2235AFC082622 – Serve well, live better
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Sirach 3:29-31 – 29 The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs,
and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.
30 As water extinguishes a blazing fire,
so almsgiving atones for sin.
31 Those who repay favors give thought to the future;
when they fall, they will find support.
Read full chapter (it’s terrific reading!)
Isaiah 42:1 – 1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
1 Peter 4:11 – 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Matthew 20:26 – 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Back in 1974 a fella by the name of Mac Davis released a song called “It’s Hard To Be Humble.” It was a novelty song, and really kind of fun because we all find it hard to be humble when it comes right down too it. (You can check that out here.)(↔ Music Link)Most of us would agree that it is better to be humble than to be humiliated. Humility and humbleness are not highly valued in our competitive, phony-baloney society. As kids we learned it is important to “Stand up for yourself,” and to “be proud of who you are and where you come from.” “Don’t let anyone put you down. Hold your head up high and take pride in your work.” I found a few interesting old sayings about servants (↔ Click Link) . One of them came from Baseball Coach John Scolinos – although he didn’t directly address humility – and why it’s important to keep home plate at 17 inches. (← Check it out!) Being humble doesn’t mean being wimpy; in fact, it takes a lot of grit to be humble. “Listen widely, speak little” is one I recall from some distant past. It sounds like good advice, but like a lot of good advice, it is not something we take up easily. Here are a few more you may recognize:
- Fire and water are good servants, but bad masters.
- The salary of a good servant is never too high.
- If money is not your servant, it will become your master.
- A lousy servant will never be a good master.
- He who makes himself a servant is expected to remain a servant.
- It is bad to have a dishonest servant, but worse to have a dishonest master.
- Better a wise man’s servant than an idiot’s master
Now, we have enjoyed silently nodding as we read these statements because – as our Key Verse says – The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise. We have affirmed that we are intelligent and wise by agreeing with these witticisms. (It is hard to be humble, right?)
In the Bible we have “The Wisdom Books,” Job, Proverbs, Psalms, Wisdom, Sirach, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. The Book of Proverbs has some sharp tidbits for people who are too big for their britches. One I heard recently was applied to households – including the household of Congress: Proverbs 11:29 – 29 Those who trouble their households will inherit wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. I’m still watching for the second half of that one. Why is it, we wonder, so difficult to be humble? Humility is the source of love and service. Humility is the first of the Great Virtues. Why is it the first? It is first because its antithesis is the first of the Great Sins – Pride. “Pride of place” is something many people treasure. They want their work, their family, their heritage, their ideas to be the most important and highly valued above all others. When an adult manifests rebellious actions, her/his pride morphs into arrogance. Such people sully their own dignity by proudly denying – even justifying – their errors. They usually prove out to be liars in just about everything. Do you remember who is “a liar and the father of lies?” (See John 8:44) Pride is what got Satan tossed out of Heaven, and it can do the same for us.
Jesus warns us to seek the lower esteem, not the highest. Last week we heard him disparaging the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In this Sunday’s readings, he is commenting on their pride – the tricky little ways they behave to get the admiration of others. We all wince a little about that because we know that we all do that – well, maybe just a little (It’s So Hard To Be Humble). In our Key Verse from Matthew we read, “but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.” There are similar role-reversal passages throughout the Gospels – the last shall be first and the first shall be last, the greatest must be a servant and the leader must be a slave, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (See Mark 9:35) We’ve cited Bob Dylan’s Gotta serve somebody (↔ Music Link) at times. Isn’t it true that we hope to one day hear Jesus say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”? (See Matthew 25:21-23 and Luke 19:17) Well then, who will we serve, and how do we become that “good and faithful servant?” Would it be the most important person in our lives? And if we do serve well, what outcome do we expect?
Who do we serve? Is there always a servant and a “served?” Of course there is! We all know we are to serve God above all others. He is God, we are not. How do we know that being HIS servant is what he expects? “I AM the Lord your God … you shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” When we choose to love, we choose to serve. When we choose not to love, we choose to rebel. “He who makes himself a servant is expected to remain a servant.” This is why The Apostle Peter says, “… whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.” So, who has “first of place” in that relationship? I should rephrase that as “Who should have first of place in that relationship?” We all know the answer to that one, too. God is first in all, first for all, first with all, and first through all. As we’ve said before (← Check it out!), sometimes we forget and make ourselves first of place. It takes humility to be a servant . (↔ Music Link)
I remember hearing or reading about a high-ranking cleric who decided he would learn to master the 7 Great Virtues beginning with Humility. After a week he realized he had not come anywhere near that mastery, nor so after a year, a decade, or a lifetime (It’s So Hard To Be Humble). Where do we start – and how can we continue – with humility? We start “In the beginning” and continue with “and shall be evermore.” As in all the Good Gifts of God, it starts with honoring the Giver by accepting the Gift. We do not become a servant by being humble. We become humble by being a servant. How do I know? The B.I.B.L.E. tells me so! Jesus was meek and humble of heart because he was and is in God’s APP “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” Jesus came to us to serve. Who? US? No, to serve his Father. We are to emulate Christ in all things so we must also be servants, we must also lay down our lives for another, we must also be meek and humble of heart so that we think of and do all that is Good (See Philippians 4:8). But, Belovéd, how can we do that if we so easily sin? We can (and should) ask, “How did Jesus do it?”
Did the answer spring to mind immediately? How did Jesus do what he did etiam pro nobis – even for us? It’s that four-letter Word that is the key to Faith, to humility, to Joy, Grace, Eternity, and Heaven: LOVE. The Apostle Paul put it into this simple formula: 1 Corinthians 10:31 – 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (↔ Music Link) He also wrote to the Colossians saying in Colossians 3:23-24 – 23 Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, 24 since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ. Why is that? It is because Jesus said so: Matthew 20:26 – 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant. (↔ Music Link)
Still, we know we will again forget, but we also know there is a remedy for that forgetfulness. Going back to the idea of fire and water as good servants and bad masters, we turn the page to the Wisdom of Sirach: As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sin. Generosity is a product of humility and therefore a means of atonement. Sirach also wrote Those who repay favors give thought to the future; when they fall, they will find support. We serve one another through love – “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” – and that law is The Law of Love in the APP. Humble but unshakable Love is the way of Peace. Jesus gave us a terrific example in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as foretold by the Prophet Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9 – 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Being humbly loving or lovingly humble isn’t sissy-stuff. It’s hard work, but Good Work. My Dad told me “Everything in life takes a little hard work, or a lot of easy work, but it’s all work.” If it’s all work, it might as well be Good Work because of what Jesus said in Luke 6:38 – 38 … give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. Servants who give better live better. It’s in the APP.
In closing, we once again review the Virtues and Sins. It can serve as a reminder that when we work diligently on the first pair, we do so as servants of the One God who made Heaven and Earth.
| The 7 Deadly Sins and Their Corresponding Virtues | ||
| P | Pride | Humility |
| E | Envy | Kindness |
| G | Gluttony | Temperance |
| S | Sloth 1 | Diligence |
| L | Lust 2 | Chastity |
| A | Avarice 3 | Charity |
| W | Wrath | Patience |
| 1 Acedia, Apathy | ||
| 2 Covetousness, Concupiscence | ||
| 3 Greed, Cupidity | ||
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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