20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Because you are haughty of heart, you say, “A god am I!” 

Located on an island off the Phoenician coast, the city of Tyre depended on trade for its very existence.   But instead of dealing fairly with its neighbors, it took advantage of them.   Tyre’s greed even led it to plunder Israel (Joel 4:5-6).   It was this arrogant attitude that led Ezekiel to prophesy against the nation.   Because of their wealth and accomplishments, the people of Tyre had become blinded to their need for God.

Before we condemn Tyre ourselves, we should admit how easy it is for all of us to fall into a similar trap.   For example, maybe we believe that somehow we deserve the gifts and blessings we have because we worked hard for them and fail to see that they come from the Lord.   Or we might start to look down on some of the people around us because they haven’t achieved as much as we have.   We may even start taking advantage of such people the way Tyre treated its neighbors.   In all of these ways—and there are many others—we can detect the classic sin of pride.

Thankfully, we have the best example we could ever imagine of someone who was not prideful: Jesus.   Though he was God, he “did not regard equality with God something to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6).   Instead, he “emptied himself” in order to love and serve us (2:7).

We can do the same.   We can try to love and serve other people the way Jesus loved and served us—through laying down our lives for one another.   That takes the focus off ourselves and onto the person in front of us.   This kind of self-forgetfulness and self-giving is the first step in growing in humility.   Another step is to realize that all that we are and have are gifts from our gracious Lord.   Though we may have worked hard, it was only through God’s goodness and grace that we were able to accomplish what we have.

Pride is a tendency we will always have to guard against.   But thanks be to God for Jesus, who shows us the way to humility!

“Jesus, help me become more like you.”

(Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:26-28, 30, 35-36
Matthew 19:23-30