Once, a friend of mine applied for a new job. Part of the application was a history of his life – a curriculum vitae, or simply a CV. He wrote it, but being humble and modest, he didn’t emphasise his achievements as he didn’t want to be seen as a braggart or poseur. When he submitted the application, the manager looked through the documents (yes, that was a long time ago, when an actual human read applications) and immediately returned the CV section, asking my friend to rewrite it, this time carefully listing and describing his previous achievements. He was so surprised by this turn of events that he asked me for an explanation. I could understand his surprise. He had grown up in an old-fashioned Catholic tradition where humility and modesty meant underrating oneself. As a result, in his CV, he presented himself as less skilled and less talented than he truly was.
The parable in today’s gospel and Jesus’ conclusion seemed to suggest such an attitude as admirable. “Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” The former detailed his achievements, good deeds, and a perfect lifestyle; all against the backdrop of people regarded as untrustworthy, chancers, or public sinners, “like this tax collector.” The man pointed out by the Pharisee stood at a distance, feeling unworthy to come closer, his head hung low, beating his chest and “saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Jesus’ conclusion, “this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other,” seemed to clearly indicate which attitude he endorsed, reinforced by the final line: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” However, there is more to this parable than a simple choice between dispositions, a bad one represented by the Pharisee and a good one by the tax collector.
Both men arrived at the Temple with their lives as they were. The Pharisee, like many of us here, made efforts to conduct himself according to the moral code and practices of his religion. At the start of his prayer, “God, I thank you”, he clearly recognised the source of his good record and achievements. A prayer of thanksgiving is something we should practise more often to realise how fortunate we are compared to many others and to stop complaining so much. The Pharisee’s problem was that his record of good deeds and lifestyle made him smug and judgmental, as signalled in the introduction to the parable: “Jesus told this parable to some who […] treated others with contempt.” It can be very difficult for someone who occupies the high moral ground to understand that people derided for their low or dubious moral standards might have been forced to make poor choices or bear their consequences, like many of the frontline tax collectors in Jesus’ time. Without a welfare state to support the unemployed, taking up a questionable job could be a matter of life or death. Perhaps that’s why the parable’s tax collector was so contrite in his prayer; his reality might have been much more challenging than that of the Pharisee.
There’s a risk in viewing humility as a virtue in its own right, practised for its own sake and as a means of gaining God’s favour. Paradoxically, such a perspective would align us with the Pharisee in the parable, whose actions were self-centred. He began his prayer by giving thanks to God, only to swiftly shift his focus to himself; he punctuated it with a staccato of “I”. It looks very similar to St Paul’s words in today’s second reading: “I am already being poured out as a drink offering […]. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.” However, the difference between the two was that Paul’s entire ministry had been focused on helping others, as attested many times in the New Testament.
The evangelical understanding of humility is quite simple. It involves three essential elements. The first is an honest evaluation of one’s skills, talents, experience, and knowledge; it’s very important not to underestimate or overestimate them. The second element is the need to keep developing one’s skills and talents. The third is a willingness to use them in the service of others. Therefore, if you wish to be genuinely humble, focus on these three steps: understand yourself, thank God for His gifts, and use them to serve others with love.
