Humility is the seed of Justice Sir 3:17-18,20,28-29; Heb 12:18-19,22-24; Lk 14:1,7-14 (22 /C)

 

Humility is the seed of Justice

Sir 3:17-18,20,28-29; Heb 12:18-19,22-24; Lk 14:1,7-14 (22 /C)

“Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!” (DO)

 

The Word of God today calls us to humility, not only as a personal virtue but also as the foundation of how we live together as a society and a Church. The book of Sirach tells, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts” (Sir 3:17; Prov 23:22). In Jewish wisdom, humility meant walking in truth before God and in justice before others.  Jesus teaches, “When you are invited, go and take the lowest place… Who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:10-11). He goes even deeper: “When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Blessed indeed will you be, because they cannot repay you” (Mt 5:46-47). The dignity of the human person lies in realizing that all are created in the image of God.

Here, Jesus teaches not only personal humility but also the preferential option for the poor. A society, a parish, and a Christian life are judged not by how one treats the powerful, but by how one uplifts the vulnerable. St. Augustine says, “The first virtue of the Christian is humility.” Humility is not self-neglect but self-gift. In the same way, St. Gregory the Great writes, “Pride is the seed of injustice, but humility is the seed of true justice, because it opens our hearts to serve others”. These Fathers of the Church anticipated the development of modern Catholic Social Teaching. The Church reminds us that we are one family in God, called to lift one another.

To be humble means standing with migrants, the poor, the sick, the unborn, the elderly, and the forgotten like Boaz to Ruth (Ruth). The Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that every policy, every institution, and every community must be measured by how it protects human dignity and promotes the common good. Humility challenges us to see beyond ourselves, building communities where no one is excluded from the banquet of life. True humility is not feeling bad about oneself or thinking oneself inferior to others. Such humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low self-opinion tends to focus our attention on ourselves. Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action. Viewing ourselves truthfully, with sober judgment, means seeing ourselves the way God sees us (Ps 139:1-4). A humble person makes a realistic assessment of oneself without the illusion of being something one is not.

We see this most beautifully fulfilled in the Eucharist. Every Mass is the banquet of the Kingdom where the high and the lowly, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong are gathered together—not because we earned a place, but because God’s mercy invites us. Before Communion, we pray: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…” This is humility. And at that very moment, the Lord of heaven stoops down to feed us with his very body and blood. This is solidarity in its deepest form: God uniting himself with humanity so that humanity might be lifted into God’s life. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Ph 2:7-8). The Lord Jesus gives grace to those who seek him humbly. Our world constantly pushes us to seek recognition, power, and honor. Yet Jesus invites us to take the “lowest place”—not just as a personal spiritual act, but as a social responsibility. Do you want to be a servant as Jesus served? 

“…this very light made me, and I was below it because by it I was made” (St Augustine)