The Gospels presents the message of humility, self-effacement and self-abnegation as a central Christian virtue or spiritual and moral disposition without which no one can find the salvation of Christ. In the message of humility as indeed in his other fundamental teachings, Jesus Christ literally reverses everything the world regarded as correct, normal or desirable. In Luke 14:7-14 he shatters the expectation of his listeners by striking at the very root of the established order, in matters concerning the poor, the broken hearted, the sick, the weak, the handicapped, the stranger, the widow, the orphan and the sinner, and how these people are regarded in society.
In a world of power and domination, command and control, wealth and privilege, here we are with Jesus preaching the gospel of poverty and humility, meekness and gentleness. In the midst of a world caught up in the rat race to succeed, a world where everyone is engaged in the mad rush to be number one, a world where everyone wants to be the first, and no one wants to come behind, the message of Christ is truly radical and uncompromising when he says that "the greatest among you must be your servant," and "those who wish to be first must make themselves last of all." The message of Jesus on humility must really be a strange one, a hard nut to swallow, for the men and women of our generation, and the people of our country who are ready to do anything conceivable to get the first place.
See what people do in our society to get the first place: manoeuvring their way to the top, manipulating their way to the front row, wangling their way to the first position, stealing their way to the high table, and even shooting their way to the throne. Yes, in the eyes of those who must be first, in the eyes of those who must lead and control others it doesn't matter how many people will die in the process, as long as they get to the top. They will crush the poor and trample on the weak; they will kill and maim, and destroy any obstacle on their way to the front row or the high table.
In the prevalent logic of the world, the winner is the one who is richer than others, the winner is the one who is stronger or more powerful than others, the winner is the one who is faster than others, the winner is the one who gets to the first position, even if it means pushing others off the way, or actually crushing them. The winner in the eyes of the world is the one who is dressed in purple, who is adorned in gold, who lives in the best mansions, who rides around in the best cars, and who surrounds himself or herself with waiters and servants and orderlies. In the logic of Jesus Christ however, "the greatest among you must be your servant." For him it is the poor, not the rich that are truly blessed, it is the meek and gentle, not the proud and arrogant that are truly blessed, it is those who hunger, those who thirst, those who mourn, that are truly blessed, not those who today are satisfied (see Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-26).
The quest for power, privilege and position is a universal one, so is the human instinct to control and dominate others, or to conquer territories. In the entire history of humanity, the quest for relevance, expressed in the inordinate desire for power and the desire to control or dominate others has led to many brutal wars and violent clashes. But with his new logic, Jesus strikes at the very core of this human quest for relevance. Jesus constitutes himself into a sign of contradiction for a generation like ours whose whole existence is organised around the quest for the first position, a generation that is passionately committed to having more and more, a generation which seeks fulfilment in building bigger and bigger houses, a generation which is fascinated about travelling faster, flying higher, and producing things faster. Humbling oneself is an attitude which the world of today does not accept. Humility and lowliness are looked upon with disdain, and those whose lives are ordered by the principles of humility, meekness and lowliness are an oddity. Instead it is the proud, the arrogant the self-conceited and the self-assertive that are presented as models of wholesome personality.
However behind this pre-occupation of modern humanity to run faster, to build larger mansions and taller sky-scrappers, behind the ambition to be first in everything, behind the passion to outdo or outshine others in everything, is the sinful disposition of pride, pride which we are told is the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. Jesus, who came to establish a civilization of love throws a bombshell before his listeners when he says that the "first shall be the last and the last shall be the first." He shocks them beyond pardon when he says that those who wish to enter the Kingdom of heaven must desire only the back seat at the banquet.
The book of Genesis tells us that disobedience, born out of pride, arrogance and the inordinate ambition "to be like gods" is the sin of Adam and Eve - the "original sin" which made them lose their primordial innocence, earned them expulsion from paradise, the garden of bliss, and a curse that continues to haunt and plague their progeny to this day. Jesus came to destroy the myth of power and domination, and to reverse the curse incurred by Adam and Eve. So he preached the message of humility, poverty, self-effacement, self-abnegation and renunciation as the way to salvation. In Matthew 23:11 he says "the greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted. Again in Luke 18:17 he says: "anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." To be admitted for the eternal banquet of the Kingdom of God, the fundamental condition is childlike humility.
