30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One day, a little frog came hopping excitedly to his father, who was resting by the side of a pond.

“Oh Father,” the young frog exclaimed, “I’ve just seen the most terrible monster! It was huge—bigger than a mountain! It had horns on its head, a long tail, and great big feet divided in two.”

The old frog smiled and shook his head. “Nonsense, my child,” he said. “That was only Farmer White’s ox. It may be a little bigger than I am, but I could easily make myself just as large. Watch this!”

And so, he began to puff himself up. He blew himself out once, twice, three times.

“Was he as big as this?” he asked proudly.

“Oh no, Father—much bigger!” said the little frog.

So the old frog took another deep breath and puffed himself up even more. “What about now?” he asked.

“Still bigger, Father,” came the reply.

Determined to prove his point, the old frog drew in all the air he could, puffed, and swelled until—well—he burst!

And that was the end of the poor old frog.

Aesop’s Fables are kind of creepy, aren’t they? Again, just in time for Halloween. And what could the moral of the story be? I think it is this: puffing ourselves up can lead to our self-destruction. Which is to say, egotism and pride can lead to our undoing. If we puff ourselves up too much in life, eventually our world will explode. In other words, this fable from Aesop is a lesson about humility.

Jesus says as much in the Gospel reading, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Let’s take a closer look at the Gospel parable and what Jesus means by humility. The Pharisee is in the temple area self-righteously listing off all his good works in his prayers. He is thinking to himself he had deserved God’s favor because of his good deeds. Instead of praying to God, it seems as if he was praying to himself. He had puffed up his ego to the level of divinity which of course leads to disaster.

The tax collector meanwhile had a profession that made him the most despised person in town. He was a collaborator with the Roman occupiers, a traitor in the eyes of most, even seen as a thief. His prayers however were different than the Pharisee. The tax collector threw his life into the hands of God’s mercy. He understood that nothing he could ever do in this life could ever merit anything from God. He came to awareness that he didn’t even have a right to life itself, let alone any possessions in life. He therefore threw himself into the arms of God’s grace. Jesus says the tax collector’s prayers were heard and answered.

Sirach offers us the same message in our first reading, “the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds… nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds”. And there is St. Paul in our second reading, imprisoned, awaiting execution, abandoned, and his life being poured out like a libation. Everything had been taken away from him, his family, friends, wealth, adequate food, and so on and so forth. You can imagine the sanitary conditions of his prison cell. St. Paul however had a spiritually peaceful enough heart in his lowliness to be able to write, “The time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. And from now on the crown of righteousness awaits me”. St. Paul is writing from a place of supreme poverty. However, because of his faith he is the wealthiest man in the world. He is writing from a place of complete abandonment and trust to the grace of almighty God.

So, what is humility? What is the virtue of humility Jesus is calling us to? I like looking at the Latin root of words and so in the word humility you can find the word humus. Humus literally means earth, soil, or ground.

And so, clearly a humble person isn’t someone who puffs themselves up like the Pharisee in the Gospel reading or the bullfrog in our Aesop’s fable. On the other hand, I think it is also correct to say that a humble person isn’t someone who puts their light under a bushel basket either. We call this false humility and a waste of talent.

Jesus encourages us to put our lights on lampstands, to use our gifts to benefit others, as we see in many places in the Gospels. And so, humility, properly understood, is reflective of someone who has their feet planted on the ground. This is why when St. Paul talks about competing well, finishing the race and keeping the faith, he is not bragging. He is sharing this with us from a place of profound humility.

We can ask ourselves this week, who am I in the Gospel story? Do I behave like the Pharisee who puffs himself up too much in the presence of God and others? If so, I should remember the story of the bullfrog. This didn’t work out so well for the bullfrog. On the other hand, we can ask ourselves, am I more like the tax collector whose prayers are heard? That clearly has a far better outcome provided our humility is accompanied by a conversion of heart.

My friends, the Gospel this weekend gives us a clear recipe on how to have a better relationship with our Father in heaven and better friendships with the people around us, and that lesson is this: “whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ,

you who are gentle and humble of heart,

teach us to walk in the path of true humility.

Free us from pride and self-righteousness,

and help us to recognize every gift as a sign of your mercy.

May we use what we have received to serve others with love,

so that in our lowliness your glory may be made known.

You who live and reign forever and ever.

Amen.