Humility

On a sabbath day, Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour.

Luke 14:1f

As early soccer tragics, my sons dreamed of playing for Liverpool and Manchester United. While those youthful dreams were never realised they did play seniors and reserves for Devonport for quite a few years and have achieved a measure of success. They’re both great characters, put everything into the game and were valued by their teammates. While they have been rightfully proud of their achievements, they are, nevertheless, humble about what they have achieved.

Humility is not a condition, but a quality or virtue. While it is something to be aspired to, it has its roots in the Latin word humus or earth. It is an earthy quality. In the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach the writer tells us (Ecclesiasticus 3:18): The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly. Jesus (of Nazareth) picks up this very matter, advising the Pharisees (Luke 14:11) that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

We live in a culture of ‘only the best will do’. Competition for resources, market share, clients, skilled workers, product, is a part of the fabric of our democratic society. And because of it the greater part of the community benefits. It also means that banks, telecommunication and mining companies walk away with billions of dollars of profits. Corporate wealth of this magnitude is almost beyond comprehension. Most of us would admit that the most important part of our lives is our family - our relationship with our spouses, children and friends and yet we know the havoc that is played on those relationships when the needs of corporate business have priority – over where we live and work, over the kinds of jobs we can do, over what we earn, over the wrangling between our political representatives. It is about power, it is about pride. Pride in success. 

Ben Sirach (v. 28) reminds us that: There is no cure for the proud man’s malady, since an evil growth has taken root in him.

Jesus explains (Luke 14:12 – 14): When you give a lunch or dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No, when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind - that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.

There is no doubt we should be proud of our work, of our home, of our children, of our sporting achievement – but we should not buy into the pride that sets us apart as being better than others, having more than others. The Gospel of Jesus has a real clarity about the dangers of power, wealth, pride, greed and knowledge. These ‘values’ are contrary to the kingdom values.

Our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic child care centres, our Catholic agencies, must always strive to be their best, but in living out kingdom values, they must be humble and must always remain available to poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind – lest they forget why they exist in the first place.

Peter Douglas

REFLECTION: CARDINAL PELL’S APPEAL AND US

by Fr Kevin Bates SM

With the outcome of Cardinal Pell’s Appeal now known and fuelled by media interest, no doubt many of the emotions and opinions that filled the air at the time of his conviction and sentencing will once more be the subject of discussions right across the community.

Some will feel positively about the outcome of the Appeal, believing that justice has now been done and that victims have been heard. Some may still harbour doubts about the plausibility of the charges and the adequacy of the processes involved and still believe the Cardinal to be innocent.

Whatever the truth of the matter in this case, we are all becoming more aware of the terrible harm done to countless people, over years and years. Much of this harm as we know was inflicted by members of the Church and often enough by priests and religious.

Understandably, the revelations of recent years have led some to walk away from the Church. Many now condemn the Church as failing in its mission too often and as having little relevance in society anymore.

Others again have broadened their focus to other issues in the Church that they demand be reformed and have stepped away from the Church until such reforms are in place.

It’s possible that we use Cardinal Pell’s case as a kind of whipping post on which to pin all our disenchantment with the wider Church. We may see him as symbolically paying for the sins of the rest of the Church.

This occasion can have something valuable to teach us. If we look carefully at our responses and attitudes, we can make thoughtful choices in the way we converse with each other, the way we pray and the way we act as members of the Church.

This is a most crucial, painful and challenging point in our history. There is indeed much that is in need of healing and reform, and given the sheer humanity of Church, there will always be need for such. The Church has always been human, both graced and sinful just as you and I are!

We need not be dismayed by this. Rather we can consider together the contribution we can make to this healing and reform, as individuals, families, pastoral groups, parishes, or other communities.

The starting point we choose for our response is very important. If we begin by considering the Church as an organization, an institution, we will miss the whole point of the Church’s existence. There are of course institutional issues with which we must deal, however for them to be our starting point or our final goal will not serve us well.

We are first and last a communion of faith, disciples of Jesus Christ who journey with him each day of our lives, personally and in communion with each other. We are bound together by our faith in the Good News of Jesus and our commitment to the living out of that Good News.

For all our differences, we pray together and proclaim the one faith that binds us.

It’s from this starting point, where we prayerfully contemplate the mysteries of our faith and how they can speak in today’s world that our mission flows as will our response to matters such as those facing us right now.

Our work for justice, health-care, education, welfare, and more, which spreads into every corner of society, is fuelled by this prayerful contemplation. Without this starting point it is not the mission of the Good News but rather a project of our own making.

So when reflecting on how we might respond to the outcome of the Cardinal’s case, or to matters that call for reform, it would be wise for us to begin in a prayerful place, in the presence of the ultimate Justice, Love and Mercy.

Let’s pray a blessing on us all as we move forward from here.