A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 8, n. 40)
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – August 29, 2010 *
“Humility, a Sign of Christ”
BIBLE READINGS
Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 // Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a // Lk 14:1, 7-14
(N.B. Series 8 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
We continue to delve into the meaning of Christian discipleship, enlightened by the Word of God - the spiritual bread that we break, feed upon and share as a liturgical assembly, Sunday after Sunday. Today’s liturgy of the Word helps us to focus on humility, a sign of Christ’s presence and a means of entering his eternal kingdom and participating at his heavenly feast.
The Old Testament reading (Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29) contains the intuitive exhortation: “Humble yourself … and you will find favor with God.” Derived from the Latin word, humus, which means “earth”, humility enables us to recognize that we came forth from the creative hands of God. It helps us to have a true self-esteem. It inspires us to take a subordinate stance in relation to our benevolent and loving Creator God. The humble have a prudent sense of their limitations. They listen with attentive ear and are in diligent quest for the wisdom of heart. The humble absolutely depend on God and are inclined to minister and share the lot of the poor.
This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Lk 14:1, 7-14) instills incisively a life-giving principle enunciated by Jesus: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus Christ, the “lowly one” par excellence – who humbled himself by obediently accepting death on the cross – invites us to take a humble stance in relation to the Kingdom of God. Indeed, the humble know they do not have a right to that Kingdom, but that God, in his loving initiative, enables them to participate gratuitously in the festive joy of that Kingdom.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, remark: “The humble take the proper place with respect to God. They find there true grandeur, and thus greater openness to new gifts, new graces … Humility – as the experience of Israel in the course of salvation history testifies – is openness to the splendor of God. The song of the humble is one of acknowledgment and thanksgiving to the God who draws them near to him.”
Jesus, in today’s Gospel, likewise exhorts us to open our hearts to the poor and the lowly: “Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind …” The humble stance of the redeemed entails embracing with preferential concern the anawim - those in greatest need – the poor and humble in our midst. True humility moves us to welcome and embrace the humble and the poor, who are destined to share in the sumptuous banquet of the eternal Kingdom.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, explicate: “To receive into one’s communion – to invite to one’s table – to love totally, not only without calculating personal gain, but in a totally disinterested manner – to turn resolutely toward beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind, all those who have nothing to give in return, who are deemed to be of no account, who are even excluded for participation in worship (Lev 21:18), such is Jesus’ commandment, diametrically opposed to human law and wisdom. Jesus, the Son of God who reveals the Father, makes himself, without reservation, without waiting for anything in return, the friend of the weak, the poor, the disinherited, the sick who need a doctor, even if they are filled with earthly goods. He does so to the point of giving his life.”
In the Second Reading (Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a) we glean that the marvelous things the Lord God has done for the humble – destined to share God’s saving love with other anawim - is made possible through the “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant”. The assembly of the redeemed “humble poor” is able to approach “Mount Zion, the city of the living God” through the life-giving sacrifice and total self-emptying of Jesus, the “Humble One” par excellence.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, conclude: “Jesus took the last place … Because of this, he was exalted to the right hand of the Father in the inaccessible glory that belongs to him as his Son. And yet, he allows us to share in it by traveling, with him a similar paschal road. Baptized into his death and resurrection, we have drawn near to God and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, who is open to the poor, the lame, the blind, and those sick with every illness that requires a doctor. We have no right to raise or thrust ourselves into the places of honor. But God’s strength is great, and it is on his grace that we rely. He exalts the humble; he sets them at his table and, showing them the example, he, the Master, goes among them as a servant.”
True humility leads to service. The following excerpt from a lovely story about an actress who ministers to the poor is an inspiration for us (cf. Emily Procter, “What Inspires Me” in GUIDEPOSTS, August 2010, p. 40-43).
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 18 years, and for the past eight, I’ve been blessed with what actresses dream of – a starring role on a hit television show, playing Detective Calleigh Duquesne on CSI:Miami. I’m comfortable here now, content with bring my down-to-earth southern self in a tough and glitzy business. But I wasn’t always. (…)
In the fall of 1996 it hit me that except for taking care of my cat Kevin, my days were all about me. Was I thin enough? Did my hair look right? Did I prepare enough for my next audition? Where was my career going? I really need to take the focus off myself and do something for someone else, I thought. I could almost hear my mom saying, “Go for it!” My parents were big on helping others – my dad was a doctor, my mom volunteered at a home for people with AIDS, and we were always signing up for service projects at church. When I heard about the soup kitchen at All Saints Episcopal a few blocks from my apartment, I decided to volunteer.
