The Extreme Potential of Humility

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Our Lord is sharing this secret, this great secret that the world does not know, does not recognize, of humility. And in the messages that the Lord’s been giving us, that’s one of the points He’s insisted on most, humility. And the secret of humility is open to all, but especially to those who have experienced humiliation in their life, and a lot of us are in that case of having experienced humiliation. And so, the readings today have this strong message of humility. But what about the second reading. We had the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. Do you remember what the second reading was? Think, think back if you remember what the second reading was today. Probably a lot of you don’t, because it’s kind of a mysterious reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. So, to help put it in context, he’s talking about when the Israelites had just come out of Egypt, and Moses led them to Mount Sinai in the desert. And there at Mount Sinai, the Lord said this to Moses. He said, “You shall set bounds for the people round about saying, ‘take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or even touch the border of it’.”  Not even touch, not go up it, even touch its border. He says, “Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.” So, it was very severe warning. And then a little bit later, it says, “there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud upon the mountain.” So, the top of the mountain now is hidden by this cloud and a very loud trumpet blast. So, what’s this trumpet blast? It’s one thing for thunder and lightning. But now there’s a trumpet blast coming out, “a very loud trumpet blast coming out of the mountain, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God.” So, this is an opportunity, an occasion, for them to meet God, “and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire.” So, all this was manifesting God Himself coming down on the mountain in fire. “And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain is quaking greatly.” So, there’s this great earthquake there, at this in the sound of the trumpet, this mysterious trumpet is going louder and louder. “Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.” And so, remember again, this people is just out there, exposed, and so exposed to this lightning too, “And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. “And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” So, it’s that moment, that event that this letter to the Hebrews is speaking about. So, because it says, “you have not come.” So, it’s saying that this has not been their experience. You have not and so it’s going to be talking about the experience on Mount Sinai. It says, “you have not come to what may be touched a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a storm and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them, for they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.” And so, this is terrifying the people, this experience of encountering God, the presence of God, which has come to the top of the mountains, hidden in this great cloud, is terrifying for them; so much that they’re asking that no further messages be spoken to them because of their fear. And so, what does that have to do with this message of humility? One thing that the Scripture shows very clearly is that the people of Israel, even after seeing all the marvels of God in Egypt and then the past the miraculous salvation at the Red Sea, they were still stubborn. And it says stiff necked people, stubborn and stiff neck, very human, like us. And so, this is actually a great act of mercy by God, by teaching them fear of the Lord, helping the people to learn fear of the Lord, to learn humility. So, he’s leading them on a path to humility, so that in humility, they can be quiet, learn silence, learn fear of the Lord, adoration, accepting that there is a mystery of God. God is not one of these cheap pagan idols, and that’s why the cloud surrounds the Lord, this great, mysterious cloud, because they can’t see God and live, and so it’s a protection for them, and it’s teaching them to listen to God, to be humble and to listen to God. And so, we have today, also in the first reading from Sirach, a great message on humility. It says, “My son, perform your task in humility, and then you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself.” In Hebrew it is literally, the more you must make yourself small, “the greater you are, the more you must make yourself small, so you will find favor with God.” And so, this is what changes and sheds light on this whole passage of Sirach, that it’s not just a human perspective, but it’s on being in the presence, in the sight and the light of God, what is pleasing to God. And so that’s what this is speaking about, this light of God. “Find favor not with men but find favor with God.” And so, it says. “There are many who are noble and renowned, but it is to the humble, that God reveals His mysteries.” That’s very important. “There are many who are noble and renowned, but it is to the humble that God reveals His mysteries.” And I think we see that so much today, that so many people who have a lot of studies and feel very confident in their intelligence are not able to receive the mysteries of God. And it’s only to the humble, the humble, only the humble that God is revealed. Because it says, “God reveals His” it says, “God reveals His mysteries.” Because the mysteries of God are things that no human intelligence can discover by itself. They’re beyond human intelligence. It’s only God who can reveal them, and it doesn’t say that He reveals them to the people who have the most studies, the most degrees, the most, the highest. IQ. It says, “He reveals them to the humble, and only to the humble, for great is the might of the Lord. He is glorified by the humble.”  