The 20th Sunday After Pentecost:
Scriptures: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14
Key Verse: “For all exalting themselves will be humbled, but all humbling themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14b)
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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When I was little, my parents found it important to take me and my brother to a Buddhist temple every Chinese New Year. I remember there was a time I didn’t want to go, and I got scolded. They were convinced that it was a suitable time to ask for blessings as a new year started. Asking Budda for blessings was like a chore for me but observing the nuns and monks doing their daily routines at the temple year after year was intriguing. I was always amazed at their minimalist living. I wasn’t sure if I could be a vegetarian, have a shaved head, or dress in a dull single-color tunic covering my arms and legs all year long especially during hot weather. The common explanation of why they decide to become monks and nuns is that they have seen through the vanity of life and the world.
My parents did their best to provide me with a decent life and made sure that I had everything I needed or even wanted. I was a happy kid. However, as I grew older, I understood a little bit of their philosophy in terms of seeing through the vanity of life and the world. Is their philosophy and their lifestyle the only way to see through the vanity of life and the world? I have seen famous celebrities and highly intelligent people become nuns and monks because of the hardship of their lives. Instead of doing so, I wondered, what if people could still do it by choosing a lifestyle that protects them from the temptation of vainglory, and that lifestyle doesn’t isolate them from their loved ones and the world? Living among people can be an effective way to strengthen social bonds through humility. Didn't our God come and live among people to strengthen our bonds through Jesus’ humility?
Jesus’ teaching about the contracts between humility and vainglory in Luke 18:9-14 leads me to revisit the book of Sirach, one of Apocrypha in the Old Testament of the Bible. Let me read chapter 3 verses 17 to 31 to you.
“My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord. For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified. Neither seek what is too difficult for you, nor investigate what is beyond your power. Reflect upon what you have been commanded, for what is hidden is not your concern. Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you, for more than you can understand has been shown you. For their conceit has led many astray, and wrong opinion has impaired their judgment. Without eyes there is no light; without knowledge there is no wisdom. A stubborn mind will fare badly at the end, and whoever loves danger will perish in it. A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles, and the sinner adds sin to sins. When calamity befalls the proud, there is no healing, for an evil plant has taken root in him. The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise. As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sin. Those who repay favors give thought to the future; when they fall they will find support.”
I found these fifteen verses helpful. The moment we enjoy self-exaltation, we cut off our access to the vision of God’s mission. The meaning of the word humility in Latin is ‘from the earth,' which reminds us of the purpose of Ash Wednesday. It’s about being grounded and recognizing our own flaws and limitations. And it serves as the best remedy to the temptation of vainglory. Let us stay on the course of God’s mission, be grounded by God’s grace, and imitate Christ’s humility as stated in Philippians 2:5-8: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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