Secrets for the Humble

A Reflection on the First Reading for August 28th, 2022:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Sirach
3.17-20, 28-29

​My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord. Many are lofty and renowned, but to the humble the Lord reveals his secrets. For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified.

When calamity befalls someone proud, there is no healing, for an evil plant has taken root in them.

The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.

“The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself.” (Sirach 3:18)


When I read this phrase in the First Reading for this Sunday, I chuckled and thought to myself, “Ah, well, I must be on the road to greatness indeed, because lately I’ve had more than the usual number of opportunities to humble myself and be humbled.”


I grew up in a time and culture where you were wise not to take yourself too seriously; otherwise you were in for a lot of teasing — normally good humoured teasing, but teasing nonetheless. I recall a particular experience that illustrated this for me. It was my brother’s wedding day. I was a young teenager looking forward to wearing what was my first grown-up dress, a gauzy confection of delicate flowers that I’d picked out myself, along with matching heels. I got into the dress and admired my look in the mirror, thinking I really was the bee’s knees. I strolled nonchalantly into the living room where my brother and his groomsmen were ready and waiting to go to the church. Rather than admire my appearance (silently or otherwise), upon seeing me one of them burst into uproarious laughter and pointed at me — turns out that the tail of my gauzy confection was stuffed into the back of my pantyhose. I returned to my room, unhurriedly and with dignity, adjusted my outfit and made my way back to the living room as if nothing had happened. And that was the last I heard of the dress-in-pantyhose incident. I’m confident I’m the only one who remembers it, and I remember it with a smile.


We’ve all had moments when we feel humbled, times when we’ve been taken down a peg or two or more. And while the world sometimes encourages us to shy away from anything negative, it's important to remember that there is a darker side and high stakes at play here. The reading from the Book of Sirach reminds us: “When calamity befalls someone proud, there is no healing, for an evil plant has taken root in them.” That evil plant is bitterness. What Sirach advises us is never to take ourselves so seriously that wounded pride is allowed to set down roots in us. 


“[T]o the humble the Lord reveals his secrets.” At this time in my life, the Lord is teaching me the secret of humility, of not holding the things of this world too tightly but instead fixing my eyes on “kingdom things.” And, in learning and re-learning this secret, I hope to give Him glory.



Donna Davis

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