[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast.
Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, August 31, 2025, the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:00:23] This week's episode is entitled: Humility Is… And in these readings, we are told that humility and meekness are qualities of immeasurable value, yet the world tells us the opposite.
As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
Jesus warns the Pharisees not to assume places of honor lest they be shamed when someone of greater import arrives - for anyone who exalts himself will be humbled. If humility is such a valuable commodity, why does the world insist it isn't? How can we reconcile Jesus’ teachings that we be meek and humble, with the world's insistence on power, influence, and prestige?
[00:01:08] So, let's begin.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the Scriptures which constantly remind us of what is eternally important in your kingdom, so that our focus remains fixed on the prize of heaven rather than on the fleeting benefits of earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:32] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
Our Gospel this week is from Luke 14: 1, 7-14.
[00:01:43] One sabbath when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give [your] place to this man,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, go up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ He also said to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the justice.’”
Remember I said last week that as we draw ever closer to the end of the Liturgical Year, Jesus also draws closer to the end of his journey, which is Jerusalem and his Death on the Cross.
[00:03:29] And in this passage, it seems that we can almost sense his agitation. He is still teaching about judgment and the kingdom of heaven, but his lessons seem to be growing more pointed and more direct with each passing week. So. let's hear what Jesus has to say this week…
[00:03:49] “One sabbath when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees,”
We get three important pieces of information there… this took place on a Sabbath, that's the first one; the dinner was hosted by a ruler - meaning a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious and judicial council), that's the second; and the man was also a Pharisee (which was a social movement that promoted strict adherence to Mosaic Law). So, those are the three things we learned in that short phrase. And, we are told…
[00:04:21] “they were watching him.”
If that sounds ominous - it should! The other dinner guests were watching Jesus to see if he made any mistakes, according to their way of thinking.
[00:04:35] “Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor,”
[00:04:43] That also is a crucial detail… Jesus chooses his parable based on the behavior of the very guests in attendance at the same dinner in which he is present. And what was it about their behavior that Jesus noticed? How they chose their places of honor among the other guests - who was vying for the highest place of honor. Jesus begins…
“When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast,”
[00:05:16] Jesus uses marital imagery here precisely because it was so common throughout the Bible. So, his audience would have recognized that, and such invitations would have been as commonplace then as they are today. But he says…
“do not sit down in a place of honor,”
That is an echo of Proverbs 25, which says, “Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence, or stand in the place of the great.” And by doing that, Jesus is making another connection with a wedding feast… but this time between a wedding feast and the kingdom of heaven. And why does Jesus advise that?
[00:05:58] “lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give [your] place to this man, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.’”
In an honor/shame society, bringing shame upon yourself by overestimating your own importance is one of the worst things that could happen. And let's face it, addiction to honor is a very old problem for mankind.
[00:06:33] “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.”
[00:06:49] That, too, is from Proverbs 25 which says, “it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of the prince.” Of course, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, even though the dinner guests aren't able to recognize him as such. And now we've reached the heart of Jesus’ lesson for these Pharisees - and for us. Don't adopt airs, don't honor yourself, and never ever take honor for granted. Let someone else bestow honor upon you rather than assuming you are entitled to it. Honor, like so many things of this world, is unpredictable and fleeting… it's there one minute and gone the next. Don't ever depend upon it!
[00:07:45] “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
While Jesus addresses that entire section directly to the dinner guests, that last sentence is also an echo of what he said to the crowds last week, right? The first will be last and the last will be first. And Jesus will repeat those words to his disciples in Luke 18. But Jesus isn't talking about social etiquette, although that is the framework in which it is presented. But make no mistake, this is a lesson in humility… a lesson in how to enter not just an earthly banquet or any other earthly situation, but a lesson in how to enter the messianic banquet in heaven.
[00:08:46] “He also said to the man who had invited him,”
Meaning that this next section is addressed solely to Jesus’ host - the ruler, the Pharisee, the man who invited Jesus to this dinner.
“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.”
[00:09:16] Jesus addresses that message to his host, certainly, but it is also directed towards us. And what he means is that we need to be selfless and generous; we need to do good with no expectation of reward. In fact, he means that we should do good precisely to those who are least able or even totally unable to ever repay us. And then Jesus goes on to give examples of what he means…
[00:09:49] “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
[00:10:09] The extent to which we are generous and selfless is the measure by which we will be judged. This has nothing to do with reciprocity and everything to do with judgment… God's judgment. And that is how we navigate conflicting messages in this world!
[00:10:33] When WHAT we hear from the world differs from WHAT we hear in Scripture, well, then there really is no conflict. We must do what Jesus tells us in Sacred Scripture, no matter how hard the world tries to convince us to do otherwise.
