TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
(Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32)
Johnny is confused. His mother told him to take pride in
everything he does. But the nun in his religion class says that pride is a sin
and that he should always be humble. Is it possible that they are both right?
The wise would explain that Johnny's mother has a different
sense of pride than the nun. Although she may not know it, his mother expresses
the sense of pride of Aristotle, the great philosopher. On the other hand, the
nun teaches the concept of pride of Saint Paul, whom we meet in today's second
reading.
For Aristotle, pride is what we know as magnanimity. It is
the virtue of recognizing one's own greatness, being aware that one deserves
honors, and claiming them. Meanwhile, St. Paul knows that pride (that is, the
notion that the self is as great as God) caused the downfall of the first
humans. Paul also realizes that it is only through Christ's humility that
humanity is not condemned forever.
According to Aristotle, God does not know humans personally,
much less care about them. Paul, on the contrary, knows from the Scriptures
that God loves all his creatures. Moreover, from his own experience on the road
to Damascus, he could write: “…I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).
Paul asks the Philippians to be humble for several reasons.
First and foremost, Jesus was humble. As Paul himself says in the second
reading, although Jesus is God, he humbled himself by becoming human. Not only
that, but he also sacrificed both his life and dignity when he surrendered
himself to be crucified. This is why, when the Philippians conduct themselves
with humility, they imitate their Savior. Moreover, humility acts as a catalyst
that gives rise to other benefits. It makes the life of the community more
serene. And for that reason, it draws the world's attention to Christ. For,
deep down, everyone admires communities that show little rivalry and much
mutual support.
The gospel tells of two sons of the same father. One son
pleases his father by doing his will even though at first he said he wouldn't.
The other does the opposite. Thus, we can also speak of different kinds of
humility. One kind pleases God, and others do not. Humility that leads to
self-hatred cannot please God. After all, we are God's creation worthy of love.
Another problematic kind of humility draws attention to the self by repeating
self-criticisms. The person who constantly says, "stupid me" and
"what do I know?" probably thinks of himself as more astute than his
interlocutors.
We might ask, “How can we consider everyone better than
ourselves, as Paul wants us to in the reading?” With some people with serious
shortcomings, it would seem like we are participating in a charade. However, we
don't know the hearts of others. Only God knows that. Therefore, so that we
don't underestimate anyone, it's best to think of them as better knowing that in
the end the truth will be revealed.
Saint Augustine wrote that the three most important rules
for following Christ are, first, humility; second, humility; and third,
humility. For through humility we overcome pride, the source of all sin.
Furthermore, through humility we become more like Christ and his mother, Mary.
Finally, through humility we show that our purpose in life is not to glorify
ourselves but God.
