On Humility

Today’s readings are about the power of humility (Hosea 6:1-6; Lk 18:9-14), but it took me a moment to fully understand that.  For some reason on my first read-through, these scriptures reminded me of the saying about how “if you are going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk” or the saying about how you should “put your money where your mouth is.” I am not saying this is what these scriptures actually mean, but it is what I started thinking about when I first read them.  As I understand these sayings (not the scripture), they basically mean don’t be a hypocrite.  They mean our actions and deeds have to back up our words. And if they do, then we can justifiably talk some talk, and if not, then we should just be quiet.  They also mean don’t front, don’t pose, and above all, don’t criticize or judge others for what we are unable to do ourselves.  I associated these ideas with the scripture readings in a couple of places.  There was the lament in Hosea about how Ephraim’s and Judah’s piety was as ephemeral and fickle as the “morning dew”.  And there is the admonishment that true faith cannot be just a series of mechanistic actions. The scriptures say the Lord wants to be truly loved and known.  He is not mollified by rote rituals and burnt offerings.  A relationship with the Lord must come from the heart with sincerity.  We should not just front our faith.  

But as I kept thinking about it, sincerity of faith, while true and important, is also not the main point of today’s scriptures.  In fact, I think these scriptures are saying that even “walking the walk” is not really enough.  Even if we are backing up our “talk” with actions, deeds, and sacrifices, fixating on those actions can actually make us less rather than more.  Such fixations create hubris.  They leech away our compassion and empathy.  They make us as self-righteous and judgmental as the Pharisee in the passage from Luke: “Look at all the good things I do.  Look at how much more that makes me over others.”  Such fixations actually prevent us from knowing and loving God.  Instead, the scriptures seem to be saying we should just be humble.  Know our imperfection.  Know our need for grace and mercy.  Have some contrition.  Recognize how much we don’t know.  In other words, we should probably just skip “the talk” altogether.  We can and should “walk the walk”, but we need to remember that the walk is not the only thing.   Mostly, it is about having humility as we walk.  Do that and the rest will take care of itself.

Amen  

Author: Casey Profitt, Social Studies Department