Cats
and Humility
Fr.
George Smiga
28-29
August 2004
Luke
14: 1, 7 - 14
Cats
are not known for their humility. In fact thousands of years
ago cats were worshipped as gods. Apparently they have not
forgotten this. The life of a cat revolves around what the
cat wants to do: to eat, to stretch, to be petted, to sleep.
Cats seem to be able to exult themselves and get away with
it. They are perhaps the only animals to which the words of
Jesus in today's Gospel do not apply. For what Jesus tells
His disciples is that those who exult themselves will be humbled.
It is only by humbling ourselves that we can be exulted.
Now
what is humility? And why is it that Jesus thinks it is so
important? Humility is the willingness to acknowledge our
own limitations. Humility tells us that it is a value, a benefit
for us to own our weaknesses. That we actually take a step
forward when we are able to say: I am not as patient as I
need to be with my family; I am not as creative as someone
else might be; I find it difficult to say I am sorry; I hold
prejudices against certain people; I am not a good listener.
All
these honest acknowledgements of our limitations are a way
in which we move towards the truth without devaluing ourselves.
Because honest humility allows us to acknowledge our weaknesses
and at the same time realize that we remain people of goodness
and value. We might not be perfect, but we have value. We
might not be able to do everything, but we have something
to contribute. Therefore, acknowledging our limitations is
the value of humility. But humility does not only influenced
our understanding of ourselves. It changes our view of others.
For humility allows us to see the goodness of others and to
treat them with reverence.
Why
is it that as we experience a death in our family, the small
actions of kindness and thoughtfulness of others so deeply
move us? It is because death makes us humble. It forces us
to face our mortality and our need. In that humility we can
more clearly see the goodness of others as they minister to
us in our grief. Why is it that the alcoholics or those involved
in 12-step programs can so clearly appreciate the value of
life and create such tight bonds with others in the recovery
community? Because their addiction makes them humble and they
realize that every day they are clean is a gift. They know
that no sacrifice would be too great for them to be with a
brother or a sister at a time of temptation. Why is it that
people who struggle with cancer or any other serious disease
are often so willing to extend themselves to others who struggle
with the same sickness? It is because the cancer makes them
humble, and they can more clearly see the reverence of their
own life and the value and goodness of every other person.
People
who are proud, who feel they can do it on their own, are not
able to see as clearly the reverence that they should have
for others. They tend to relate to others in terms of what
the other can provide for them. That is why Jesus gives that
strong teaching in today's Gospel saying that we should not
invite anyone to our house that can repay us, but rather the
poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame. He says this
to make it very clear that our association with others should
not flow from our use of them but from their value as people.
The
great Jewish theologian Martin Buber was once asked a very
common question, “Where is God?” And Buber rightly avoided
the cliché “God is everywhere.” What Buber said was
“God is found between people.” God is found in the relationships
that bind us to one another. The proud person does not really
see the essential quality of human relationships. He or she
might be a very open caring person, willing to give to others
but unaware of his or her own limitations. The proud person
does not see how crucially we need one another. The person
of humility does in fact recognize the need for relationships
and therefore finds God “between us.”
Cats
believe they are self sufficient, that they can do it own
their own. Christians know that they are not. They understand
that God is to be found when we acknowledge our limitations
and recognize our radical need for one another. This fundamental
insight is what makes love the highest of all Christian virtues.
For love tells us that it is in our relationship to each other
that we find God. Love is, indeed, the only way to God. But
if that is true, then today's Gospel is important. Because
if love is the only road to God, it is only the humble who
will walk upon it.
|
