Many commentaries – and no doubt sermons! – on this week’s Gospel invite us to consider Jesus’ invitation to humility. Instead of choosing the best seats, Jesus says, choose the lowest ones as it would be better to be invited up to higher seats than be asked to move down to lower seats.
There is always a danger when we talk about humility. Some think humility means to lower oneself, to be shy or think that you are somehow unworthy. Others think that humility is an invitation to low self-esteem. This is not what humility means as all.
Humility has its root in the word ‘humus’ meaning earth or soil. This does not mean that we should lower ourselves to become door mats. Rather, humility is an invitation to ask ourselves what the foundation or ground attitudes are that we hold towards others and the world. What is the lens through which I see myself amongst others and living in the world?
Granted, some people do have an
exaggerated sense of themselves. They are run by their egos and can be overbearing and stifling. They can do a lot of damage as the only lens they look through is the lens of their own self-importance.
The invitation to humility is an invitation to explore how our hearts are growing in the capacity to love and to be of service to others. Humility is about our
ability to make space for others, their concerns, and their challenges. It is a deep awareness of the image of God in another – and all creation – and my capacity to honour that image.
Jesus never invites us to make ourselves doormats; that would be to do ourselves spiritual and psychological damage. That is an abuse of the image of God in us. Rather, the humility
that Jesus invites us to is one in which we develop a healthy and balanced sense of ourselves. When we do this, we discover the freedom to serve others generously.
Take time today to consider where, at this moment, God might be asking you to seek true humility – to make space in your heart for others, to be of service. What might block your ability to do that?
Can you think of someone who you might need to honour today?
