A friend of mine shared this joke about humility:
“A priest was arguing with a rabbi.
“‘What is great in our religion,’ says the priest, ‘is that there is room for advancement. A humble village priest can become a bishop, an archbishop, a cardinal, who knows?, maybe even the Pope!’
“The rabbi answers: ‘What about the Almighty? Can he become the Almighty?’
“‘Certainly not!’, responds the priest, ‘what a sacrilegious thought! No mere mortal man can aspire to become the Almighty!’
“The rabbi retorts: ‘One of our boys made it!’”
As we know, the rabbi is referring to Jesus as “one of our boys.” Jesus was a Jew. But Jesus did not aspire to become the Almighty because even before he became a human being and a Jew, he was already Almighty. And in today’s Gospel (Mt 11:25-30), Jesus declares, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father” (Mt 11:27). Although he is the Almighty, Jesus remains “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). You will recall that this is the same Gospel passage that we used earlier for the celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. But today we look at at it from a different perspective.
In light of the First Reading (Zec 9:9-10), we see Jesus as the humble King. The prophet Zechariah proclaims that the Messiah will come in poverty and humility.
“See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zec 9:9).
Matthew will later quote this prophecy as fulfilled in the “Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (cf. Mt 21:5). But today, Jesus invites you to come and learn from him. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Mt 11:29-30).
“Take my yoke upon you” is a rabbinic expression. Unlike “the wise and the learned” and the proud Pharisees, Jesus is the humble Rabbi who invites you to be his pupil in his school. He will teach you to be meek and humble of heart like him. It is only through humility, by becoming “little ones,” that you will be able to connect with God and access his message. You will find rest and experience true peace because, as Saint Paul says in the Second Reading (Rom 8:9, 11-13), “The Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom 8: 9).
At your Baptism, you received the Spirit of Christ and you entered his school. Jesus has trained and formed you to be a humble king like him. If you have been promoted like Peter, you have to continue to “follow him.” Discipleship is a lifelong process.
As a Bishop, be a humble king in your diocese. As a Priest, be a humble king in your parish. As a parent, be a humble king in your family. As a manager, be a humble king in your office. As a worker, be a humble king in your workplace.
Ride on a “donkey,” not on a Lamborghini. Be meek and humble, don’t be a proud Pharisee. And, don’t aspire to become the Almighty!