LISTEN AGAIN
True humility frees us to be ourselves, as God sees us, and to avoid
both despair and pride…
True respect for
God and His ways inclines us to imitate His humility and simplicity of heart -
wanting to please God alone. The Scriptures give ample warnings about the harm
that self-seeking pride can do to us: "Pride goes before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall" (Prv 16:18). "God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6; Prv 3:34). Did we truly hear what
Jesus said in today's Gospel? Listen again, "The greatest among you must
be your servant" (Mt 23:11). True humility frees us to be ourselves, as
God sees us, and to avoid both despair and pride. A humble person does not want
to wear a mask or put on a façade in order to look good in the sight of others.
True joy is being Christ-like in humility and simplicity of heart!
Humility opens our
minds and hearts to be learners on a journey so we can acquire true knowledge,
wisdom, and reality. We will be able to focus our energy, zeal, and ambition,
on giving ourselves to something greater. It's only then that we will be truly
free to love and serve as Christ did. We are to be short on speech but long on
performance. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk!
In the first
reading from Isaiah, we read, "Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow" (Is 1:16 - 17). The Responsorial
Psalm emphasizes the hypocrisy of Israel's public religion. The people are
great at sacrificing cattle to the Lord and at reciting verses of the law, but
they are not obedient to the law and their hearts are not in their prayers. St.
Matthew's Gospel takes up this theme of hypocrisy. Jesus tells His disciples to
avoid pitfalls like those that have kept the Pharisees from being adequate
religious leaders. We should not expect, nor look for, recognition because we
are doing good works; we are to practice what we preach, daily!
How does your
Lenten journey match up with these readings?