Homily for
Ordinary Time 26
September 27, 2020
Ambition and
Kenosis
One of
the greatest Catholic movies ever made was the movie “A Man for All Seasons”
about St. Thomas More, the great English martyr. Thomas More was the chancellor
of England – second-in-command to the king – who was put to death for refusing
to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Thomas More
died, in his own words, “The King’s good servant, but God’s first” as he stayed
faithful to the Pope and the true Catholic Faith despite great political
pressure.
In the movie,
one of St. Thomas More’s associates was a young, educated man by the name of
Richard Rich. Richard wanted to make a career in government and rise up in the
nobility, so he begged Thomas More to find him a government job. More offered
him a fine job as a schoolteacher, but Rich turned it down, angling for a
better position. But Thomas More encouraged him, saying, “Be a teacher,
Richard. You’d make a fine teacher, maybe even a great one.”
Richard
responded, “If I was a great teacher, who would know it?”
The
saint answered, “Your pupils, your friends, God. That’s not a bad public.”
But
Richard was determined, and through intrigue and politics, managed to find
himself an opportunity – he was offered to become the attorney general of Wales
if he would only witness, in court, that Thomas More had spoken against the
King. He could have a position, a noble title, servants, a manor house – all he
had to do was commit a little perjury.
And the
temptation was too strong – Richard Rich denounced his former friend in court,
leading to his execution. But as Richard Rich was leaving the courtroom, Thomas
More stopped him and said one of the best lines in literature: “Why, Sir
Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world…but for
Wales?” Thomas More died a martyr with integrity; Sir Richard Rich went down in
history, in the words of one historian, as “a man of whom nobody had ever
spoken a good word.”
Ambition
– the desire to rise up, to achieve lofty goals, to become somebody – is very different than the attitude that St. Paul speaks
about in his letter to the Philippians. Paul writes, “Have in you the same
attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to
the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Quite
the opposite of ambition! There is a word in Greek that describes perfectly
what Jesus did – the word is “kenosis”. Kenosis means “self-emptying”, lowering
yourself, pouring yourself out, making yourself nothing. Thus John the Baptist
could say: “He (Jesus) must increase; I must decrease.” This is kenosis,
following the example of Christ.
The
Second Person of the Blessed Trinity was adored by angels, but He emptied
Himself and was spit upon by soldiers. God Himself, Whom all creation serves,
bent down and washed His Apostles’ feet. The Lord of the entire universe
consented to be nailed to a tree. He Who is the source of every good thing
chose to be born into abject poverty. Kenosis – self-emptying – the attitude of
Jesus.
When I
lived in Rome I used to make retreats at a monastery of American Benedictine
monks in Norcia, Italy, where St. Benedict was born. The first time I was
there, I arrived in time for dinner and was greeted by the abbot. He approached
me and said, “Have you had your hands washed?” I thought it was an odd question
– I mean, I’m not five years old, I do wash my hands before dinner! So I was
momentarily confused until he grabbed a bowl and pitcher and towel and
proceeded to ritually wash my hands and dry them on the towel, saying,
“Welcome.” Here was the leader of the monastery, the man whom every other monk
obeyed, who was willing to wash the hands of a guest. Kenosis, lived-out.
So what
does this mean for us? We have ambitions and goals about many things. Perhaps
we want to become an all-state football player; maybe we aim to get accepted by
Harvard or Yale; perhaps we want to rise up the corporate ladder and are pining
for that next promotion; maybe we are working to lose thirty pounds. Does this
mean we as Christians should not desire such things?
The
answer: it depends on two things.
It
depends upon our motivation. Why do we want them? The sole motivation for all
our goals should be for the glory of God and to better serve our neighbor. We
should not hide our gifts and talents and think that we don’t deserve honors,
awards, promotions, but we must ask ourselves why we are pursuing them. It shouldn’t be about our vanity, our
looks, or our ego. But if you have the talents to be an all-state football
player, do it for the glory of God. If you can advance in your career, do it so
you can better support your family and more conscientiously take care of the
employees under you. Ambition isn’t bad when it’s done for God’s glory and the
service of others, but it must not be done for our own glory.
Secondly,
it depends how we pursue these goals.
Will you get promoted in the company because you work hard, or because you
backbite and kiss-up to the boss and step on others as you climb the corporate
ladder? Will you get into Harvard because you worked hard, or will you fudge the
truth on your application? You may have the desire to be a sports all-star, but
that does not mean we can neglect coming to Sunday Mass. We can have good goals
but they must be accomplished by keeping our integrity and our priorities in
the right order.
Christ
was willing to empty Himself, not exalt Himself. We may pursue our goals and
achieve success, but in doing so we empty ourselves of our ego and our
self-glorification. Everything we achieve should be for the glory of God. We
should be truly ambitious about advancing His Kingdom and seeking our holiness.
Let us and our egos decrease so that He may live and reign in us.
