“Humility” by Cait Seymour, Fiat Ventures
In this Sunday’s readings, humility is held up as something to really strive for. That’s a challenging one for me. Not only do I find it difficult to fully understand what humility is, it’s even harder to act on it. In the Gospel, Jesus challenges the host of the party with specific instructions to invite the poor, crippled, and lame instead of family and friends. Wow. That sounds pretty extreme. I found myself thinking, what does that mean for me?
When I was creeping up on the age to start dating, my protective older brother sat me down, and gave me specific instructions. He said, “don’t judge a man by how he treats you. Judge him by how he treats the waitress.” This turned out to be great advice. Malcolm Forbes agreed, when he wrote, “you can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” Jesus tells us in the reading that we need to be mindful of this. His number one goal is for us to join Him in His Kingdom. He reminds us at the end of the Gospel that the virtue we attain will lead us to the ultimate reward.
Humility means service. Christ came so that He could serve us (which is kind of crazy, when you think about it. Our King came to serve us?). He reminds us that we are here to serve each other. This means each person in this world exists so that I might serve them. What a profound gift! In serving others to the best of my ability, I am given the opportunity to try to emulate Jesus’ mission. To walk with Him. One of my favorite lines in Scripture is “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:40). It also happens to be one of my most challenging lines in Scripture! Every once and awhile, though, I have an experience that reminds me how good it is to recognize Christ in others.
One day, when I was living in a small village in Africa, an old woman hobbled across my path. She was caked in mud, emaciated, drooling, and wearing soiled tattered clothes. She stopped and showed me massive burns on her legs, swarming with flies and infection. As I cleaned her wounds, we didn’t speak. She just looked right through me with a knowing grin. It was like her soul was so bright that it shined through her eyes. After she hobbled away again, I was in tears, unable to speak. I knew that I had just stood on holy ground. I was in awe of the Christ that came to me through her, allowing me to serve Him. In that moment, I felt so loved. This is the reward, I think, that comes from humbling ourselves at the banquet table, as in Jesus’ Gospel parable.
Humility to me is being in awe of the world around me, to the point where I recognize my own insignificance. How often have you stopped for a second, and really noticed someone? Ever have a moment when time freezes on a child’s laughing smile? It’s amazing! When I have these kinds of moments of appreciation, I can’t help but feel small (insignificant almost) in the most glorious way. It’s the same feeling I get when I sit out under the stars, listening to the cricket’s song. Or stare at a flower blowing in the wind.
This recognition of the glory of God’s world makes it impossible for me to think myself better than another. And when I see the greatness of the world, especially in other people, all I want to do is love it. If I can try to SEE these moments more often, more purposefully, and more fully, I will see more of Heaven each day. And I will be better at Loving, which is God’s design for all of us. If I can love others more than I love myself, I will be closer to understanding Christ. It is in my smallness, in my humility, that I see more of God.
There’s a story I heard a lot growing up: A woman had a dream in which Jesus says he’ll come visit her. The next day, she frantically busies herself preparing for the arrival of the King of Kings, making everything perfect. In the meantime, three impoverished men come knocking at her door looking for a bit of compassion. Each time more angrily, she rejects them and sends them away. At the end of the day, the disappointed woman asks Jesus why he lied to her. He never came to visit. Jesus replies, “But I did come to you. Three times in fact. And you sent me away each time.”
I never want to be that woman. I never want to miss Christ coming to visit. But I do. Every day! So many times a day! I forget that I’m not the most important thing in the world. The important person is Jesus, and I get to encounter Him in every person I meet…if I can see Him. That, to me, is humility. It’s recognizing that God is so much greater than I could ever imagine. And so is all His creation, especially other people.
