Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Today’s readings convey a strong and uncomfortable message—the indispensable need for humility if we are to enter the Kingdom of heaven: humility as a human stance that pleases God because it allows room for him to enter our heart; humility as a trait that makes lovable the person who possesses it; and humility above all as an attitude that reflects Jesus’ own mindset and manner of life: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Mt 11:29). It is helpful here to remember the group of significant English words with which “humility” shares the same root hum-, namely: humus, human and humor. Why do these words belong together? What links them is a clear-eyed realism about ourselves, hinting that we should always prefer staying close to the soil from which we were taken as a way of abiding in the truth, rather than flying too high for our own good on the wings of conceit, which will soo...