Paradoxically in the logic of Jesus, the person who thinks himself last and who assumes a lowly disposition, is more ready than the proud-hearted person to receive the gift of eternal life - the same gift of which the person considers himself or herself unworthy. Jesus taught this lesson, not only by word of mouth, but by his entire life, death and resurrection. He was the Son of God, equal to God in dignity, but he did not count on this equality. He accepted to be born into the world as a human being with all its limitations (Philippians 2:6-11). The circumstances of his birth and the conduct of his daily life amidst his disciples, were themselves a lesson in humility. Thus he was born, not in a king's palace, but in a stable; he grew up in the small town of Nazareth where he learnt carpentry, the humble trade of his foster father; he subjected himself to baptism by John the Baptist; he gathered around himself simple peasants and fishermen; he mixed freely with sinners and outcasts; he served his disciples and even washed their feet (John 13:2-11); he suffered hunger and thirst; and above all he endured persecution, condemnation, and a shameful death on the cross at the hands of those who were actually creatures of his own hands.
The humiliating experience of crucifixion that culminated in His glorious resurrection and ascension is a supreme lesson on humility. The fact that the paschal mystery does not end with the crucifixion but with the resurrection and ascension, is proof enough that all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the logic of Jesus is correct, and ultimate salvation is to be found in this logic. The Lord commends his own humility as a model from which we should learn. He says in Matthew 11:29 "learn from me and know that I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Mary His mother made her historical witnessed to this virtue of humility when she responded to the angel who brought to her the incredible message of the incarnation with the words: "I am the handmaid of the Lord" (Luke 1: 39).
God accepts only the worship of those who are humble. It is those who acknowledge their lowliness and weakness before the almighty God that are acceptable to him. As St. James says, "God rejects the proud, but gives his favour to the lowly." Only those who acknowledge their powerlessness and helplessness before the all-powerful God may come into his presence. Only those who acknowledge their sinfulness and unworthiness before the all-holy God, and their desperate need for salvation, may be admitted into the heavenly kingdom. Those on the other hand who rely on their own abilities and resources, those who think that they can claim eternal salvation as a right, or those who think they merit salvation as a reward for fulfilling the law, will never get in (see Romans 3:21-31; Galatians 2:16-21). Jesus tells his disciples that "Truly, truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you (Matthew 21:31). The lesson here is that whoever is absolutely sure of salvation will not get it. Thus the greatest obstacle to salvation is not sin, but rather the sense of self-righteousness, born of pride and arrogance. The human being shall find exaltation and salvation only through pursuing a life of humility.
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14) demonstrates in a very graphic manner the forgiving love, mercy and compassion of God. The heart of God is so large, so gracious, so tender and so accommodating that he despises no one, not even the worst of sinners, who cry out to him for redemption. The only ones who may not benefit from God's mercy and goodness are the proud and arrogant, the self-righteous and the self-conceited - those who think that they are good enough and as such are not in need of God's mercy. The parable is a powerful lesson on humility, which many commentators have called "the most characteristic Christian virtue." As indeed Christ himself says, only those who humble themselves in the eyes of God shall be exalted.
The truth is that no amount of uprightness, no degree of moral rectitude or scrupulosity on our part in the keeping of the laws and commandments, can earn for us the salvation of God. No, the God of Jesus Christ offers his salvation as purely a gift bestowed out of love, mercy and compassion to those who acknowledge their sinfulness, their lowliness, their emptiness and their vulnerability. Only those who consider themselves least worthy of the Kingdom of God will enter it, for no one can fill a cup that is already full. The self-righteous person does not need God since he manages very well by himself.
In this parable the Lord Jesus challenges his disciples with the message of humility, self-effacement and self-abnegation as not only a Christian virtue but a spiritual and moral disposition without which no one can find the salvation of Christ. Once again in the contrasting image of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Lord shocks his listeners by declaring that the big time sinner went home happy, whereas the Pharisee did not. That assertion seemed to reverse what the Jews of his day regarded as correct, normal or desirable. The Pharisee in those days was not a bad person. He was a very good person by the standards of the Jewish law and religion. He was very scrupulous in keeping the 600 precepts of the law. He could not be found stealing, or cheating his neighbour. He could not be found committing fornication or violating the sabbath. He was often beyond reproach as far as keeping the law was concerned. In fact he often did more than the minimum requirements of the Law, such as fasting twice a week when the Law does not demand that much. In the eyes of the Jews of Jesus' day therefore, the Pharisee was a pious and God-fearing man.