[00:10:54] That takes us to our First Reading which is from Sirach 3: 17-18, 20, 28-29.
“My son, perform your tasks in meekness; then you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor with God. For great is the might of the Lord; he is glorified by the humble. The affliction of the proud has no healing, for a plant of wickedness has taken root in them, though it will not be perceived. The mind of the wise man will ponder the words of the wise, and an attentive ear is the wise man's desire.”
[00:11:44] Sirach is part of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. It is in the canon of Scripture for Catholics and Orthodox Christians, but not in the Protestant canon. Neither is it in the Jewish Bible, despite the fact that it was originally written in Hebrew and is frequently cited in the Talmud. And for those who are unfamiliar with the Talmud, it's one of the central texts of Judaism compiled over the course of centuries, which encompasses the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on subjects ranging from Jewish law, theology, and philosophy, to history, folklore, culture, and customs.
[00:12:30] Now, the Book of Sirach can be dated with precision, and its author identified without debate because there is so much biographical and historical information recorded in the text itself. The book was written by Yeshua ben Sira after the high priesthood of Simeon II (who died in 196 BC) and before Antiochus IV Epiphanes became king of the Seleucid Empire in 175 BC… meaning that the book was written between 196 and 175 BC.
[00:13:06] Again, it's unusual for Scriptural texts to be dated quite so precisely, but all of that information is present in the text of the Book of Sirach. The text was translated into Greek by the author's grandson in 117 BC and the original Hebrew text was lost somewhere around 400 AD. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century and, to date, nearly two thirds of the original Hebrew text has been recovered.
[00:13:41] In the centuries that the original Hebrew text was missing, only the Greek, Latin, and Aramaic versions were common. Like Proverbs, the Book of Sirach is a compilation of wisdom sayings comprised of poems, pieces of advice, and moral exhortations, making it sometimes difficult to discern a coherent structure. In the book, however, there are three overarching themes (1) that it's important to seek wisdom; (2) wisdom resides in the Law; and (3) being wise and obeying God's commands brings blessings, prosperity, and happiness, while not doing so results in curses, disaster, and misery.
[00:14:36] This particular passage parallels our passage from Luke's Gospel, and you probably already heard that on the first read through: humility leads to honor, and God bestows his favor on those who are humble. So, let's see what Yeshua ben Sira has to say…
[00:14:53] “My son, perform your tasks in meekness; then you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.”
Meaning that humility is more valuable than any other gift, and one who is humble is loved and greatly appreciated.
[00:15:11] “The greater you are,”
In the eyes of society.
“the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor with God.”
In other words, society's opinion isn't important - God’s opinion is!
“For great is the might of the Lord; he is glorified by the humble.”
[00:15:33] God is not glorified by the mighty and the powerful - in fact, such people are more likely to glorify themselves than they are to glorify God. But those who are meek, lowly, and humble will glorify God because they see God more clearly and are more able to recognize his power and his greatness. Think of Mary's Magnificat in Luke's Gospel:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”
[00:16:16] Those words have come down to us and inspire us down through the ages; those who pray the Divine Office pray them every day, and they're a great reminder to us of how we should be every day.
[00:16:32] And we also hear the importance of humility and meekness over and over again in the Psalms as well - another thing we hear when we pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
[00:16:39] “The affliction of the proud has no healing,”
[00:16:47] In other words, since those who are proud do not fear God, they are unlikely to repent and therefore cannot be healed nor reconciled to God.
[00:17:00] “for a plant of wickedness has taken root in them, though it will not be perceived.”
[00:17:06] So often in Scripture, the righteous are depicted as strong trees or plants that are nourished by God and bear good fruit. Psalm 1, however, says: “not so, the wicked, not so” for the wicked do not rely on God, therefore they are not strong and cannot bear good fruit. Unfortunately, the wicked are often too proud to recognize their own faults and weaknesses - or that's what's meant by “it will not be perceived” - so because they cannot see the problem, they cannot and will not seek healing, and cannot and will not be reconciled to God.
“The mind of the wise man will ponder the words of the wise, and an attentive ear is the wise man's desire.”
[00:17:59] The Greek philosopher Socrates is often quoted as saying: “the only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing” - that's actually a paraphrase from the trial of Socrates as recorded in Plato's Apology, but the sentiment is valid, nonetheless. And that is, in essence, what Sirach is saying here… that the wise man is always ready to learn more, always seeking greater knowledge, always seeking wisdom, always… and for that very reason should be considered wise.
[00:18:36] This passage from Sirach can help us reconcile the demands of our world with the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, because it reminds us that humility and wisdom possess greater value than anything else, despite what the world may have to say.
