IN PRAISE OF HUMILITY

In the middle of the book of virtue

You stand of highest value

Humility, you are  a treasure so noble

For a heart so humble

In you I sign my name

So that my life won’t be maim

I cherish you oh humility

For from you I take dignity

But still you remain my struggle

In this world of jungle

I pass through you as to a narrow gate

To receive all that is given in faith

Humility you are my delight

You bring me friends like magnet

With you heaven is more than a target

For you give me the angelic coronet.

 Fr Jude C. Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Sunday, 28^th August 2016.

St Mark’s Catholic Church,

Ohovbe, Benin City, Nigeria.

THE HUMBLE AT TABLE

In praise of humility, that is the ‘attitude’ of the first reading today, and the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel. Though the teaching is not new, the mood is never old. So Sirach reminds us to perform our tasks in humility; “Then you will be loved more than the giver of gifts...so you will find favour with God.” Humility is the secret of the wise.

Jesus sells out this wisdom at the banquet in the Pharisee’s house. It is the host who gives each guest his appropriate position at table. To avoid embarrassment and shame, each guest should humble himself, and allow the host to give the appropriate honour. Do not seek honour for yourself is the message. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We are all guests in this life. God is our Host. He gives us each according to his capacity (Mt 25:15). Who we are and much of those around us at table are gifts, and should be received as such: family, relations, friends, status, etc.  In humility we accept the truth of our lives, and not claim to be whom we are not. We should be meek, since our immediate future is not within our conscious determination.  This is how we enjoy the meal with the few around us at table.

In maze of life, we are often connected with very few people, no matter how popular one might think he or she is. How many people will be our relations, siblings, friends, colleagues, neighbours, etc?  Since we have few people with us at the table of life, humility must be our watch word. But God lifts us up, and widens our horizon.

Hence, our acts of charity, which germinates from our humility, cannot be restricted to the few as if we are still short-sighted. “...invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

So our gaze is on the festal gathering in the heavenly Jerusalem, according to the second reading. The humble shall be gathered with Jesus, the Mediator, and with innumerable angels, with great confidence before God like first born in a family.

Like Mary, the humble shall be highly favoured, and the almighty will do great things for them.


Fr Jude C. Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R    
 Sunday, 28^th August 2016
St Mark’s Catholic Church,
Ohovbe, Benin City, Nigeria. 

 

THE NARROW WAY

                                        Reflection for the 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
                                                  (Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7. 11-13, Lk 13:22-30)

In response to the question about those to be saved, Jesus draws our attention to the availability and nature of the way to the kingdom. He gives us insight into the absolute disappointment and pain of those unable to follow that way. The Kingdom of God is going to be a joyful gathering of people from different corners of the earth—gathered together as one family!

So, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many will seek to enter and will not be able.” “Narrow” implies the way to the Kingdom is not popular; it’s not the way of the crowd. It is not common, but a discoverable way, seen by those searching for it. Yes, the Kingdom of God itself is a hidden treasure (Mt 13: 44-46), and the way to it is an open secret; a narrow way.

Since Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6), and the Gate of the Sheepfold (Jn 10:7), He is also that Narrow Door that leads to the Kingdom—the secret of life! Jesus, lifted on the Cross, is the Standard that points heavenwards. The Cross of Jesus is given to us as a principle of life; the formula to resolve our mathematics of life. It is the Way! Once we apply the principle of the Cross in every situation, the answers we get thrust us heavenwards. Thus, meditation on the Cross remains the hinge of christian spirituality. “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced” (Zech 12:10, Jn 19:37).

In Jesus Christ and through His Cross as the principle of life, God is gathering us as His Children. Hence, the 2^nd reading enjoins us never to forget the exhortation which addresses us as God’s children. God disciplines us as His Children, training us to be modelled after His Only Begotten Son, Jesus. Therefore, we too must pass through the narrow way after Jesus; “Though He was Son, He learnt obedience through sufferings” (Heb 5:8). The sufferings we endure presently as God’s Children are training us to be transformed into the perfect image of Jesus, making us fit for the Kingdom. They are necessary steps we must take to be at the Banquet of Heaven.

The narrow door, the way of the Cross, is the pathway of sacrifice for others, patience, endurance, forgiveness, charity, humility, chastity and holiness. Passing through them ‘as a way’ means they become our habit. This cannot be a popular choice. It comes through ‘striving.’ But it remains the only way God is gathering us to experience His glory. If we have nothing to suffer, we have nothing to offer. The narrow door remains the only pathway to a happy and fulfilled life. It is the only way we can build up successful relationships and families.  “All that we suffer in the present time is nothing in comparison with the glory which is destined to be disclosed for us” (Rm 8:18).

Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Our Lady Queen of Apostles
Rumupirikom, Portharcourt
21st August, 2016.