Sunday Reflections

Jesus showed his true humility through His comment to the cured leper, “See that you tell no one anything”.  How typical is it for us, when we have accomplished something, to ask not to be recognized?  Rarely do I shy away from being recognized.  I want to be acknowledged; I want to hear about the appreciation of others.  For me, it is all about self-worth.  I need to be affirmed. 

Jesus’s humility is even more astounding given what he did, he performed a miracle.  Why not let the world know?  Wouldn’t that even create more awe, more awareness, more recognition for Jesus?  But would this publicity about His miracle be more about Jesus’s ego, and not about God’s message? 

So too with us.  When we accomplish something, is it because of us or is it because of God acting through us that the something was achieved?  That is hard to acknowledge if we choose to focus on self. We need to express, daily, our gratitude to God for what we accomplish through and for Him.   

Paul certainly “gets this”, in his First Letter to the Corinthians; today’s second reading.  “Do everything for the glory of God”, and “not seeking my own benefit”.  Let us ask for the mind of Paul so that we too can “Be imitators of me (Paul), as I am of Christ”.