Humility
and Disinterest
(see Lk 14:1.7-14)
Dear
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
For
ages, searching possessions, accumulating properties, establishing good fame,
and seizing ruling power over others all have been what people tirelessly
strive to achieve at any cost. This
tendency seems to be stronger than ever in our today’s society. The world becomes a theater for superpowers
to show up their greater might over weaker countries in many fields, economy, military,
politics and even religion.
Thirst
for wealth and power necessarily leads to confrontation and conflict,
oftentimes bloody and destructive. What
is happening around us already provides evidences obvious enough for people to
be aware that the human race cannot live in peace and love unless they should
change their viewpoint on the true meaning of their lives.
In
order to make our life meaningful, it is important to distinguish the end from
the means. The end, or goal, is
something which stands before us and which we have to obtain in order to
satisfy our desire or to meet the demand of our moral or religious values.
For
students their end is to pass the exam and graduate with honors for a bright
future. In order to achieve that end,
they have to study harder and harder.
For
politicians, those running for leading position in particular, their end is to
win elections. In order to achieve their
end, they have to convince the people that they are the best leaders.
For
people in business, their end is to make bigger interests. In order to achieve
their end, they have to work harder and harder.
For
those in love, their end is a fairy wedding celebration and a happy family. In order to achieve their end, they have to
testify that they really love each other.
For
Christians, our end is everlasting life in God’s Kingdom. To guide us on the way to reach our end,
Christ gives us just a simple but essential direction: humility and disinterest
are means to achieve our end.
Speaking
of humility, we understand that this is the virtue which urges us to recognize
that, on the one hand, God alone is the Creator of the universe, the Master of
history, the Lord and Savior of humanity.
On the other, we, human beings, are just creatures, the works of God’s
loving and caring hands. In short, to be
humble is to know the truth about who God is, and who we are.
As
the result of this right knowledge, we are sure that God alone deserves all
glory, praise and thanksgiving. For us,
this is our great honor and happiness to serve God without seeking recognition,
praise or gratitude.
Because
we respect and love the image of the Lord God in one and each of us, we should
also be more than willing to serve our sisters and brothers with disinterest,
being sure that our service of neighbor is the best way for us to render glory,
praise and gratitude to God, our heavenly Father for His great and lasting love
and mercy toward all of us.
To
conclude this homily, allow me to borrow the thoughts of Saint Therese of Avila
as a guideline for us on our pilgrimage to the true happiness in heaven:
“I
love you, O my Lord and my God, not because I love heaven, nor because I am
afraid of Hell. I love you simply
because you are so lovely and you truly deserve to be loved.”
The
prayer by Saint Therese perfectly goes in tune with What Saint John wrote in
his First Letter, chapter 4, verse 10:
“In
this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son
as expiation for our sins.”
Amen.
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P.
