THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2 October 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

There are a few things for us to consider in today’s Gospel. What are we allowed to do on Sundays? Are we humble? How our actions should speak of our humility. Last, but not least we should consider the reward awaiting the humble. 

What is lawful for us to do on Sundays? We must keep Sunday holy because it is the Lord’s Day. It is principally a day of rest and prayer – a day dedicated to God and our souls. We are busy six other days of the week concerned for our bodies and our physical well being. On Sunday we are asked to give attention to our souls and our spiritual well being. We are asked to give special attention to God on this day because we were unable to do so on the other days. With the Sabbath obligations moved to the first day of the week – Sunday – since the times of the Apostles, we now find ourselves not so much ending the week with God as we are beginning the week with God. Putting God first is the best way to start everything including our week. 

Of course there arises as we see in today’s Gospel times when it becomes necessary for us to allow the cares and duties of the rest of the week to encroach upon Sunday, but on such occasions we should remember that it is for the love of God that we do so, and if possible we should do our best to restore what was taken from Sunday some other time. Loving God and thanking, petitioning, honoring and worshiping Him are never out of season or unwelcomed. 

Our Lord also admonishes us today to be humble. We are reminded not to seek the first place but rather to seek the last place. We can do this simply and naturally once we realize our own unworthiness. 

Our worthiness is not to be measured by a comparison with our neighbor, but rather with God. Jesus tells us that it is He that we are to imitate and follow. All too often we compare ourselves with our neighbor and end up like the Pharisees despising our neighbor and filling our own hearts and heads with a very dangerous and harmful pride and vanity. If we would on the other hand look at ourselves and then look at Jesus we would find that we have rather much to be humbled by and ashamed of. We are told by Jesus to learn of Him and to be meek and humble of heart. Realizing our own faults and failings in this area is a profound humiliation which should lead us as St. Francis and many of the saints to consider ourselves the worst of sinners. We are the worst of sinners not by comparison with our fellow men but rather in comparison with God. We are His children and He is to be our role model by which we measure ourselves. “Be ye perfect because your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

If we will seek this last place in all humility, our lives will be in agreement with Jesus who humbled Himself to become man. He became not the greatest of men but the least of men. Not the first but rather the last. He humbled Himself even to the death on the cross. After this terrible death He arose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. From the least and the lowest He is now in the Highest.

This is what He is suggesting to us when He tells us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. We are to follow Him in dying to ourselves at least by denying ourselves day by day. We pick up our cross and follow Him each day when we patiently endure the burdens and cares of this life, and when we seek our proper place in all truth and humility. If Jesus who is God did this for us who are we to think that this is somehow beneath us? In all truth we deserve to suffer what Jesus innocently suffered for us so whatever evil comes our way in this life, is just payment for our sins. It should be considered not an evil but rather a good because it is for our salvation that it is given to us. 

If we accept this advice and willingly take the last and the least position we will find a greater reward in Heaven because we have more faithfully imitated our role model Jesus Christ.