Humble Righteousness
Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
The readings for this weekend speak of God’s justice, the importance of prayerful perseverance and the necessity for humility.
God is merciful, for sure, but he is also just. Injustices and wrongdoing must be righted. In our human experience, it sometimes seems like mercy and justice are at odds with one another. If I show mercy to someone who deserves punishment, I sometimes feel like I am ignoring justice. If I give someone what they have coming as a result of their behaviors, I sometimes feel that I lack mercy. But in God, justice and mercy meet (Ps 85:11), the cross of Christ is the icon of such meeting.
St. Paul, in the second reading, is fearful of his life as he writes to Timothy from prison. Paul places his life in the hand of the “just Judge” and trusts that God will bring him safe to his heavenly kingdom. He trusts in both mercy and justice.
In the Gospel, Jesus addresses his words to the self-righteous. He says, “the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus’ words exhort us to be humble and to avoid self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the smug assurance of one’s own moral correctness and, at the same time, disdain and intolerance of the moral weaknesses of others. Self-righteousness is often accompanied by hypocrisy.
Because most people are so fearful of being considered self-righteous, they sometimes go too far in their attempts to avoid self-righteousness and they move into the realm of moral relativism, refusing to make any moral judgement on whether something is morally right or wrong.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must discern the moral rightness or wrongness of behaviors based on the teachings of the Sacred Scriptures and Christ’s Church. However, we must do so with great humility and tolerance of the frailty of human nature. It is always wise, when tempted to pass judgement on another’s motives, to recall the adage, “but for the grace of God, go I”.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
