HOMILY WEEK 15 03 – Year II
Humble Faith – Key to the Kingdom
Memorial of St. Bonaventure
(Isaiah 10:5-7; 13-16; Ps 94; Mt 11:25-27)
*********************************************
“Even the biggest ship needs a tug to move it out of the harbor.”
That statement resonates with the readings today proclaiming humility as the virtue opening up our minds and hearts to experience and know God.
In the gospel, Jesus thanks the Father for hiding the mysteries of the kingdom of God from the learned and clever, and revealing them to mere children. This statement is not meant to be taken literally, for wisdom is also a prized virtue. I think the “wise and the intelligent” refers more to those who are full of themselves, rely on their own power to get through life, through a sense of false pride. That would be those who do not believe in God and so never ask for help from God. It might also refer to those who have some faith in God, but it doesn’t really connect with their lives or make a difference in their lives – like the different kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.
I participated in an exercise one time when all of us were blindfolded, placed in a gym with ropes strung across it, and told only that we were to find a key. After a few frustrating minutes of following a few of the ropes and bumping into others doing the same, I decided it could not be a physical key but a word or a statement. Thinking myself fairly smart with my experience of the 12 Step program, I confidently mentioned things like, “Is it humility, helplessness, powerlessness, cooperation, helping one another, love, etc.”
To my chagrin, I did not find the key. The only participant who did was a tall, rather emotional fellow who bumped into a wall and started to cry. When asked by the facilitator if he was okay, he replied, “I need help.” He found the key. What was it? Asking for help! I had all kinds of great ideas, but I did not ask for help. That was a significant humbling moment for me, raising the question within my heart, “Was this how I was going through life still – not really asking for help but proudly relying on my own resources all the time?”
Then Jesus goes on to disturb the comfortable and the proud with the assertion that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” The first part of that statement is easy to accept – it stands to reason that the Son and the Father would know each other fully, as they are united in an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between them.
The striking part of that statement is the fact that no one really knows the Father, who God truly is, unless Jesus reveals that to them. That implies that all the pious, religious and spiritual people in the world who believe in either gods or the one God of the monotheistic religions, can be commended for their faith, but it is a kind of blind faith that falls short of a full knowledge and experience of God. A bit shocking, is it not?
Upon further reflection, perhaps it is not that shocking. There is much violence done in the name of God, in the name of religion, around the world, and Christianity is not innocent from that either, given our history of the crusades, wars of religion, the inquisition, not to mention the untold violence of and harm done through the whole process of colonization, domination and oppression throughout the world.
How, and to whom, then, has the Son revealed the Father? It all began with the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, as a helpless infant, revealing our God how is humility itself. Jesus’ life and ministry went on to reveal a God who is not only humble, but merciful, loving, forgiving, caring especially for the poor in the Galilean countryside, rather than the wealthy and powerful elite of Jerusalem.
But it is through his passion and death on the cross that Jesus does the most to redeem the world, and reveals God best. The moment Jesus died on the cross, the heavy curtain in the temple, there to keep people out of the Holy of Holies where God was believed to dwell, was torn from top to bottom. That rupture signifies that now, with the death of Jesus on the cross, and the way he endured his passion and crucifixion, without a trace of bitterness or resentment, there is no longer any separation between humanity and God. We can now see right into the heart of God, and what we see is: humility, mercy, compassion, unconditional love, forgiveness and total non-violence. Now we know who our God really is, and what our God really is like.
Still, it is only the humble and lowly who will really “get this” and experience this God in their lives. Isaiah, in the first reading, continues to describe how God uses even secular and pagan powers to pull the rug of false pride out from under the feet of God’s people, to humble them – they who have “vaunted, exalted and magnified themselves,” so that they will finally turn to God and ask for God’s help, which the psalmist assures them will always be there.
I think in our day it is folks who are truly living the 12 Step program, cloistered nuns and monks, dedicated lay volunteers such as in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, couples participating in the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement, those who advocate for greater equality and justice, those who are moving towards a more contemplative style of prayer, who are trying to care for creation more fully, and at the moment, those participating in our silent directed retreat, who could more validly claim to be among those little ones to whom Jesus is revealing the Father.
Today the Church invites us to honor St. Bonaventure, who though very wise and intelligent, truly was one of God’s little ones and models how humility and intelligence can lead us to God. St. Bonaventure was steeped in the Father’s love for him, and could give his life away out of love for others. Known as the Seraphic Doctor, he studied and taught philosophy and theology with Thomas Aquinas, a colleague and a friend. Chosen as Minister General of the Franciscan Order, his influence was so great he is considered a second founder of the Franciscans. Pope Gregory XI made him a cardinal and relied on him and Thomas to assist him with an ecumenical council. Known for holiness, humility, virtue and the dedication of his intellectual gifts to the service of the Church, he was declared a Doctor of the church in 1588. Bonaventure’s writings on things Franciscan, such as his Life of St Francis, as well as on history, spirituality and medieval mystical doctrine still inspire readers.
The Eucharist is a very humble meal of faith, appreciated by the truly wise and humble. May our celebration empower us to grow in both faith and humble gratitude for this gift of the Father who is not only revealed to us, but whose Son we receive and experience in communion.
