Not what you think

SOMEONE once told me that if a man is bald on the forehead, he is a thinking man; if a man is bald on the crown, he is a sexy man; if a man is bald on the forehead and on the crown of his head, he thinks he's a sexy man!

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In today's Gospel (Lk. 18, 9-14), Jesus reprimands those who think of themselves as more righteous or better than others. Humility is the key. Only if we are humble can we really experience who God is, and only if we are humble can we know who we really are. Humility is the best starting point. With humility we can't go wrong, for "whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised." In fact, a lot of our relationship problems can be solved if we learn humility, honesty and respect, and we make God, rather than ourselves, the standard.

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Some people are good, so darn good, but they are not humble. They think and make themselves believe that they are good, then they make others know how good they are. They even, perhaps, consciously or unconsciously believe that they do deserve God's love because of their goodness. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Such people would do well to remember that all of us are sinners; being good is not a contest; none of us deserves God's love.

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Try the expression "my goodness!" It is a beautiful reminder that whatever goodness we have comes from God. It is a sharing in goodness. It is an acceptance that our goodness is not just our achievement but God's goodness shining through us. There is nothing to boast about, but there is a lot to praise God for whenever we are good and whenever we do good.

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When I look back, I remember people who were disciplined, diligent, hardworking and brilliant. Many of them I admired, but many of them I despised because of their arrogance and pride. The former were humble, inspiring, and edifying, while the latter were so full of themselves, with no room for God's grace working in them. Is your life of one big grace or of one big ego trip?

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Given a little prodding, any parish priest will tell you that many times, the biggest problems in the parish arise from people who claim or self-proclaim themselves to be those closest to the parish or to the parish priest himself. I do not at all deny their invaluable help and contribution to their parishes, but many of these well-meaning and enthusiastic lay helpers could make the life of their parish priests miserable with their petty quarrels among themselves and with their constant comments on how things should be done. They claim to do all these for the good of the parish, but underneath all these is the desire for recognition, position, control, and admiration. May we, clergy and lay people alike, learn to serve the Lord with humility, with no expectation for reward and without vanity. Service is not for fame or glory.

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What can we say about politicians who claim to be public servants, and who readily recite and remind the people, at any given opportunity, their litany of achievements and accomplishments? They even make their "sacrifices" for the good of the nation known, while they go on committing sacrileges against our people and nation. And the thing is they get away with this! They can manipulate and fool our people without suffering its consequences! It is really disgusting that so few can control and manipulate the lives of so many in our land.

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Just now, I paused for a moment of prayer. I just realized that I myself may have taken the pharisaic position when I criticized the petty-minded lay helpers in our parishes and the deceiving politicians in our midst. But there is a difference: A Pharisee criticizes others to uplift himself, while a prophet criticizes others to uplift the truth. When you criticize others, is it for yourself or is it for God and the truth?

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Next week, especially on All Soul's Day, we are reminded by the Church about death and eternal life. The bottom line is not what we think, and not what others think, but what God thinks we are. We can fool others, we can fool even ourselves, but, we can never fool God. The best prayer, the best starting point for any prayer is: "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." Take the road of humility, and you're on the right road.

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Congratulations to the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, who are celebrating their 100th year in the Philippines. There will be a Thanksgiving Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Oct. 25, 4 p.m., to be officiated by Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales. They will also have a gala night presentation of "Women with a Heart," written and directed by Fr. James Reuter, S.J. at the Fleur de Lis Auditorium at the St. Paul University Manila on the same day. Please contact +63 2 524 5687.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that what matters most is not what I think, what others think, but what you think of me. Amen.