Monday lunch was my shift. Every Monday I’d put on my green corduroy overalls – for some reason that became my serving-line outfit – and walk up Bedford Drive, cross Wilshire Boulevard, then turn right onto Santa Monica Boulevard to get to the soup kitchen. I kept noticing the same guy at the corner of Wilshire. A homeless man in a wheelchair. He was in his fifties and sat quietly in his shorts and red windbreaker, reading. He didn’t hassle people, just said thanks when someone dropped money into his cup. I’d say hello, but that was it. He seemed reserved, and I wanted to respect his privacy.
But one Monday in December something made me stop and say, “I work at All Saints soup kitchen. Want to go with me and get lunch?” He looked up at me with these bright blue eyes and said, “Yeah!” “I’m Emily.” “Jim.” I grabbed his wheelchair and started pushing, but I couldn’t maneuver it in my clunky clogs. “I’m sorry, Jim. I’m not going to be able to get you there today … not in these shoes.” He didn’t say anything. “I’m going home for Christmas, but I’ll be back. We’ll go the first Monday after New Year’s”, I promised. “Okay”, he said, but it seemed like he didn’t believe me.
That Monday after New Year’s I put on tennis shoes and ran to Jim’s corner. There he was in his red windbreaker and wheelchair. His eyes got really twinkly when he saw me. “All right!” he exclaimed, “Let’s go.” I wheeled him to the soup kitchen, got him settled with some food, then took my place in the serving line. After lunch we went back to his corner. “I’ll meet you here next week”, I said. That became our little ritual every Monday. I’d pick him up at the corner and we’d head to the soup kitchen. We talked a bit, but mostly we just enjoyed each other’s company. It was a relief not to get into the typical Hollywood conversations – What do you do? Who’s your agent? What roles are you up for?
One day about three months after we met, Jim seemed more serious than usual. He took my hand and pressed some money into it. Forty dollars. What’s this for? “I want to tell you something”, he said. “I think you’re very pretty, but you need to buy a new outfit. I saved up this money.” I realized every time he saw me I was wearing my green overalls! “Jim, I didn’t get around to telling you, but I’m an actress. I have other clothes.” We had a good laugh.
Our friendship grew from there. When I didn’t have an acting job or auditions, we’d have breakfast at a place across the street from his corner. We’d sit and talk about our childhoods, our families, our experiences. Well, Jim shared his life wisdom with me because it wasn’t like I’d acquired much yet.
Once I asked Jim, “Were you in Vietnam? I’d assumed he was a veteran, so I was surprised when he said no. “Then how did you end up in a wheelchair?” “Emily, ending up in this chair saved my life. So I don’t want you to feel bad about what I’m going to tell you.” He went on. “I was a terrible alcoholic.” During a binge, he got into a fight and was beaten into a coma. When he came to, he realized, “God stood by me even when I wasn’t standing by me.” He wanted to make the most of the second chance he’d been given. He quit drinking. He read every book he could get his hands on. He couldn’t afford regular therapy appointments, but there was a nighttime radio show where the host was a therapist. Jim called in every night for two years and worked through his issues.
The closer we’ve gotten – and we’ve been good friends for almost 15 years now – the more I see that Jim really lives by the advice he once gave me: “If you don’t like the way your life looks, change the way you look at it.” He’s more content and at peace with himself and with the world than anyone I know … He savors every moment, even the struggles, because they often turn out to be blessings.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we find truth in Sirach’s exhortation, “Humble yourself … and you will find favor with God”? How do we respond to this wise advice?
How do we experience Jesus’ life-giving advice, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; everyone who humbles himself will be exalted”? Do we try to live by this counsel?
Do we realize that humility is a “sign of Christ”, the “Humble One” par excellence, who enabled us to approach the living God by being the mediator of the new Covenant? Do we translate our humility into service and a humble, welcoming stance for the world’s poor?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Father,
the sterling quality of humility leads us to you.
Humility is a “sign of Christ”,
a revealing presence of the “Humble One” par excellence.
He emptied himself and suffered death on the cross to redeem us.
Loving God,
teach us the humility of Christ.
Instill in us the humble stance of the redeemed.
Fill us with Christ’s caring love for the world’s poor and the lowly.
Jesus is the mediator of the new Covenant
sealed in his life-giving blood.
With him let us be brought into your heavenly presence
and rejoice in the festive joy of the eternal Kingdom,
forever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“You have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God … and God the judge of all … and Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant …” (Heb 12:22-24a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the spirit of today’s Christian disciples may be transformed into service. By your dedicated service to the world’s poor and the lowly, give witness to the world that God shows favor to the poor and the lowly.
ACTION PLAN: That we may grasp more deeply the personal significance of being God’s children and the salutary discipline of suffering, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year C, vol. 6, # 40).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US