Sunday 31 August 2025
Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20, 28-29. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor – Ps 67(68):4-7, 10-11. Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24. Luke 14:1, 7-14.
Behave humbly, and you will find favour with the Lord
You can find plenty of advice online and elsewhere on how to apply for a job and then how to behave during an interview. Consistent advice tends to be around trying to make your flaws into positives – that is, ‘Perhaps one of my worst flaws is my tendency to ensure all the loose ends are tied up, even if I have to work after hours to do so’. The ‘humble brag’ is another example of saying something but wanting to convey a different message. For example, ‘It’s just exhausting travelling for work. I’ve been overseas three times in three months’. Yes, it may be tiring, but all I’ve heard is you’re living a jet-setting life while I’ve spent the week travelling to work on public transport and cleaning up around the house. Today’s Readings make it clear that God has little time for such petty conceits. ‘Behave humbly and be gentle in your business dealings’, we are told in the First Reading. In the Gospel, it is even more overt. ‘For everyone who exalts themselves, they will be humbled, and the one who humbles themselves will be exalted.’ Lord, let me be mindful of your strictures to walk humbly on this earth.
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