Is being humble really necessary? (Sirach 3:19-21, 30-31 and Luke 14:1, 7-14; 31 August 2025)

A reflection on Sirach 3:19-21, 30-31 and Luke 14:1, 7-14, written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA. 

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
31 August 2025
Sirach 3:19-21, 30-31 and Luke 14:1, 7-14

Welcome
The core teaching in today’s first reading and gospel seems to be against the spirit of our times in at least two ways. As we look around the world, we don’t see humility in practice; rather we see power games, fascism and  brute force, such as in Gaza or in the Ukraine. At a more personal level, we wary of putting people down and are keen to affirm each other — especially to affirm the young. In the Irish proverb, Moloig an óige and tiocfaidh sé. Encouragement is, rightly, the order of the day.

And yet, the saying about the humble in today’s Gospel occurs not once but twice Luke. What is repeated is important. Even more, there are many parables in Luke to back up this teaching, such as the one today or the Pharisee and the tax-collector. Jesus himself was a model of humility — I am among you as one who serves. So, something important is being said about being a Christian.

Topic
Can we make sense or even make use of this teaching today?

Steps
A first step is to clear the decks. Humility is not the same as humiliation — an error of the many structures in the past. Humility is also not the same as low-self esteem — a kind of pathology at the root of many ills. So what does it mean?

As is well-known, our word humility comes from the Latin word for the earth — humus — and being humble means being down to earth about myself and about others and about the world. I can be humble towards myself: recognising my gifts and my limits — just being truthful without distortion. I can be humble towards others: offering respect and sincerity. We are complex and often work with a mixture of false selves — the story I tell myself about my self or the image of self I would like to project to others. Part of growing up is freeing ourselves (and others) from such falsehoods and delusions. Becoming humble is a journey towards inner freedom.

Why is humility so important? It is not accidental that the great religions and many philosophies, ancient and modern, encourage humility. According to Socrates, the first step is to know yourself: gnosthe seauton. Even then, it is not all about “me”. I can be humble towards others, by showing fundamental respect; I can even be humble towards the earth, again by my respect and care for world around me. Very simply, a healthy humility is the first step to true wisdom and to true happiness.

In the Christian vision, the vision of humility becomes something more radical, part of the reversal of values by which the world operates. It makes for an intoxicating brew. You can see this already in the prayer of Mary, the Magnificat: he has pulled down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. It is powerfully present in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor — or in a better modern translation, flourishing are the poor. Blessed or flourishing are the hungry and those who weep and so on. Many Jesus stories and many parables teach the same thing. Authentic humility is in sharp contrast with much around us.

It even goes up a grade at the hands of St Paul. In Philippians, he dares to say:

Jesus humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)

Mysteriously being humble is part of who God is too. And Paul draws the obvious conclusion in Romans:

For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

Conclusion
It becomes apparent that there is more to this humility business that spirituality or psychology or relationships or even authenticity. It has to do with inner freedom and truth, respect and regard for other; it even takes us to the heart of God in Christ,  which is love. 

We who are made in the image and likeness of God are called to nothing less.