This week, Pope
Francis visited South Korea. The
papal ride from the airport to the city was broadcast live, showing images of
the pope in a small, dark gray compact Kia escorted front and back by dozens of
luxury SUVs and police motorbikes. A
journalism student in Korea commented: “He
climbed into a tiny car like a cat going for a small cozy space. It’s humbling and at the same time respectful." The Pope certainly shows us
what humility is all about.
Today’s
Gospel of the Canaanite women who asked Jesus to heal her daughter is a story
of faith and humility. The woman shows
her humility when she says: “Have pity
on me Lord, Son of David.” She remains
persistent when Jesus tells her that he was only sent to the people of
Israel.
I wonder
what we would have done if we were in the shoes of the Canaanite woman. We might have given up when the disciples
tried to send us away. And we certainly
would have been insulted when Jesus told us that he was sent to Israel, not to
us. Would we still have the faith, the
persistence, and the humility to continue to press Jesus by saying: “Lord, help me”? And then when Jesus says that it isn’t right
to take the food of the children and give it to the dogs, surely this would
have caused us to give up on this Jesus.
But the
Canaanite woman continued to persist and Jesus rewarded her by healing her
daughter. Are we willing to do the
same? Or do we give up when our initial
prayers aren’t answered? Do we have too
much pride to ask Jesus again and again when we need help?
A week ago,
on Friday, I went to the Reds game.
After the game, they recognized the members of the Reds hall of fame who
were there for the induction ceremony.
It was interesting and a little humbling to watch these men, formerly
great baseball players, walk onto the field.
Two of them, Lee May and Jim O’Toole, walked with canes. Dave Parker looked weak due to his Parkinson’s. Several others limped as they took
their positions on the field. I can
remember all of these men when they played during their prime. I remember them as great athletes and it was
difficult to see them getting old.
Then they
honored Bernie Stowe who was the equipment manager during the years when all of
these guys played. They showed a short
video about Bernie and his sixty seven years as equipment manager. As equipment manager, Bernie made sure that
the player’s uniforms were clean and that they had all of the things necessary,
such as bats and gloves, to play baseball.
Effectively, he was in the background serving the players so that they
could look good in the limelight. When
he was introduced, all of the players came up to Bernie and welcomed him. Jonny Bench was crying.
Very seldom
does someone who is in the background serving others get recognized. I commend the Reds for doing this. I don’t know Bernie Stowe, but, based upon his
job, serving others, I would expect him to be a humble man who didn’t want to draw
attention to himself. In fact, he seemed
rather embarrassed when he was honored. For
me, it was a lesson in humility. Most
of us can’t expect to be recognized for our humility in this life. But, at judgment time, God will surely take
note of our humility or lack thereof.
A strong
faith requires humility. But, our pride
stands in the way. We have to let go and
let God. We have to decide that He is in
control and consult him on our key day to day decisions. That is, we seek his guidance in all
things. As Jesus told us, we need to
have the faith of little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to find humility like that of Bernie
Stowe, the Canaanite woman, and Pope
Francis.
Humility
seems to be rare today in our world of selfies and reality TV. We want to think that we have all the
answers. And especially as men, we want
to believe that we can handle anything that the world throws at us.
Now, this is
a good ideal for us, but it just isn’t realistic. The devil has too many tricks up his sleeve
for us. And he knows all of our
weaknesses. It may be pride, or power,
or sex, or money or some combination of the above. And he’ll tempt us at our lowest moment. Then he’ll try to convince us, just like he
did Jesus, that we’ll be better off if we follow him and that no one will know
and no one will be hurt. We’ve all been
there.
When I have
a tough decision to make, do I turn to the Lord for guidance? And do I listen for His advice or do I tell
Him what I want to have happen?
When I have
done something wrong, do I admit that I have done wrong or do I rationalize my
behavior? And, then, do I confess my
sins to a priest?
Do I follow
the teachings of Jesus’ Church? Do I follow
all of them or just some?
These
questions reflect a continual battle in each of us of humility versus pride. If we can humbly submit to Christ and say
“Lord, help me” like the Canaanite woman, our faith will be vibrant and our
eternal happiness secure.
