16th Sunday after Pentecost 8.9.13 Humility and power
True humility is having a proper understanding of one’s true status, firstly before Almighty God and then as regards other people.
Before Almighty God our true status is very lowly. He is as far above us as a mountain above an insect, and further than that.
We owe our lives to Him and everything we have. It is enough that He has created us to deserve our respect; even more again that He has saved us, forgiven us for our multiple sins.
God allows us to stand before Him, but in our hearts and minds we should be prostrate in adoration and contrition.
If enough people did this the world would look a much better place.
Yesterday Australia had a federal election. From a Christian point of view we pray for our nation to be humble before God. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.2 Ch 7,14.
Whoever wins an election the real power comes from God. All the world is His; and each nation.
Human leaders are just standing in for Him. The original idea was that we would have kings, who would be Catholic kings, and rule justly.
Somehow we have strayed from that model, in several respects. We now have atheist republics where there used to be Catholic kingdoms. Very doubtful whether that can be called progress!
We pray for our political leaders that they will recognize their status, acting according to God’s laws; not seeking to change them, as so many call for today.
The separation of Church and state does not mean that the state can separate itself from God’s law or God’s will. To separate like that is to be a branch cut from the tree (cf John 15,6).
When a nation humbles itself before God it will be blessed. When it reverses His commands there will be trouble; as is more and more the case in the western world.
Catholics must push for true values, God’s values, to be upheld in our society. We do not command religious observance (though that also is a moral imperative) but we do demand that people not kill their babies, or the elderly etc.
The more we keep in the shadow of His wings the more accurate our decisions are going to be and the more order our society will enjoy.
And the more peace we will have in our world. Yesterday was a day of special prayer for Syria.
When it comes to prayer for peace we must seek more than just a ceasefire. It has to be peace based on right relationship with God. If we have that right relationship then the crises like Syria would not emerge in the first place.
This is the only way to peace, but, as we see, acknowledging God is not a strongpoint at the moment.
People play games and pretend that God is not there. Or even if He is there then His opinion does not count.
This is not humility; in fact the very opposite, the spirit of Babel, where the people asserted themselves without due reference to God (cf Gen 11).
How can we run a nation, or the world, if we ignore the One who created us and keeps us in being?
All power and authority are His; and all goodness too. It is not as though submitting to Him is such a terrible burden. He wants only to bless us and give us every good thing.
So we take the ‘lowest place’ before Him and let Him lift us to higher things.
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