Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
“When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated” is not a phrase we often anticipate encountering in the Gospels, but we find it today in Luke’s account (Lk 13:17). I found myself immediately captivated by this line.
Jesus’ ministry is marked by open table fellowship, acceptance of the outcast, reopening doors once closed to sinners, and many great acts of mercy and divine hospitality. But tenderness to some can sit poorly with others. More than once my children have taken issue with the mercy we show one of their siblings. Instead of seeing in our tenderness a promise of mercy for themselves when they mess up, they resent the breach of fairness.
This resentment seems similar to how many of Jesus’ adversaries reacted. Certainly there were those who took him to task on account of who he presented himself to be, one with authority on par with God. But others, like today’s synagogue leader, seem more concerned with his tenderness toward those they look down on. In this scene in particular this brand of adversary is taken to task and comes face-to-face with what I would call “Holy Humiliation.”
Many of us have encountered this Holy Humiliation before. We might call it guilt, but really it is a guilt that stops us in our tracks. I’ve experienced it at times in my own life when I’ve made dumb decisions in college. I’ve witnessed it in others as they let flirtations lead to infidelity. And today we see it in the synagogue leader and his supporters.
What happens next is where God gives us the freedom to trust or not. We tend to either move to resentment or repentance, maybe sometimes visiting both for a time. With resentment our guilt becomes shame or anger and we shield ourselves. For Holy Humiliation can create humility in us, or we can resist it, hardening ourselves. With repentance we allow the Holy Humiliation to do what it does best. It tills the ground of our heart, our humus, and produces rich pure humility that creates fertile ground for the seeds of the Spirit.
When we allow that to happen we can echo one of my kids favorite songs that says, “You grow your roses on my barren soul.” May the Lord’s roses flourish in our lives, bearing witness to God’s tremendous love for us, especially when we need to be called back to faithfulness.
- Spencer Hargadon