CT - Catholic Telegraph

Humility and recognizing the need for God

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 (Lectionary 070, Jan. 30, 2005)

The prophet Zephaniah carried out his prophetic ministry about 625 B.C. His seems to have been the first voice of prophecy in some 70 years, since the time of Isaiah, son of Amoz. Zephaniah was an older contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk.

Zephaniah spoke for God in a time of religious disintegration. Idolatry was rife. People tended to rely on their own resources and to forget about the Lord. The fundamental theme of Zephaniah’s prophetic proclamation was the sinfulness and destructiveness of human pride.

This Sunday’s reading consists of two small excerpts from Zephaniah’s prophecy. The first excerpt, from chapter two, is preceded by the threat of the Lord’s anger. The second excerpt, from chapter three, is preceded by God’s promise to remove the proud from the midst of the people.

Our text is about humility. Those who seek humility, who observe the law in submission and seek justice will be sheltered from the anger of the Lord. The humble will be saved by the Lord in the day of judgment. They will become a people conspicuous for truthfulness and honesty. They will take care of their flocks in peace and security. Zephaniah’s message in these three verses is very clear and simple: be humble and you will grow in virtue; be humble and you will prosper.

This is the same message that we hear Jesus proclaiming in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 5:1-12a). The Sermon on the Mount is about humility. Being poor in spirit, being sympathetic to the sorrows of others, being meek and merciful and clean of heart, acknowledging our need for righteousness from God — all these spiritual attitudes are varieties of humility. And the rewards promised for them — membership in the kingdom, comfort, mercy, inheriting the land, becoming children of God — are all specifications of what God had promised to the humble in the words of Zephaniah.

Jesus’ teaching was and is uniquely His in many ways. Yet it is deeply rooted in what God has already taught His people in the Old Testament. This Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Beatitudes, gives us what we might call Jesus’ platform speech, an outline of what He would proclaim throughout the rest of His public life. But the first reading shows us that some of the principal elements of what Jesus taught had already been in the mainstream of the Israelites’ spirituality for six or seven centuries. The Sermon on the Mount constituted the first act of Jesus’ teaching career. The words of Zephaniah provide the overture for what Jesus would teach. They offer the basic themes that Jesus would expand and make His own.

The humility that Zephaniah called for from the people of his time, the humility that underlies everything Jesus said in His platform speech is a basic element of any relationship with God. Humility does not mean groveling self-abasement, rolling in the dust before God, denying that we are of any worth whatsoever. An attitude like that really gives no honor to the creation that God took such pains to make good. Rather, humility is an attitude of awareness of need. We are subject to God and dependent on God. We are never going to amount to anything if all we have to work with are our own limited human resources. We need God to make sense out of our earthly lives. We need God to bring us into lasting worth. Whatever we are that is of any value is a gift from God. Humility means acknowledging that need for God, that dependence on God. Humility is not a denial of our worth but a sense of realism about where that worth comes from.

Pride, on the other hand, involves an unrealistic self-sufficiency. It involves trying to make it on our own. The proud person does not want to admit that he or she is dependent on the Lord. The proud person may give lip service to the sovereign lordship of God but in practice behaves as if he or she were the one in charge. Pride has been around for a long time, ever since Adam and Eve decided that they didn’t want to be subject to God and could manage quite well on their own.

Jesus’ basic message in the Sermon on the Mount is the same as the message of Zephaniah: Be humble and you will prosper, acknowledge your need for the Lord and the Lord will give you everything you really need.

God’s urgent message to the Israelites of the seventh century B.C. was, "Be humble." That was also the message with which Jesus opened His public ministry. And it’s a message that the Lord addresses to us today.

For reflection and discussion

Am I humble?

In what ways do I recognize my need for God?



		Welcome to the online edition of The Catholic Telegraph, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Serving 500,000 Catholics in the southwest Ohio counties of: Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby and Warren.

	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Humility and recognizing the need for God Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 (Lectionary 070, Jan. 30, 2005) The prophet Zephaniah carried out his prophetic ministry about 625 B.C. His seems to have been the first voice of prophecy in some 70 years, since the time of Isaiah, son of Amoz. Zephaniah was an older contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk. Zephaniah spoke for God in a time of religious disintegration. Idolatry was rife. People tended to rely on their own resources and to forget about the Lord. The fundamental theme of Zephaniah’s prophetic proclamation was the sinfulness and destructiveness of human pride. This Sunday’s reading consists of two small excerpts from Zephaniah’s prophecy. The first excerpt, from chapter two, is preceded by the threat of the Lord’s anger. The second excerpt, from chapter three, is preceded by God’s promise to remove the proud from the midst of the people. Our text is about humility. Those who seek humility, who observe the law in submission and seek justice will be sheltered from the anger of the Lord. The humble will be saved by the Lord in the day of judgment. They will become a people conspicuous for truthfulness and honesty. They will take care of their flocks in peace and security. Zephaniah’s message in these three verses is very clear and simple: be humble and you will grow in virtue; be humble and you will prosper. This is the same message that we hear Jesus proclaiming in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 5:1-12a). The Sermon on the Mount is about humility. Being poor in spirit, being sympathetic to the sorrows of others, being meek and merciful and clean of heart, acknowledging our need for righteousness from God — all these spiritual attitudes are varieties of humility. And the rewards promised for them — membership in the kingdom, comfort, mercy, inheriting the land, becoming children of God — are all specifications of what God had promised to the humble in the words of Zephaniah. Jesus’ teaching was and is uniquely His in many ways. Yet it is deeply rooted in what God has already taught His people in the Old Testament. This Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Beatitudes, gives us what we might call Jesus’ platform speech, an outline of what He would proclaim throughout the rest of His public life. But the first reading shows us that some of the principal elements of what Jesus taught had already been in the mainstream of the Israelites’ spirituality for six or seven centuries. The Sermon on the Mount constituted the first act of Jesus’ teaching career. The words of Zephaniah provide the overture for what Jesus would teach. They offer the basic themes that Jesus would expand and make His own. The humility that Zephaniah called for from the people of his time, the humility that underlies everything Jesus said in His platform speech is a basic element of any relationship with God. Humility does not mean groveling self-abasement, rolling in the dust before God, denying that we are of any worth whatsoever. An attitude like that really gives no honor to the creation that God took such pains to make good. Rather, humility is an attitude of awareness of need. We are subject to God and dependent on God. We are never going to amount to anything if all we have to work with are our own limited human resources. We need God to make sense out of our earthly lives. We need God to bring us into lasting worth. Whatever we are that is of any value is a gift from God. Humility means acknowledging that need for God, that dependence on God. Humility is not a denial of our worth but a sense of realism about where that worth comes from. Pride, on the other hand, involves an unrealistic self-sufficiency. It involves trying to make it on our own. The proud person does not want to admit that he or she is dependent on the Lord. The proud person may give lip service to the sovereign lordship of God but in practice behaves as if he or she were the one in charge. Pride has been around for a long time, ever since Adam and Eve decided that they didn’t want to be subject to God and could manage quite well on their own. Jesus’ basic message in the Sermon on the Mount is the same as the message of Zephaniah: Be humble and you will prosper, acknowledge your need for the Lord and the Lord will give you everything you really need. God’s urgent message to the Israelites of the seventh century B.C. was, "Be humble." That was also the message with which Jesus opened His public ministry. And it’s a message that the Lord addresses to us today. For reflection and discussion** Am I humble? In what ways do I recognize my need for God?

	[Return to top of page ] Copyright (c) 2004 The Catholic Telegraph