“I am meek and humble of heart.” ~reflex on Lk 14: 7-14

Jesus, always the loving and gentle teacher, is being watched by the Pharisees. And he is watching them too. He sees them vying for the place of honor, in need of prestige and recognition. They are driven by their narrow vision to exalt themselves, rather than lift others up.

Jesus could easily call them out individually and embarrass them, putting them in their place. He is, after all, the King of the Universe. But he is also Incarnate Love. And so, rather than embarrass them, he tells a parable to the whole group gathered, and gives them the freedom and opportunity to take a good look at themselves and achieve some self-knowledge, and maybe even change their ways.

He knows the human heart better than anyone, and he understands the desire for self-promotion; it is part of fallen human nature to reach for what I refer to as the “5 P’s”: power, prestige, prosperity, popularity, pleasure. And he knows that we are made to be filled, not emptied; he knows that we cannot create a vacuum in ourselves by simply pushing away every desire. We must fill ourselves with good things, so there is no room for the bad.

He does not tell them that they should not desire honor; instead, he redirects their desire, elevating it. He points us heavenward, reminding us that any “honor” we receive on earth is meaningless if it does not result in heavenly reward. If we give something in order to be repaid, we are making ourselves the recipient of our own gift, which is no gift at all! When, on the other hand, we give something without any desire for repayment of any kind, we “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

When we try to exalt ourselves, we can never be exalted enough, and self-affirmation notoriously fails miserably. We cannot sincerely believe compliments or honor that we have manipulated others to give us. When we give to others without our own prestige and popularity as the goal, we are acting in true generosity. It is God alone Who sees these generous deeds, and God alone Who can repay them. When we acknowledge our littleness in the grand scheme of things and focus our energies on lifting others up, we act according to the humble Heart of Christ, and we “blessed indeed.”