St. Agnes Catholic Church
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/083125.cfm
Sixty-one years ago, a 22-year-old fast-talking Louisvillian shocked the sporting world. The young man then called Cassius Clay defeated the reigning world boxing champion Sony Liston in what was then considered a major upset. After the bout, he gave a famous interview in which he proclaimed, "I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived."
The man who later became known as Muhammad Ali would go on to back up his boasts, winning the heavy weight championship a record-breaking three times and being proclaimed by many the greatest sportsman of the 20th century.
Since that era, we have seen a parade of other athletes who are proclaimed to be the “Goat” of their sport. Goat – meaning the “greatest of all time.” Michael Phelps is the Goat of swimming. Tom Brady is the Goat of football. Simone Biles is the Goat of gymnastics. On and on, we practically have a goat farm full of athletes.
It certainly makes sense for athletes to be their very best. Indeed, it is a central value of our culture to strive for excellence and accomplishment. Yet, we consistently hear Jesus teaching us the value of humility. He said to his disciples:
“The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” [first sentence from Matthew]
In our first reading, we hear a similarly challenging instruction: “The more that you humble yourself the greater you will be, and you will find favor with God.”
The word for humility in Greek means to make oneself low or close to the ground, and it was definitely not a virtue to the Greeks and Romans. Humility was to be shown by women, slaves, and those defeated in battle to their social betters. A high-ranking person, by contrast, should be boastful, self-promoting, and proud. A Goat should act like the greatest and let the world know how wonderful they are.
Scripture tells us that Jesus, though he was in the form of God, humbled himself and emptied himself by taking on the form of a human being. Indeed, Paul says he took on “the form of a slave” in order to serve humanity, and was obedient to God the Father to the point of death, surrendering his own will, even when it meant an agonizing death on a cross.
We might say that Jesus made himself the Least of All Time. The smallest. The Littlest. Yet because of that, Paul writes,
Therefore, God highly honored him
and gave him a name above all names…
(Phillipians 2:3-8)
The lesson for us is to be like Jesus even though it cuts against the grain. This is a realization that Muhammad Ali had later in his career. He said, “All of my boxing … was just the start of my life. Now my life is really starting.” His focus changed from being centered on himself towards serving others, as he said to “fighting injustice, fighting racism, fighting crime, fighting illiteracy, fighting poverty.” Ali had found this wisdom, that truly becoming the greatest of all time resides in becoming the least and making yourself a servant of all.
I have a favorite prayer that helps me practice this virtue. It is called “The Litany of Humility.” It was written about a century ago by a Spanish Cardinal named Rafael Merry del Val. The prayer includes lines like this:
“That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.” It expresses a continual desire for others to be preferred and to increase in the eyes of the world, while wishing for my own diminishment. It is a hard prayer to pray, but it is a reminder to shrink my own ego and to empty myself and put my trust in God. I encourage you to find it and pray it.
* * *
Before concluding, I want to take a minute in this space to respond to the terrible events in Minneapolis this week. It is difficult to find words to say in the face of horror. Our second reading today, says that the “the sprinkled blood [of Jesus] speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.”
We know that Abel was the first human being to die, murdered by his brother out of envy and an inability to see his human responsibility to love his brother. He flippantly asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God responds to the death of Abel, by exclaiming, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!”
Today, the blood of the innocent cries out to us again, asking how we can permit this epidemic of gun violence to continue in our country. Their voices remind us that we are truly our brother and our sisters’ keeper with a calling to protect the innocent. As we receive the Eucharist today, may we hear the voice of the Blood of Christ, speaking of our call to action and our call to love.
I invite you to join me in praying a Hail Mary together for the Church of the Annunciation. “Hail Mary …”
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
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