Third Sunday after Trinity AD 2024

St. Peter says in today’s Epistle: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you.”

The words “humble” and “humility” come from the Latin word humus, which means “earth” or “soil”. In a sense, humility is the same as “having both feet on the ground”, that is, to see things as they really are. Being humble means seeing yourself realistically, as you are, without embellishing anything, but also without fake and hypocritical self-deprecation.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells two parables that show how much God cares about us and loves us. God is like a shepherd who is willing to leave ninety-nine sheep that are doing well in order to find one that has gone astray and is in danger of perishing. God is like the woman who seeks for a lost coin, and when she finds it, she is willing to spend many times more than its value to have a party with her neighbors because this one coin is somehow so important and precious to her.

In fact, we are much more precious to God than a lost sheep to a shepherd and a lost coin to a poor woman. God has paid an immeasurable price to find and save us: He has given His only begotten Son.

An old priest was once asked why God loves us. He replied with a smile: “God probably just has very bad taste.” Yes, if God’s love depended on what we are like – with our sin, selfishness, and small-mindedness – then one would have to admit that God does indeed have a very bad taste. But God’s love comes not from who we are, but from who He is – and we know that God is love.

When we come before God, we need humility both to honestly admit our own reality and to understand how great and wonderful God’s grace and mercy are towards us. We can “cast all our cares on Him for He careth for us” and will never forsake us.