[00:18:58] So, when the world insists on the importance of power, influence, and prestige, we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that TRUE POWER lies in wisdom and humility, which will gain for us PRESTIGE in the kingdom, the only place where it really matters.
[00:19:18] That brings us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 68, and the refrain is:
“[I]in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.”
And here are the verses:
“[L]et the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to his name; his name is the LORD.”
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to dwell in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity.”
“Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage as it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.”
[00:20:11] This Psalm is a Communal Prayer of Thanksgiving. In it, God is hailed as the Father of the needy, who led his people from Egypt to Mount Sinai and from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land; from the bondage of slavery to the freedom of the covenant; from being counted as possessions to possessing the Promised Land and its bounty. The Psalmist exalts God, not himself, and it is God who showers the righteous with so many blessings. Clearly, this is precisely why this Psalm was paired with both Sirach and our Gospel.
[00:20:54] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24.
“[Brothers and sisters:] [Y]ou have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.”
[00:21:59] This is our fourth and final passage from the Letter to the Hebrews this summer. In it we are told that the Old Covenant could not accomplish what Christ accomplished. Christ was both priest and sacrifice, and - through his priestly sacrifice on the Cross - we now have access to the Father in the kingdom of heaven. The author of Hebrews contrasts the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai (as a symbol of the Old Covenant) with what the faithful will experience in the heavenly city of Jerusalem (which is a sign of the New Covenant Jesus established in himself).
[00:22:44] As we go through the text, it's extremely easy to see the clear delineation between those two sections. So, let's listen to what Hebrews has to say…
[00:22:52] “[Brothers and sisters:] [Y]ou have not come to what may be touched,”
[00:23:00] Remember, only Moses ascended to the top of Mount Sinai. So, what did the Israelites encounter when they reached Mount Sinai?
“a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet,”
[00:23:18] Those are all the signs of God's presence that the Israelites experienced when they were gathered at the base of Mount Sinai and Moses had ascended to the summit to be with God.
“and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them.”
[00:23:39] That is exactly what the Israelites said to Moses in Exodus 20, isn't it? “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
[00:23:51] Thus ends the first half of the reading. That section that I said represented the old covenant. So, what's next? An invitation - to join in the worship of God in heaven.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,”
[00:24:18] We will participate in the heavenly banquet, the Supper of the Lamb, which will take place in the new and eternal Jerusalem in the kingdom of heaven.
“and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,”
[00:24:36] Angels, remember, are beings of pure spirit gathered around God's heavenly throne. Those are the same angels to whom we add our voices in worship during the celebration of the Mass or when we sing the Holy, Holy!
The priest says: let our voices join with theirs… that's what he means! The voices of the angels in heaven that are constantly praising God!
“and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven,”
Those are the saints… those who, through a meritorious life or a profound sacrifice like martyrdom, or are already present in God's kingdom, already worshiping God.
“and to a judge who is God of all,”
Meaning, of course, God the Father, the one who is being worshipped.
“and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”
Meaning the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Covenant who have now been made perfect in the kingdom.
[00:25:44] “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,”
[00:25:50] Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose Death on the Cross opened the gates of heaven for all mankind and in whose flesh is forever captured the proof of his loving sacrifice which established the New Covenant in his Blood.
“and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.”
[00:26:20] Abel, of course, was Cain's brother. Cain killed Abel - and the spilled blood of Abel called out to God for vengeance in Genesis 4, and the author contrasts that with the sprinkled blood of Jesus, which calls for forgiveness, renewal, reconciliation, and peace.
[00:26:46] Hebrews reminds us that meekness and humility were qualities that Jesus evinced in his earthly life and qualities he encourages us to develop, precisely because they are qualities through which we merit a place of honor at the messianic banquet in heaven.
[00:27:07] The world, however, tells us something different.
[00:27:11] It tells us that the only way we will be noticed is if we possess power, otherwise we'll be overlooked, ignored, insignificant.
[00:27:23] The world tells us that the only way we will make a difference is if we can exercise social or political influence over other people, otherwise we'll be minimized, harassed, persecuted, intimidated.
[00:27:39] The world tells us that we will only be honored by others if we are wealthy and prestigious, otherwise we'll be unimportant, irrelevant, inconsequential.
[00:27:53] Jesus tells us that if we exalt ourselves, we will be humbled, but if we humble ourselves, we will be exalted… not necessarily here on earth - he never promises that - but in the kingdom of heaven, where it really matters.
The world disdains meekness and scorns humility, but Jesus tells us that he himself is meek and humble of heart. So, maybe it's time to set aside the demands of the world and focus instead on the teachings of Jesus.
Because, after all, humility is… EVERYTHING!
[00:28:37] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God bless.
