Cardboard crowns: Replace with humble service

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Steph Place

One afternoon I was eating a meal with friends and we were deep in a favorite mock-argument: who among us would be first to climb to the top of the world, name themselves queen or king, and rule forever with all appropriate glitz and glory.

I chimed right in, shouted above the others that I would make by far the best Queen-of-Everything, jostled one friend when she offered me a position as her court jester, and booed at another friend's theories on the historical success of different routes to power.

I finished my meal and headed to collect my things, promising as I left that I would remember them all kindly when I was in charge.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Aug. 29, 2004) Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Ps 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11 Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a Lk 14:1, 7-14

Standing in the doorway listening to us was my friend and priest, Fr. Randy Timmerman. He offered a high-five and asked what all the laughter was about. I explained our joke and mentioned with a grin that he could be my personal spiritual director when I was queen. Instead of laughing and playing along, as I'd expected, Father Randy shook his head solemnly and said, "I'll carry your bags and shine your shoes." Huh?

"No, no, you'll have a big office with a good armchair and your favorite snacks, for when we come to you with questions," I answered. Again, Father Randy just shook his head and said, "I only want to carry your bags and shine your shoes."

Father Randy's response knocked my socks off. There I was, not even realizing that I was oozing lust for power and importance even in my jokes, and I was gently brought down to earth by the humility displayed in the face of my pride.

Humility. I'm not talking about the cheesy, overdone, fake humility that hangs in a room like a bad smell. I'm talking about the cleansing, bone-deep humility that's found in the presence of a God so great that it's all you can do to not fall on your face before Him.

The cheesy version sometimes gives humility a bad name, but in truth, humility puts us in a right relationship with the Lord, knocks down barriers like pride and jealousy, and lets us get down to the business of loving each other as we were meant to do. It's that spirit of humility that today's readings urge us to adopt.

Feeling small before the Lord isn't tough. The hard part is taking that perspective, that rightness, and wrapping our actions and desires in it as we go about our daily routines. The humdrum of our daily lives can become a big shiny throne, and we can find ourselves constantly scrambling to climb it, desiring to be Queen-of-Everything in our own small kingdom.

	Reflection questions • Have I unintentionally taken the place of honor in some area of my life? • How can I be of humble service to someone today?

In losing humility, we lose the fruits that might have come of it and a chance to please the Lord. If we just spend less time wearing our own cardboard crown and more time worshiping at the foot of Jesus' thrown, I expect the result would include more carrying of bags - humble service- than arguing over titles.

Steph Place, a member of St. Paul University Catholic Center at UW-Madison, is a sophomore majoring in medical sciences. She is a member of the UW Marching Band and an avid horseback rider.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

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