by Fr. Rich Andre, C.S.P.
October 24, 2022

Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) on October 23, 2022 at the Paulist Center in Boston, MA. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; and Luke 18:9-14.

While Luke tells us that Jesus directed today’s parable at people who were “convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else,” I bet we can all find a lot in here to pray about!

All three of our readings talk about confidence and humility. Therefore, we’ll explore an often-misunderstood topic today: spiritual humility.

Our gospel passage is the origin of “The Jesus Prayer,” a prayer used especially frequently by our Orthodox sisters and brothers. The prayer simply says: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners!

---

In the thousands of confessions I’ve heard, many people have told me about their struggles with the sin of pride. I’ve come to the conclusion that pride is actually a symptom of its opposite: a lack of self-esteem. 

Think about it: we don’t brag about everything we do well, to everyone we know, at all times, do we? I have no need to boast about the things of which I’m truly competent: I already know that I’m good at them, so there’s no need to tell anyone. When I’m nervous that others will notice that I’m bad at something, that’s when I’m more likely to brag about something else, hoping to distract them.

What do you think of the Pharisee’s motivations for praying out loud about how well he follows the Law? Does he hope that others will overhear him? Does he want to talk about how good he is in some areas, so that he can distract himself – or perhaps distract God – from noticing how he falls short in other ways? It doesn’t seem as if the Pharisee is fooling anyone but himself. On the other hand, the tax collector is truly humble. The tax collector recognizes that he must rely on God. 

But let’s not misinterpret what true Christian humility is. Years ago when I was in campus ministry at a school not to be named, our students learned a prayer called the Litany of Humility. Some students talked with me privately about how much this prayer spoke to them. However, there were a few other students who were very public in using it. For them, it seemed as if this prayer had become less of a prayer in the spirit of the tax collector, but more of a humblebrag in the style of the Pharisee: “Hey, everyone! Look at how humble I am!”

On the other hand, Christian humility is not supposed be a beating of the breast, telling God – or anyone else – that that we’re incompetent. C. S. Lewis said it well: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” 

Or, to think about it in an oxymoronic way: humility requires confidence. True Christian humility is having sufficient confidence that God loves us, so that we aren’t obsessed with trying to impress every person at every moment for everything we do. God’s love is fully gratuitous. Humility is the confidence that we don’t have to do more in order for God to love us more. 

This additional context brings me to an invitation. Please, please consider coming back to the sacrament of reconciliation. I’ll start by acknowledging some your objections. The sacrament, as it is currently celebrated with an ordained, male minister, seems like submitting to a clerical, patriarchal system. Some of you were hurt in the confessional decades ago, by priests who said insensitive things to you or — infinitely more egregiously — abused you. On behalf of the institutional Church, I express my deepest, most heartfelt apologies. It never should have happened to you!

Ideally, the sacrament of reconciliation is a time for us to be lifted up, to eliminate our sense of shame and reassure us that we are intimately connected to God. Of course we should all talk with God directly about our sins and our shame, and ask for forgiveness, like the tax collector. But there is something truly healing in naming these things out loud in front of another human being. 

In the sacrament of reconciliation, my role is to assure the penitent, even in moments of doubt, that God’s grace is present, that God truly forgives us. Ideally, reconciliation should provide the grace to move us from a humility based in shame of our sins towards a humility based in the confidence that God loves us as we are. My advice: go to confession at least as often as you’re supposed to go to the dentist. If you see a professional to help you care for your teeth, even if it’s often uncomfortable, why not consult one to help you care for your soul?

Granted, our experience of confession is largely based on the personality of the individual priest. I assure you that both Fr. Ed and I will treat you gently and kindly. Come by the Paulist Center at 11 am on Mondays or Fridays, or email one of us to make an appointment. If you’d rather celebrate the sacrament with another Paulist in residence, call the office and we’ll try to arrange that. If you’d rather go somewhere else, St. Anthony Shrine has 18 hours of confessions each week, and St. Joe’s has another 75 minutes. All of us would be honored to help relieve you of the burdens you carry! 

In the next few weeks, we’ll wrap up our year with the Gospel of Luke. Let’s review the many examples we’ve heard this year about the rewards of humble confidence in our relationship with Christ. Quoting Isaiah, Mary, Simeon, and John the Baptist, Luke has had Jesus and others prophesy at least 10 times that the mighty will be cast down and the lowly will be lifted up.¹ Jesus has treated individuals and groups outside of Jewish religious leadership with dignity – raising up the poor at least 3 times,² welcoming, praising, and collaborating with Samaritans,³ other non-Jews,⁴ and women ⁵ at least twice each, in addition to specifically praising widows two other times.⁶ Jesus has instructed us on how to pray at least 4 weekends out of the last 14.⁷ We’ve heard about Jesus’ love for sinners at least three times,⁸ and we’ll hear about it again next weekend. ⁹

No matter how lowly, no matter how powerless, no matter how incompetent we may feel, the Holy Spirit compels us to proclaim the gospel and build up the kingdom. Christian humility gives us the confidence that, despite our

---

Notes: