30th Sunday Humility = Freedom

The other day, on Nature the TV show on PBS, they did an episode on the Okavango Delta in Africa. This is a huge marsh, that goes through a yearly cycle of rain and flooding. A complex relationship amid all the animals keeps this marsh thriving and healthy. The Elephants keep the vegetation at bay and to stir up nutrients. Fish clean up materials and be food for others. It goes on and on.

The trees of forests rely on a complex web to remain healthy. A forest of just one type of tree is not as healthy. It requires diversity. And what makes it work is that their roots intermingle and between the roots there exists a fungus which transfers nutrients between the trees. So that in the summer when the deciduous trees make lots of food they share with the conifers. And in the winter, the conifers share nutrients with the deciduous. 

Amazing

God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A diverse community interconnected through mutual love. Love, the choice and desire to help bring out the good in the other. A community in which all three persons, with their uniqueness share in the one will. 

God created us in this image.  God created us for community.  God created us for love.

Jesus, in this subtly brilliant parable, offers us the path to be true to ourselves. This parable offers us the freedom to help make this world better.  Pay attention to the words of each character.

The Pharisee, what does he do? He separates himself from others, including God. He judges himself better. And he thinks himself better by his own action. Now, we all can fall prey to this.  We can compare ourselves to others and judge them and ourselves.

Sometimes it’s kind of playful.  Red Sox versus Yankees. Wolfpack versus Rebels.  Our Lady of the Snows versus St. Alberts.

Sometimes it gets a little more serious. We set ourselves apart from others assuming we could do better. We priests can certainly fall into this. But as well, co-workers, friends, spouses too. We critique the other, going into judgments, and sometimes outright insults. This creates small fissures our communities.

And if it grows, it becomes outright evil.   We separate whole groups of people: them from us. We assign values to them with our terms. Its leads to the sins of the -isms...racism, sexism, nationalism. We denigrate others as illegals, as trash people, or other pejorative terms. We refer to them as scum and other epithets. And as this evil grows, it allows for the outright termination of life, of whole peoples. It endorses the violence that exists.

Arrogance demeans the cultures of others.  Arrogance colonizes others and pushes our ways on others.  Arrogance demands all others follow my ways, my thoughts, my opinions.  Arrogance fuels our culture wars, us and them, Church and society, America and all others.

We fail as God’s children.  We fail to make this world the kingdom of heaven.  We fail as humans.

And so many people suffer.

What of the words of the Tax collector?  He turns to God recognizing that he has failed to live up to his potential. Yet, trusting in God he knows he can.  He does not set himself against anyone, nor compare himself to others. 

Humility...it is the virtue of remembering God created us, we do not make ourselves.   Humility remembers that we are all intimately connected and that we need each other to be healthy, to be productive, to be whole.  Humility remembers that we are all unique, we are diverse.  Humility seeks the good.

Saint Damien goes to the Lepers, the outcasts, and shows compassion and mercy.  Sr. Helen Prejean goes to those deemed unworthy of life, and calls attention to these children of God and to the injustice of the system.  Bishop Seitz of El Paso calls out the evil of racism, calls us to do better.

Christ calls us to the good that exists within us.  Christ calls us to unlock that good.  The good that roots itself in the goodness of God.

We all have it.  We absolutely need each other to make it come forth.  Eucharist reinforces this because we come as community to give thanks for being Created by God.  We come to hear how God calls us to freedom as God’s children  We we eat and drink of the True Son of God to make that a reality in our own lives this day.

The challenge and call brothers and sisters is this…  Agents of creation or destruction?  Agents of humility or arrogance?

Children of whom?