Gospel Lectio Divina for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 5, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
MEDITATE
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.
So, do as they say but not as they do? Why would Jesus give such an instruction? A sense of injustice stirs up inside me when someone tells me to do something when I know they don’t do it themselves. However, it could be just as frustrating if we are the ones trying to tell someone not to do something that’s wrong if we’ve done it ourselves in the past. Parents have a hard enough time getting their children to do the right thing. When the child finds out that the parents did the same thing when they were kids, their kid sees even less reason to obey. But do as the scribes and Pharisees say, not as they do?
Well, yes because what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong, regardless of who says it or what they have done. The objectivity of goodness is not null and void just because the ones preaching it fail to live up to their own words. Goodness is universal. It transcends our actions. What was good thousands of years ago is good today and will still be good thousands of years from now. The same goes for evil. Would it be better if preachers tried to conform our sense of good and evil to our actions? We see this today when preachers try to blur the lines between good and evil, saying there is no black and white or there are nuances to everything. Not all matters are black and white, but some matters are black and white. So, it is better for preachers to preach about righteousness and not live righteous lives than it is for them to preach that righteousness doesn’t matter.
Also, we don’t know what is going on in a preacher’s, or a parent’s heart. They may regret all of the sins they committed, and they may be advising the congregation or children to avoid making the same mistakes to avoid the pain they experienced by making them.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
We all have a desire to be great in some way. Pope Benedict XVI’s words come to mind, “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” But what kind of greatness does God want from us? Not great wealth or power, but great holiness. I’ve worked many different jobs in my life, and simple service jobs have given me the most peace. Knowing exactly how I am serving someone and seeing their gratefulness for that service is more rewarding than a big paycheck. Money doesn’t solve all our problems. It just solves some problems and replaces them with different ones.
So don’t bash the simple life, or look down upon the ones who work at simple jobs. The bottom of the totem pole is its foundation; simple service jobs are the backbone of our society. I am speaking to myself, mainly, because in my pride I have sought out higher paying jobs. I’ve sought out more prestigious jobs, less stressful jobs, jobs that promised to give me more free time and more financial freedom. But Jesus’ words resonate with me today because they are so true. The greatest peace I have ever felt is in serving others and not caring how much I get paid for it. When we serve others selflessly, we are servants of God. The servants of God truly are the greatest in the Kingdom of God, because they are working in the economy of heaven, an economy that is stimulated by grace and generosity. They only care to serve, and do not think of themselves in the process. That love of service is then passed on from one person to the next, helping to create a more generous and more grateful humanity.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
It is fitting for this Gospel to be preached the same week as All Saints Day, because humility is the most important quality of every saint. In fact, it is the prerequisite for every virtue. So much has been written about humility that I run the risk of acting pridefully if I wrote down everything I’ve heard about it, because knowing what humility is means nothing if we do not humble ourselves in all matters. In fact, there is a great risk in thinking too much about humility. Trying to be humble can make us self-righteous. It can give us false humility, causing us to do things just to appear humble. This is like the Pharisees who “perform their works to be seen.” So how do we achieve humility? Even phrasing it that way seems to lack humility, because humility is not about achieving anything. In fact, it’s more about letting go of something: namely, ourselves. I believe the secret to humility is to live outside of ourselves, to stop worrying what others think of us and to abide in God’s love. He has created an amazing world full of mysteries and wonders for us to ponder. We could easily get lost in all the gifts he has given us and forget about ourselves. Humility is losing ourselves within God’s infinite love and goodness.
PRAY
Dear Lord,
Thank you for everything. Humility begins with gratitude and wonder. Teach me to see how great your love is for each of us, which will help me forget about myself. You invite us to die to ourselves so we can be united with you, Jesus Christ the Risen Lord. Teach me to be a humble servant in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
LISTEN
This Sunday’s Gospel is about humility and service. We listen to God, humbly accepting the message he has for us. On top of that though, hopefully, this Gospel’s message will help us humbly listen to other people as we seek to serve them. This ought to be our goal in every encounter. I can’t even recall how many times I’ve been reluctant to even talk to people because I knew my selfish intentions, or I had too much self-concern. This is all the opposite of humility. If we listen to others and seek out what they need, we can approach anyone and everyone more humbly and more confidently, knowing that our goal is to find ways to serve them.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com
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