1 February 10, 2013 Homily for 5 th Sunday in OT The virtue of humility has been held up and praised by generations of Jews, Christians, and other people who search for the mystery of God. Something inside many people call them to have great reverence for the divine and the holy. The deadly vice of pride is exactly opposite to the heavenly virtue of humility. Pride inflates our bloated egos and give us the false impression that we are more important, more powerful, and more valuable than others. The original sin of Adam and Eve was prideful disobedience. Once they tasted of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their loving relationship with God was twisted into selfishness. They knew that they had fallen away from their closeness to the Creator. They felt naked and ashamed and they tried to hide themselves from Him. This original sin has been transmitted to all human beings with the solitary exception of Mary of Nazareth. When the Archangel greeted her, he exclaimed Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you! Mary s humility was already evident, and she responded: I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to Your Word. Thus the Holy Spirit descended into her womb and she conceived Jesus the New Adam, who came to save all people from their sins.
2 Today there is a golden thread of humility which is woven into the tapestry of the Sunday Scriptures. Isaiah the Prophet calls himself a man of unclean lips when he beholds with naked eyes the supreme brilliance of the Lord of Hosts. He considers himself doomed, but the seraphim angel touches his lips with a burning coal and he is purged of that unworthiness. This biblical mystery is echoed whenever a priest or deacon is preparing to proclaim the Gospel: Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, as You once cleansed the prophet Isaiah with a burning coal, that I might worthily proclaim Your Holy Gospel. These words are said quietly and, at the end of the Gospel, the ordained minister says quietly: Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away. Saint Paul, although highly educated in Mosaic Law, humbly recognizes that he became overly zealous and needed some correction: Last of all, as to one born abnormally, Jesus appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
3 Today s Gospel relates how Simon Peter first complained about going into deep waters after failing to catch anything all day long. Reluctantly he complies with Jesus to Put out into the deep. Against all expectations the fishing nets begin pull downward as they overflow with an enormous catch! Peter s face showed shock as they struggled to bring up a huge catch! Humbly he looks down and mumbles: Lord, depart from me for I am a sinful man! As members of Christ s body, we bring ourselves into His Divine Presence when we gather for Mass. Throughout the Sacred Liturgy there are gestures made and words spoken which express our sincere humility in the presence of the Almighty God. The first gesture happens with the Penitential Rite of the Mass. We, like Peter acknowledge our sins of commission and omission. During the Creed, the priest, deacon, and congregation bow from the waist as we utter the words: And by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. This ancient practice serves to remind us that the Eternal God humbly condescended to our frail human nature, and became truly human -- one like us except for sin. Another example: As the priest, deacon, and congregation speak the words Behold the Lamb of God, all echo the
4 words of the centurion: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. During these sacred words the priest holds up the Sacred Host over the chalice, calling us to humble worship, praise and thanksgiving. Other signs of reverence and humility include genuflecting in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and kneeling during the Commemoration of the Last Supper as given in the Eucharistic Prayer. In a culture that often scorns humility and exalts prideful arrogance, we are called to embrace Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity. This week we begin the holy discipline of Lent forty days of following Jesus in the desert, to the summit of transfiguration, to the Temple of Jerusalem, receiving the Parable of the Prodigal Son, returning to the Temple area where Our Lord forgives a woman caught in adultery these scriptures reveal to us how much He truly loves us and how He calls us to follow Him. During Holy Week, we will encounter Jesus the king of the Jews, whose extreme humility reveals the depth of His Love and Saving Mercy on the throne of Calvary s Cross. The beautiful biblical reading, prayers, hymns, and devotions of Lent serve to draw us ever closer to the God who is love. When we realize how much He humbled Himself, how can we keep from singing?
5