Yet the sin of the Pharisee as identified by Jesus in Luke 18:9-14 is that he was convinced of his own righteousness, and he harboured judgement and pride in his heart. The man was proud of his moral uprightness, putting himself outside the circle of God's mercy and forgiveness. He also judged and despised his neighbour as unworthy of God's company. His self-sufficiency blocks him from the experience of God's love. He expected to be justified on the basis of his upright lifestyle, but in this way he missed the point of divine intervention in salvation, for no human being on his or her own is ever justified in the sight of God. The Pharisee failed to realise that because of the sin which is common to everyone, even the most pious person cannot escape the judgement of the Lord except through divine mercy.
The publican on the other hand was the quintessential sinner. He was the very image or symbol of moral decay. He was a betrayer of the Jewish people. He was seen as one who sold himself out to the Roman occupation force and became an instrument of the subjugation of his own people. He not only collected taxes from his people for the Roman authorities but also often extorted money from the suffering poor. He belonged to the class of renegades, prostitutes and pagans. Yet the publican in the parable of Jesus acknowledged his horrible state. He did not even attempt to recount his sins, for that will be of no use. He had fallen deeper and deeper into sin, and did not seem to be on the way up yet, but he remained repentant and sorrowful. Of course he was so overwhelmed by the weight of his own sin that he had no energy to focus on another person and his or her sins. He recognised the rot in his life, and his unworthiness to behold the face of the God of holiness. Yet he knew that if he had any hope of salvation, it could only come from God. He simply threw himself down, beat his breast and cried out in desperation: "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner."
The merciful Lord does not fail to take notice of him, and like the repentant thief crucified along with Jesus, the publican found salvation. Jesus says that this sinner went home justified rather than the Pharisee. After a whole life-time of greed and graft, intimidation and extortion, the publican is forgiven just like that? Is that what it means that the first shall be the last and the last shall be the first? Ah, how far God's ways are from our own ways! The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is surely a lesson on God's abundant mercy and immeasurable love which reaches out to the ones who need it most, even the unlovable, or especially the unlovable. In our day God's love reaches out to such marginal people as the "area boys" and "area girls," the armed robbers, the drug addicts, the violent cult gangs in our educational institutions - those who are often unable to love in return.
Jesus Christ today reveals his Father as the God of the ghettos, the God of the marginalised minority, the God of the abandoned handicapped child, the God of the unwanted child that is treated with abortion. Yes the God of Jesus Christ is the God of the condemned criminal, the God of the despised prostitute, the God of the village woman accused of witchcraft. The more deficient, the more spoiled, the more ill, the more disfigured a person is, the more does God love him or her. The more despicable a person is, the more does he or she need to be loved with a gratuitous love. We have here the same lesson as we find in the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd literally abandons the ninety-nine other sheep by the side of the hill, and goes in search of the one lost sheep in the thorny bush and the rocky mountain. God's love is without calculation. It is absolute. It is supreme. It is unconditional. In Romans 5:8 St. Paul makes the point that God's mysterious love is demonstrated in the fact that Christ dies for us while we were yet sinners. He didn't die for us because we were good or lovable.
The truth is that we are all sinners. There is no one who does not need to kneel humbly before God and ask for his mercy and forgiveness. There is no one who can truly claim moral success in the eyes of God. Those who think they are so good are the unfortunate ones in the eyes of God. God sees the emptiness of humanity, but the Pharisee does not admit of any emptiness. He is too full, so he has no need of God. The Pharisee is a needy person ironically because he thinks he has it all. And the publican is blessed paradoxically because he recognises his unworthiness, his shallowness and his superficiality. So he is ready to be filled by God.
Pharisaism subsist in the world of today, but it is often of a different kind than the category Jesus dealt with. In our own day, Pharisaism perhaps subsists more among the worst of sinners than among those who make any pretensions to keeping the commandments of God. Indeed the irony of our moral revolution today is that the Pharisees are often big time sinners, fraudsters, embezzlers, torturers, fornicators, homosexuals, idolaters, and those promoting abortion and euthanasia. Our Pharisees of today are those who are proud of what they should be most ashamed of. They splash their immorality shamelessly, and boast of keeping aloof from the Church and its moral scruples. They despise those who appeal to an ideal or those who strive to become better. They rationalise their sinful state, appealing to psychology, sociology and physiology to justify their lifestyle of sin. Rather than strive for perfection in the way of Christ, they are often busy trying to reduce the high moral demands of Christianity to their own level. Many of our contemporaries are so blinded by pride that they are unable to see how rotten they are inside and how much they stand in need of the redemption which Christ offers freely. Christ has come precisely to heal the world of this blindness and make it possible for humanity to embrace the gratuitous gift of God's salvation.