Humility is a forgotten virtue!

Once I was travelling in Europe and I asked my friend “what is so special about your country?” and he said in reply, “Food”. It is hard to come up with anything worthwhile apart from infra-structures, the haves and have not’s when talking about countries. We all are proud of our country. The road-system in USA is the best that I have seen anywhere in the world! The educational policy is the most expensive compared to any other country. But who are we? What do others think of us? How do we project ourselves to us and others? “Americans who travel abroad for the 1st time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages” (Dave Barry) or is it true that “When good Americans die they go to Paris” (Oscar Wilde).

Humility is the forgotten virtue in most societies in our modern world. In the 1st reading today, we heard about Wisdom drawing all the simple people. The simple always enjoy the fruits of wisdom. The meat and wine are not the ordinary meal of the people, they symbolize a feast. Tagore, the poet who wrote the Indian national anthem, once said, ‘We come nearest to the great when we are in great humility’.

Many of us think that intelligence is wisdom or intelligence is the by-product of wisdom. Though intelligence gives us the ability to share what we know in different formats, Wisdom is the holistic ability to grasp knowledge that is valuable to our lives. This is what the Upanishads call Vidya. Vidya is the knowledge of the Brahman. In other words, those who possess wisdom speak the language of God. Avidya the ignorance takes us away from the light and we are termed ignorant. We just have the intellectual capacity to read and write.

The past three Sundays have brought in the concept of bread and Jesus being our flesh. In John’s Gospel this theme is very central to the teachings of Jesus. In the Prologue of John, we hear that the Word was made flesh. What would we say when asked, ‘why?’ Why was the Word made flesh? The Word was made flesh so that we may have life and that life in fullness. God spoke through his Son Jesus (Heb 1:1). Think of a world where the Word still remains Word. Think of the Wisdom that never called us to come and dine! Think of a God who never came in search of us!

The Greek word ‘to eat’ here has a real urgency and munching connotation. It is urgent that we eat this flesh in order to live. It is not a casual breakfast that we eat after mass or funnel cake after a meal! Have you ever experienced real hunger or real thirst? Have you seen anyone who eats when hungry or drinks when thirsty? Why? It is the issue of life and death. My body needs it. In the same way our life needs this food.

The Word became flesh. It is not right now to say ‘let us make this flesh words, words, words. That’s what we do when we are so filled with pride and arrogance. Word becoming flesh is the humility of God in action. Take this, eat and drink – God’s humility in action that is remembered day after day. If the all powerful El Shaddai, the God of the universe could come to our heart in a thin, round unleavened wafer, why do we blind others of our pride and arrogance and pretend to be someone we are not? Christians who eat that flesh necessarily live out that humility by clearly witnessing the primacy of God in our lives. Humility is a solid foundation to all our virtues (Confucius). Let us pray that we witness God’s humility in all our words and actions. Amen.