The humility of Christ

22^ndSunday in Ordinary time year C:

Today in the gospel Jesus calls us to grow in the virtue of humility.  St. Thomas Moore calls humility the low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.  Beautiful image.  All heavenly virtues can grow within us if we are rooted in humility.  I’m tempted to go on at this point and tell you just how well-suited I am to teach all of you about humility because of just how humble I am. I don’t normally like to brag, but my humility is really pretty incredible.  Ok, that’s a joke.  Humility is an important virtue for all of us.  But, I’ll be the first person to admit that humility can be so tough.  We can say we want to be humble, but then someone at work gets recognized and we can feel ourselves getting upset; or then it seems like our family doesn’t appreciate us; or, then we go through a tough time in our lives and we ask God why he chose us to endure such suffering. Humility is tough.

So, I wanted to reflect on two questions so that all of us can learn more about humility.  First question: why be humble?  Second, how to learn humility?

Why be humble?  We all know that we are supposed to be humble.  We know that the saints are humble.  We know that being humble is something that Jesus wants from us.  But, are these answers compelling enough to motivate us to grow in humility?  I don’t know about you, but I often lose motivation when I’m trying to do something simply because I’m supposedto do it.  Why are we supposed to be humble?  The short answer is that we are supposed to be humble simply because Christ was humble. I think that sometimes we make it all too complicated.  Christianity is not a system of rules and obligations.  Christianity is entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ and conforming our life to his.  If we are going to bear the name Christian, then we have to become like Christ.  It’s that simple.  Now, all the moral laws, the obligations, the teachings of the Church, they all help us to become more like Christ.  But, I think we can often lose sight of the fact that everything we do is supposed to help us become more like Christ.  So, if our motivation to grow in humility is simply because it’s some abstract obligation, I bet we won’t be successful.  But, if we consciously remember to become more like Christ every day, we might see ourselves desire to grow in humility, as painful as it can be.

Ok, now we are motivated to grow in humility.  How do we learn humility?  I think the best thing we can possibly do to grow in humility is to study the life of Christ.  Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.  Yet, he was humble enough to become fully human.  His entire life is like a documentary on the virtue of humility. He could have ridden down on the clouds, he became flesh in the womb of a simple girl.  He could have been born in a palace, he was born in a stable.  He could have been laid down on silk, he was laid in a manger.  He could have apprenticed at the finest schools, Joseph taught him a simple trade. He could have picked the best and brightest disciples, he picked humble fishermen.  The author of life itself, handed over his life on the Cross, the most despised and humiliating kind of death imaginable at the time.  He should have been buried under a great pyramid, it was a small and simple tomb.  His rising could have been witnessed by millions, no one actually saw him rise from the tomb. 

If you just take one of these examples and use it for contemplation, you will find that Christ can teach us all humility.  If we seek to be like him and emulate the example of his life, we can’t help but grow in humility.

But, I want to talk about one last example of the humility of Christ, the Eucharist.  Jesus left us the Eucharist as his lasting presence among us.  The Blessed Sacrament is truly his Body and Blood.  It is not a mere symbol.  It does not just remind us of Christ.  It is him.  I know that many people read that there was a survey recently that stated only 30% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.  It’s a shocking number.  I’ll say that my experience is that the vast majority of people I encounter believe in the Eucharist.  I mean, that’s why you are here right?  It’s truly the Body and Blood of Christ.  Yet, I think this number of people who don’t believe shows Christ’s humility even more. He’s so humble, that people fail to acknowledge his presence.  Maybe the reason that people find it hard to believe in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is because all of us find it hard to be humble.  Maybe those people who don’t believe in the Eucharist might say: well, if it was a bit more flashy, I’d believe.  No, Christ was, is, and will always be humble.  

You and I believe in him.  We strive to embrace his life.  We want to become like him.  As we celebrate this Holy Eucharist, we are once again in his humble presence.  So, we can learn from him how to be humble.