He’s not glorified by those who seem important. He’s glorified by… that seemed like a contradiction. You know, the great kings, you know they were, they would have, they would be glorified by the power of their armies and the great, maybe the great sages that they had, and maybe scientists and so forth. But it says, “The Lord is glorified by the humble. Seek not what is too difficult for you, nor investigate what is beyond your power. Reflect upon what has been assigned to you and do not be curious about many of His works. For you do not need to see with your eyes what is hidden. Do not meddle in what is beyond your task. For matters too great for human understanding have been shown you. For their hasty judgment has led many astray.” Hasty judgment has led many astray. And that’s also very important. When there’s things which might be from God and they might not be from God, it’s often better to be – to not judge too quickly. “Their hasty judgment has led many astray, and wrong opinion has caused their thoughts to slip a stubborn mind” – in Hebrew, it’s literally a hard heart – “will be afflicted at the end, and whoever loves danger will perish by it. A hard heart will be burdened by troubles, and the sinner will heap sin upon sin, the affliction of the proud has no healing, for a plan of wickedness has taken root in them, though it will not be perceived.” So, it’s talking about the danger of pride and the secret of humility. And I sense that we have an experience of this right now in the prophetic messages that the Lord is giving. One thing that struck me so much is that it seemed like, without humility, it’s almost impossible for people to receive messages from the Lord. And I don’t mean just the person who’s directly receiving them from the Lord, but the persons who are receiving them, also through them. There needs to be a lot of humility to receive when the Lord is speaking and when he’s speaking through His prophets. So why all this training? Why so much formation? Why so much insistence on humility? Because only the humble can recognize the revelations from God. The proud are unable – the proud are blind to these. And we see the greatest example in the Gospel itself. When God Himself becomes man, it’s the proud, the experts, the learned who many of them are unable to receive the Lord; not because learning is bad or intelligence is bad, but because there’s the danger of pride. And so, a person can be very intelligent, have great learning, and if they have a true humility, like St Thomas Aquinas, for example, they can receive this light. But it takes humility. So, without humility, as the book of Syriac says, “We can’t receive the revelations from God,” the mysteries that God is revealing today. And that’s happening, I said, I mean, that’s kind of what the Lord is doing right now in the reconquest. He’s revealing great truths, great mysteries, even about what the Church is going through right now, but it takes a lot of humility to be able to receive it. And this is the case also right now, as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, as the Lord comes to us in the Holy Eucharist, because He doesn’t come in an impressive appearance. He comes to us in a most humble, poor way, hidden in a poor little host, hiding His divinity, His Majesty, in humility. And so, this leads us back to this, that second reading that we had today, because after speaking first of all about the manifestation of Mount Sinai, then he says he contrasted to Mount Zion, Mount Zion, which is where Jerusalem is. So, the Letter to the Hebrews, remember, it’s to Jewish Christians, and they’re being persecuted, and so they’re discouraged. They’re discouraged because of how different the situation has become. You know, they were a people well respected in their religion, and now they’re being persecuted. And also, they, perhaps, you know, they had this magnificent temple in Jerusalem, beautiful, big beautiful temple with all its magnificent liturgies and very impressive liturgies, and now they’re living these new Christian celebrations. They don’t have that. They don’t have this big, beautiful temple and the beautiful liturgies. And so, this letter is saying that we don’t have the same experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai, and we don’t even have the magnificence of the temple and its ceremonies. What we’re living now as Christians is very humble, very humble appearances. So, here’s what that passage we had today says. It says, “you have not come to Mount Sinai,” but “No, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable angels and festal gathering,” Too bad, we can’t see all the angels, all the glorious angels who are here with us right now, “and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,” all the great communion of saints, “and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a New Covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel,” the sprinkled blood of Jesus Christ, the precious blood of Jesus.” So, it’s saying we’re not coming to that terrifying experience of the Israelites on Mount Sinai, which I recalled in the temple friends.” The temple had these great trumpets in the temple, which was reminding them of that experience and saying that we haven’t come to those very impressive experiences, but what we’re coming to is the divine mysteries, which are cloaked in humility, but which is truly leading us to the Divine Presence. And that reminds us of each Mass where each Mass we are called to enter into communion with our Lord Himself and with His precious blood. But this takes humility, the humility – our humility, to accept God who He Himself clothes Himself, cloaks Himself in humility, so that only the humble can receive Him, can receive His mysteries, and can receive His presence. So, if we have experienced humiliation in our life, this is a very – and a lot of us have experienced a lot of humiliation, and so the very encouraging thing about this, is the very thing that humbles me, that maybe humiliates me, can become what exalts me, what prepares me to receive our Lord. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” And so with our Blessed Mother, who said that God has looked upon the lowliness of His handmade, the humility of His handmade. So, one thing we could do right now in this holy Mass, as we prepare, not maybe to hear great trumpet blasts and earthquakes and thunder and lightning, but to receive what is actually much greater, our God Himself, become man, to come down to be God with us. And so, as we prepare to receive Him, right now, in this moment of the offertory, if you want, you can think of one thing that humbles you. Maybe one thing that has humiliated you in your life. Maybe it’s something you’re experiencing now, maybe it’s something you experienced a long time ago, and you can bring that to the Lord so that he can use that to open our heart more and more in humility to Him, offering to Him that humiliation so that He can use it to prepare, to exalt us in Him for all eternity. Amen.  

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1, 7-14