Reading: 2Tim 4:1-8; Ps 71; Mark12:38-44
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
DO NOT LET PRIDE AND EGO DEPRIVE YOU OF YOUR BLESSINGS
Beginning from the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Devil has been tempting mankind with the capital sin of pride and ego, knowing how vulnerable and weak we can be in resisting our desires for knowledge and power. These are temptations for every age. However, it is more obvious in our society today, as we all want and like red carpet treatment. We all enjoy wearing well-tailored clothes and being addressed by honorific titles on different occasions and events, even in the Church.
These, of course, can be done innocently without any harm, depending on how they affect our relationships with God and our neighbours. When it is done out of pride and ego, then it becomes harmful to others, and this can lead to idolatry, where man will seek to be like God or assume the honour and glory due to God.
This ugly attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he said “Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive”.
Here, Jesus points to men entrusted with religious leadership who have turned their positions of trust into selfish interest as they focus on what they can get, rather than what they can give. So Jesus warned his disciples against such behaviour, especially how they exercised and practised their faith.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often prided themselves on their privileged and highly respected position in the community, and showed off their faith, seeking important and privileged positions. What Jesus is telling us all is to be careful and vigilant against the temptations of ego and pride in our lives. We must focus our attention on God and put Him first and foremost in all we do.
Dear friends, the warning of Jesus concerning our pride and ego is not only for religious leaders and ministers, but for every one of us: fathers, mothers, teachers, lecturers, government officials, military leaders, businessmen and women, celebrities, doctors, mechanics and leaders of all walks of life.
We are to be on the watch to avoid being carried away by the titles of honour and dignity that come with the pride of life, like some of the scribes in our Gospel passage today. Rather, we should humble ourselves in the midst of external respect and honour, for noble souls despise this kind of honour, as they offer it to God, to whom all respect and honour belong.
Therefore, let us learn an act of humility by ensuring that we give all honour and glory to God just as St Paul said to Timothy in our first reading: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. The time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, as you warn us today to beware of the pride and ego of human life, grant us the grace of humility in the midst of all prideful events in our lives, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace-filled weekend.
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