Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(Philippians 2:1-4; Luke 14:12-14)
A famous moral theologian once admitted that he would never
say that his work is perfect. He just
thought it “a little better” than anyone else’s. The man was joking, of course. Yet he had his finger on a very common human fault. People like to consider themselves as better
than others, at least those in their own grouping. This kind of thinking sets up rivalries which
readily spill over into animosities and even hatreds. It is the kind of disposition that St. Paul wants
the Philippians to avoid in today’s first reading.
The passage leads into the great Christological hymn of
Philippians, renowned for the Greek term kenosis. The word means emptying and refers to
Christ letting go of the fullness of divinity to become human. Paul is coaxing the community at Philippi to
give up any pretensions of rank or class.
He wants everyone to think of himself or herself not as better but, indeed,
not as good as every other person.
Often the antidote to excessive behavior in one direction is
to assert the other direction. This
strategy is at the heart of Paul’s admonition.
Of course, we are in some ways better than others and not as good as
others in different ways. Nevertheless, Paul’s
hope is that every community member strives to be like Christ. That is, she or he will give up considerations
of superiority and concentrate on loving others.
