face to face like man, but he spoke to the heart, like God. Man only utters words to the ear, but God supplies understanding to the mind." (excerpt from an incomplete Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, HOMILY 40)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Philippians 2:1-11 notes that because Jesus chose humility over pride and service over force, his Father raised him up and exalted him as Lord.
Jesus didn’t come to win an argument; he came to win our hearts. By humbling himself like this, he showed that his love is real, solid, and eternal. Now he asks us to follow his example. Just as he came not to be served but to serve, he asks us to serve each other. He asks us to win each other’s hearts rather than try to break each other’s wills.7
Friar Jude Winkler suggests that the dynamics of love and betrayal resonate in the text from Ezekiel. The emptying of Himself, or kenosis, praised in Phillipians is a model for Jesus followers. Friar Jude points out that the broken are often more open to seeking a relationship with God than the self satisfied who have created their own gods.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments when we are content and satisfied on the inside of any group, we seem to suffer from a structural indifference. Insiders are by nature dualistic because they divide themselves from the so-called outsiders.
People such as Francis and Clare of Assisi try to live on the margins so they will not become enamored by the illusions and payoffs of prevailing systems. They know this is the only position that ensures continued wisdom, ever-broadening perspective, and even deeper compassion. Such choices may be seen in the lives of monks, nuns, hermits, or Amish communities. There are softer forms, too, like people who do not watch TV, people who live under the level of a taxable income, people who make prayer a major part of their day, people who deliberately place themselves in risky situations for the greater good. It is ironic that we must go to the edge to find the center, but that is what prophets, hermits, and mystics invariably do.8
Humility is a necessary attitude for us as we accept moving to the positions in life that open our eyes to the service we can be to those we encounter on our journey.
References
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