Weekly HOMILY for October 30, 2011: Humble Service Calls for the Death of the Ego

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Michael’s Church, Poplar Springs
October 30, 2011

Humble Service Calls for the Death of the Ego
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


RICHARD RICH

In the opening scene of the movie A Man for All Seasons, Richard Rich, a bright but desperately ambition young man, petitions Thomas More, the king’s humble and saintly chancellor, for a position among the glitterati at the court of Henry VIII.

More tells Rich that he can offer him a position, not as a courtier at court, but as a simple teacher.

The young man is crestfallen, and More tries to cheer him up, “You’d be a fine teacher, Richard; perhaps a great one.” Rich fires back. “And if I was, who would know it?”

The ever patient More responds: “You would, your pupils, your friends, and God. Not a bad public, that.”

Rich wanted glitz and notoriety at court, not the humility of being a classroom teacher.


THE GOSPEL

In today’s gospel, Jesus is talking about folks who’ve made the choice for a career in high places, but have lost the sense of humility that is needed for real service.

He says: “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders.” “All their works are performed to be seen.” “They love places of honor at banquets.”

His reaction leads us to ask what’s the secret to remaining humble even as you climb the corporate ladder or become the head of the family or the president of an organization.

Humility isn’t something you cultivate like building a muscle (flex biceps): “I’ll be more humble. I’ll be more humble. I’ll be more humble.” It just doesn’t work that way. We may admire humility. We may espouse humility. We may want to acquire humility, but it’s not something we do by way of will power.


THE DEATH OF THE EGO

True humility is borne of grace and the realization of who I truly am. Let me explain.

The ego – that is, who I think I am – is a concept here in my heard that I’ve shaped over the years.

The EGO OF SOME FOLKS is what they possess. In their “stuff” they find their identities. It’s expressed in the phrase: “I am my…” as in, “I am the one with the Lexus, or the I-Pad, the newest Droid, a wine cellar.”

If you don’t think you are your “stuff,” just recall all that you have in your closets, basement, attic, garage that you find difficult to part with and ask yourself, “How much of your ‘stuff’ you really are?”

Some folks are able to let go of that ego.

The NEXT LEVEL of ego is “I am me…” I am such and such a title, a member of this family, country club, graduate of this university, live in this neighborhood, etc.”

An interesting way of seeing where you are in terms of your ego is how you introduce yourself. “I’m a department head at Care First” or “I’m this Abercrombie & Fitch shirt or Calvin Klein pants.” “I’m my Laura Ashley bag, my Louis Vuitton dress, Prada shoes or Brooks Brothers suit.” I wear my labels proudly so folks know who I am.

And some of us are able to let go of this ego as well.

There is a THIRD LEVEL of who you are. It is the level of self-understanding that is borne of a relationship with Jesus Christ. It comes from a relinquishing of “I am my stuff” and “I am me” to “I am in God.”

What happens at this third level of self-understanding is that “in God” I come to see that, “I am really we.”

It works like this: The closer I come to being in God’s presence through prayer, the more I am humbled by God’s presence: humbled that God would call me into union with him; humbled that I am worthy of that call; humbled that I can live at that level of identity; humbled that I am empowered to live for others as Jesus lived for me!

That is the grace, the capacity I receive from union with God. It isn’t the muscle of humility that I developed.


CONCLUSION

In a nutshell it is being disposed to God’s grace and the disposition comes through the dying to finding my identity in stuff, in titles and honors, to finding myself in God.