Friday – 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Luke 6:39-42

Humble Pie!

Lighting a Candle, Church of Holy Sepulchre

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat. "I'm the greatest HITTER in the world," he announced. Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.

"Strike One!" he yelled. Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!"   He tossed the ball into the air. When it came down he swung again and missed. "Strike Two!" he cried out.  The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. He straightened his cap and said once more, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!" Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it. He missed. "Strike Three!"

"Wow!" he exclaimed... "I'm the greatest PITCHER in the world!"

It’s good to believe in yourself.  It’s good to be confident in your abilities and to be proud of your accomplishments.  But many times we can go overboard and, in the process of thinking we are the best, we end up belittling everyone else.  The sin of pride, of selfishness!  The belief that I know better than anyone, the belief that I am better than anyone!

Here’s a little secret.  We are not perfect, not you and certainly not I!  There is such a fine line between being proud of our actions and boasting about them to the detriment of others.  What we need is a little humility, perhaps a nice big dose of it sometimes to wake us up!  And that is what the Gospel addresses today.  We cannot spend our lives pointing out everyone else’s faults and not see the same faults in ourselves.  We cannot spend our lives in arrogance, not seeing the needs of others and tending to them. 

Especially today, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we are called to appreciate and remember all the families and victims of September 11th, 2001, for all selfless first responders: firefighters, police officers and emergency service workers who gave their lives in service and in humility.

It was a day that I learned what it really means to be a father, to be a husband, to be a friend.  It was a day we all rushed to make a phonecall or to get home, to hug our family, to tell them we loved them, to make sure they were all okay.  It was a day when saying “I love you” became more than just a daily ritual.  It was a day that we lost not only lives of friends and family, fellow human beings, but we also lost our innocence, when we can no longer take our sense of comfort and security, our relationships, for granted. It was a day that will forever change the way we look up at the sky at the sound of a plane.  When wings became weapons and passengers became pawns.  It was a day that opened our eyes to a world of violence and uncertainty. 

But it wasn’t just about loss – since that day, hopefully, we have also gained – we have gained a greater appreciation for our parents and family; we have gained a deeper sense of what it means to call someone a friend.  Even in the midst of tragedy. we have learned to value that we are all one color, one faith, one soul, one people – and when violence affects one individual, it diminishes us all.  But in the long run, if we are to gain any meaning from September 11, we must also open our hearts: 

To provide food in a world where many walk in hunger

To witness to our faith in a world where many walk in fear

To be friend and family in a world where many walk alone

To appreciate all the days we have had together and all the days to come

To accept the joys and the sorrows that bind us ever closer together

To teach us that we can do no great things,

Only small things with great love

So that all that has divided us will merge

And compassion will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And no one will be subject to the will of another

And all will be rich and free and varied

And all will share in the earth’s abundance

And all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And all will cherish the young         

And all will cherish life’s creatures

And all will make peace not just a word, but a way of life.

 

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