Faith-Humility-Childlikeness

HOMILY WEEK 07 02 – Year II

Humble, Childlike, Trusting Faith

(James 4:1-10; Ps 55; Mk 9:30-37)

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“Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

This admonition from St. James in the first reading is the key to understanding the readings of today’s liturgy, and a strong invitation for us to pray for a humble, childlike, trusting faith in Jesus.

In the gospel, Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Son of God through whom all things were made (Colossians 1:16), is the ultimate expression of this message about being humble, as he strives to prepare his disciples for the suffering and agonizing death that awaits him. There cannot be, and is, no greater humility than that.

Upon their arrival in Capernaum, we find out his disciples were nowhere near understanding that teaching. In fact, they were on the opposite extreme of the spectrum, caught up in the way of the world, arguing about who would be the greatest, still craving the false gods of possessions, prestige, power and pleasure. Jesus has to take a little child, identify himself with that child, and stress they must all become like that little child, to learn to humbly serve, if they want to truly be part of following him.

Bishop Robert Barron questions how so? and provides an answer: Children don’t know how to hide the truth of their reactions. They haven’t learned yet how to impress others. In this, they are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them.

Children haven’t yet learned how to look at themselves. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, conscious of the reactions, expectations, and approval of those around him.

The problem is that, from a very early age, we learn not to be ourselves, and this is a function of the sinful human construct of the ego. We convince ourselves that joy will come only when we become like someone else, only when we receive the applause of the crowd, only when we live up to the expectations of our group, family, or society. This causes that terrible cramping of the soul which is pride, the deadliest of the deadly sins.

In its own poetic way, Psalm 55 today underlines that same teaching and invites us to have that same humble, childlike trusting faith through especially the stanza that reads, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

The Letter of James goes on to articulate the very things Jesus is cautioning about – an inner attitude of desire and greed that leads to outer hurtful actions: inner cravings lead to conflicts and disputes; inner desire leads even to murder, and inner covetousness, he repeats, leads to disputes and conflicts. Even our prayer becomes ineffective when we are praying for the wrong things, to satisfy our own pleasure rather than to fulfill the will of God.

James then provides us with a beacon of hope in this rather dark and stark situation. We can be humble, submit ourselves to God, and come to God for forgiveness (cleansing) and healing (purification). That is the role of Jesus as the Messiah – to forgive and to heal, to redeem and to sanctify. All we need is humble willingness and that precious gift is ours to enjoy.

Keith Hoang, author of Built For Greatness, a Christian version of the ancient Tao Te Ching which I revised, asked me to write a rationale for a Christian version of this book of ancient wisdom. In so doing, I discovered a sort of divine irony in the light of today’s gospel. Whereas the disciples, who have been with Jesus some time now, were still caught up with the world’s values of possessions, prestige, power and pleasure, five hundred years earlier, a Chinese sage Lao Tzu, building on the concept of the Tao that had been an integral part of Chinese culture for thousands of years, already understood and was teaching this wisdom in a way hauntingly similar to Jesus. Here is an example:

“Therefore, the honored use the lowly as basis, the higher uses the lower as foundation. Thus, the rulers call themselves alone, bereft, and unworthy. Is this not using the lowly as basis? Is it not so? Therefore, the ultimate honor is no honor. Do not wish to be shiny like jade. Be dull like rocks. (Chapter 39).

In his Christian version of the same chapter, Keith rendered this wisdom as follows: “Humility is the root of honor. The high is built upon the foundation of the low. Thus, true rulers call themselves alone and unworthy. Don’t they depend on being humble and low? Absolutely! Therefore, seeking praise does not win true praise. Do not adorn yourself with sparkling jade, but be common and dull as the rocks.”

The scripture passages Keith chose to go along with this portion of the Tao Te Ching are Luke 14:10-11 (“When invited, sit down at the lowest place”) and Matthew 25:5-7 (“They do all their deeds to be seen by others”). All three of today’s readings would also be a good fit for the book. What strikes me is that the gospel teachings affirm and give credibility to the wisdom of the Chinese sages, and the Christian version of the Tao Te Ching then fulfills that teaching and opens it up to a deeper and broader perspective of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit at work throughout all human endeavor over the ages, slowly leading us to the fullness of eternal life with God.

The Eucharist is itself a very humble, faith-filled meal, offering us that forgiveness and healing James mentions, and empowering us to take to heart this humble, childlike trusting faith that leads to the fullness of life.