"Conduct Your Affairs with Humility" - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the 17th and 18th century philosophers such as Bernard Mandeville, John Locke, and Adam Smith argued that all of human activity is directed toward self-interest. Even acts that we classify as altruistic, in their estimation, are really designed for our self-interest. Some perform these acts to have the appearance of sanctity in the eyes of others, while others perform them in order to achieve salvation and hence the motivation is self-interest. These philosophers developed their theories in order to frame the economy of capitalism, an economy that panders to our every self-interest and desire.


Unfortunately, there arose a theology in the Church that mirrored this philosophy of self-interest; in fact, its overarching theme was the economy of salvation. In this theology we look to perform certain acts of piety and good works for the acquisition of merit that we can then apply toward our salvation. Indulgenced prayers, pilgrimages and good works that had indulgences attached to them, and the works of mercy were all pursued with the end in mind of our own salvation. Good works led to merit; sin led to loss of merit - and thus our whole lives were placed on a balance sheet of assets and liabilities that focused solely on our self-interest in our own personal salvation.


The readings for today's Mass paint an entirely different picture and theology of salvation. The wisdom writer who composed the book of Sirach focuses our attention on the virtue of humility. The word humility has its origin in the Latin word 'humus' which means soil. The virtue of humility, according to the wisdom writer, focuses our attention on the true nature of our lives - that we are made from soil and to soil we will return. By recognizing our nature as being a creature entirely dependent for our existence and all that we have on the love of God we can arrive at a humble view of ourselves.


We might think that the Pauline book of Hebrews provides us with a vision of the reward for humility in describing the heavenly Jerusalem. Yet, the author does not use the term reward. Instead, this heavenly Jerusalem is a gift of God open to all who have faith. It is entirely a gift that cannot in any way be earned through the merits of our own actions. The realization of heaven as a gift again leads us to a posture of humility. The fact that we cannot earn this gift through our own efforts is a liberating realization.


The realization of our position as a creature and the realization of faith and heaven as a gift lead us to another epiphany: we cannot live our lives as we had before. In our past lives we conducted our affairs with our self-interest in mind. Now, however, we live not for ourselves but for others. The parable Jesus gives in the Gospel text today may appear to be directed toward our self-interest: the strategy of finding the best seat in the house may seem like using the pretense of humility in order to advance our own self-interest. However, Jesus commands the listeners to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to their parties. These folks cannot repay us in any way; there is no possibility of self-interest in such an act.


Some have used the last line of the text to argue for a theology of merit: "For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Yet, such a reward is the life of imitating Christ in our lives. In all of his actions Jesus showed complete disinterest in his own fate; his concern was only in the welfare of others. That is the essence of humility: to empty ourselves and take the form of a slave to serve others without any thought of reward in this life or in the life to come.


The great 19th century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins captured well the goal of love. May this closing thought lead us to live such lives for the greater glory of God:





O God, I love thee, I love Thee -


Not out of hope of heaven for me


Nor fearing not to love and be


In the everlasting burning.


Thou, Thou, my Jesus, after me


Didst reach Thine arms out dying,


For my sake sufferedst nails and lance,


Mocked and marred countenance,


Sorrows passing number,


Sweat and care and cumber,


Yea and death, and this for me,


And Thou couldst see me sinning;


Then I, why should not I love Thee,


Jesus, so much in love with me?


Not for heaven's sake; not to be


Out of hell by loving Thee;


Not for any gains I see;


But just the way that Thou didst me


I do love and I will love Thee:


What must I love Thee, Lord, for then?


For being my king and God. Amen.

Our Example and Hope - The Assumption of Mary

This Sunday we digress from our ordinal Sundays to contemplate the Assumption of Mary into heaven. In many ways this feast is a difficult one for us to celebrate because we can't identify its event with our own human experience. None of us has been immaculately conceived, and none of us will be assumed body and soul into heaven as Our Lady has received. How, then, are we to derive meaning and inspiration in our lives from this feast?

The first reading from the book of Revelation provides us with one possible connection. The woman in this reading has been identified both as a figure of the Church as well as of Mary. In this way we can see ourselves as children of Mary who experience the trials and struggles of life on earth with the constant attacks of the dragon all about us. At the same time, we can experience the peace and serenity of Mary and the Church as so united to the loving God that these trials seem unimportant as compared with the joy of holy fellowship with God and one another. While singularly privileged, Mary too experienced trials and struggles that she had to bear with patience and love.

Monsignor Ronald Knox gives us a very intimate idea of how we can relate to Mary's experiences and see our own in hers. He wrote, "Just as a traveler, gazing out to contemplate a vast panorama, seeks some human figure in his surroundings to bring the distant objects into perspective, so do we look towards God with amazement, but can identigy and welcome a purely human figure at the side of his throne. A ship has finished its passage, a destiny has been fulfilled, a human perfection has existed. Through her, his masterpiece, we see God's relations with humanity more clearly and with greater insight." (Sermon for the Feast of the Assumption, 1954)

Mary, too, provides us with an example to follow in the Gospel text for today's liturgy. Rather than dwell on her own blessings, she instead goes at once to visit her cousin Elizabeth in order to help her in her time of expectation. This scene provides us with much to admire: Mary came from Nazareth in Galilee, a place where poverty was the rule. She goes forth to Elizabeth's house which must have been one of greater means since her husband was high priest that year. God brings together rich and poor in the whole plan of salvation through Mary's selfless acceptance of God's will for her and through her immediate impulse of care for another. Mary's Magnificat echoes this radical equality of all God's children: she first thanks God for bestowing this gift to her, then celebrates God's leveling the playing field - the mighty will be brought low and the lowly will be brought high. The justice of God has finally come in the Messianic age.

By recognizing the gifts and vocation God has given us; by bearning with patience and love the trials and tribulations of this life; by caring for others and seeking the justice of God we can imitate Mary in our lives and come to the reward of heaven. The image of the traveler that Msgr. Knox gave fifty six years ago is in fact the reality of our lives. We are pilgrims on the journey to heaven, and while we follow Christ along the way we also have great saints who serve as landmarks on our pilgrimage. Mary stands as the first and greatest landmark in our pilgrimage. As we celebrate her singular gift of the Assumption, may we be filled with the hope that through her example and intercession we may join her and all the saints in the heavenly Jerusalem. Let our prayer along the way be that of the Church on this day: "Let us pray that with the help of Mary's prayers we too may reach our heavenly home. Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise for all life and all holiness comes from you. In the plan of your wisdom she who bore the Christ in her womb was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven. May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness and join in her hymn of endless life and praise. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."