Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Sirach furnishes the first reading for Mass this weekend. Sirach is among the books of the Old Testament known as the wisdom literature. These books seek to show that the Jews’ ancient faith in the one God of Israel, and their insistence that God’s law be obeyed, are wholly logical and reasonable.
These books hold that a person who possesses genuine wisdom realizes the fact that God lives and reigns and knows that all persons and all things are subject to God.
This weekend’s reading expressly refers to humility. While humility is associated with Christian theology and spirituality, humility was a virtue admired and evident in the Old Testament. This especially was the case with many of the prophets and even some of the kings.
For instance, while David, whom God had chosen to be king, eventually rebelled against God and sinned, he, in the end, humbly turned back to God, repenting of his sins.
“Sirach”, the name of this book, derives from the name of the author, mentioned in the book. The author was Yeshua (or Jesus in English), the son of Sira. This book was likely written around 132 BC in Egypt by Jewish emigrants from the Holy Land, or possibly by descendants of such emigrants. The date of composition can be determined because the early verses say that it was authored during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy VII. The dates of this ruler’s reign are known.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is the source of the second reading. It is strong with Hebrew symbolism and references to Hebrew history. The passage recalls that, whereas the ancient followers of Moses escaping slavery in Egypt had crossed the forbidding Sinai Peninsula with trepidation and had trembled as God came to Moses on the mountaintop, true disciples of Jesus are ushered literally into the heavenly Jerusalem, the very home of Almighty God.
St. Luke’s Gospel supplies the last reading. In this story, the Lord is a guest at a meal in the home of a Pharisee. Jesus uses the occasion to warn that no one should seek the highest place. Rather, the humble person who is content with a lesser place will be called to higher distinction.
The reading makes two other points. God cannot be tricked into tolerating anyone’s self-engineered passage into the heavenly kingdom. In a world fixated on things, property is not so absolutely anyone’s possession that its production or use is free from moral considerations.
Instead, honoring human dignity is paramount for the Lord.
Emphasizing the call to humility is in the detail that it was a Pharisee who was the host of the dinner that Jesus attended. Pharisees, well-schooled in Jewish theology, on top of the mountain, supposedly knew everything about life. Jesus had to set him straight.
Reflection
Followers of Jesus always have treasured humility, a virtue also revered in the Old Testament. Humility reveals reality. Every human being is limited, even the wealthiest, smartest or most celebrated. Where are Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Edison and Babe Ruth? Like every human, they died.
Humility teaches another lesson. God has raised us up. He rescues us from the consequence of our sins. He empowers us. He gives Jesus to us.
So, humans are blessed in their very being, in their nature healed by God. This week Americans celebrate Labor Dasy, a day to consider the ingenuity and productivity of humans, but also to recognize the inherent dignity of each person.
Service to those in need has been at the heart of the life of the Church in history and at present. It is a fundamental way that the Church honors the dignity of every person.
Pope Leo XIV is clear and emphatic on this. A Christian’s love for anyone else, everyone else, cannot be qualified or diminished. It is the way of Christ. As always, but especially today, it has powerful, immediate implications. †