Is it Hard to be Humble?

Reflection on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time by Fr Earl Valdez

Stock AI image from StockCake

If I may answer the question I posed as the title of this reflection, I would have to admit that it is a resounding YES. Just as when we think that being truly humble is easy, we realize how difficult it is, especially when it is linked to our own way of understanding ourselves. 

In what sense, you may ask? Most often, we have this kind of false humility in which we deny praise and recognition of what we can do and what we have done. When somebody says that you have done well, our reflex would be to thank that person, but followed with that all-too Filipino expression of “Di naman po masyado!” or simply, “Naku, hindi naman po!” Deference comes as a part of our speech and way of life as Filipinos and Asians, but sometimes, these only mask our reaction over our egos being boosted. Believe me, I have felt that, and at times, I ended up smiling at the back of my head, wishing that I was recognized for what I have done. 

Truth be told, our attempts at becoming humble end up becoming simple strokes at our ego and our sense of capacity, only that we want it to not come from ourselves but from others. We don’t notice the subtlety of it, only when we come to think of it seriously. But I believe our faith, as we have seen in our readings today, showed us the path to become truly humble which, strictly speaking, comes with gratitude. 

Stephen Shortridge, “Lessons in Humility.” Photo from the Charis Institute

This is the running theme that cuts across our gospel readings for today. In the same way that the book of the prophet Zechariah reminds us that Israel is a Kingdom not because of its merits but because the Lord sends a king and savior to rule over them, the letter of St. Paul reminded us that as followers of the Lord, we live and move in the Spirit. In faith, we recognize that everything we have and all that have become part of our lives is in fact due to the Spirit’s movement over us. 

This leads us to a rather obvious conclusion, one that oftentimes we miss: all that we have and are come from the Lord, and everything that we do is a mere response and a gesture of gratitude to what He does for us. 

If we think about it, that could be perhaps the most difficult thing to do, because we are confronted by the perception that there are things that we truly deserve. When we look at the fruits of the work we have done in our lives, we find ourselves asking: but isn’t this mine to take and enjoy? When we see what we have become, especially when we have survived the toughest of times, we are tempted to say, but this is all my hard work! And when we look at the future that we hope for, we have the tendency to say, these are my plans? We may not say them in this manner, but the way that we hold on to them as part of ourselves at times lead us away from a position of gratitude. 

Vincent Fink, “Nature of Ego & Self.” Image from Surrealism Today

In the course of my priesthood (which, honestly, wasn’t that too long… yet), I have encountered these temptations many times, especially after having delivered a good and moving homily, or more recently, finishing a graduate degree after two long years of study. It’s easy to say and fall into the trap of calling all of these my achievements, and equally tempting to say that while the Lord gave all of these, it was I who worked hard for it. But when I seriously think about it, I realize that, from a view of greater depth and width, it was actually the Lord that led me to this. He gave me the freedom that I have to respond and act on what He gave, and alone, I could not have done it. 

The gospel for today calls us to once again recognize the basic fact that everything is and comes from the Lord, most especially those things that we could say were fruits of our own effort and perseverance. This is the wisdom which, according to Christ, was hidden for the wise and the learned, for they (or rather, we) have the tendency to see that the good things in this life come solely from our labors and efforts, whether consciously or not. But the Lord reminds us: much like the truth of the Source has been revealed, everything is unselfishly given to us, even the capacity and the freedom to act upon them. And only those who could see this would have a truly grateful mind and heart, knowing how to hold on, how to cherish, and how to let go of everything according to the will of the Lord. 

Natalie Hunsaker, “Yoked with Christ.” Image from Altus

And I think it is only then, that we could truly understand what it means to lower our yokes and rest in the Lord’s presence, with a heartfelt knowledge that everything comes from Him and is given (or taken) from us according to His will. 

In this regard, then, we ask: What are aspects of our lives in which we hold on to the belief that it is out of our own efforts and not through the Lord’s grace and generosity? How do we become even more humble before the Lord through the recognition of our possessions, relationships, and plans as belonging to Him?