Possible Preaching Themes
Possible Scientific Resources
- The dynamics of an honor/shame culture (1st reading and Gospel)
- The challenge and gift of humility (1st reading and Gospel)
- The power of meals (Gospel)
- Honor/shame cultures
- “Approaching Honor and Shame with Humility,” missiological perspectives https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3935102
- “Honor as Cultural Mindset,” original research https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01921/full
- “Culture of Honor,” introduction from cultural psychology http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/cultural-psychology/culture-of-honor/
- “Cultural Models of Shame and Guilt,” rich overview http://www.gruberpeplab.com/teaching/psych3131_summer2015/documents/3.2_WongTsai_2007_CultureShameGuilt.pdf
- Humility
- “Measuring Humility and its Positive Effects,” accessible social psychology, https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/measuring-humility-and-its-positive-effects
- “The Psychology of Intellectual Humility,” non-technical overview https://www.templeton.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Intellectual-Humility-Leary-FullLength-Final.pdf
- “New psychology study identifies ‘hypo-egoic nonentitlement’ as a central feature of humility,” key is non-entitlement, https://www.psypost.org/2019/10/new-psychology-study-identifies-hypo-egoic-nonentitlement-as-a-central-feature-of-humility-54657
- “Be Humble, and Proudly, Psychologist say,” popular report https://www.todayonline.com/world/be-humble-and-proudly-psychologists-say
- Meals and dining
- “Do Family Meals Really make a Difference?” nuanced summary https://www.livehealthyiowakids.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Family-Mealtimes-2.pdf
- “The Family Dinner Project,” homepage of Harvard project http://www.pz.harvard.edu/projects/the-family-dinner-project
- “Breaking Bread: The Function of Social Eating,” rich summary https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-017-0061-4
- “How food – yes, food – can be a tool for social change,” overview article and TED talk https://ideas.ted.com/how-food-yes-food-can-be-a-tool-for-social-change/
Homily Outline Combining Resources
- Humble and American?
- Difficult to characterize the almost 335 million U.S. citizens
- a country with one of the most complex cultural identifies in the world
- Recent survey indicate that we view ourselves as
- Friendly
- Thoughtful
- Careful
- When it comes to shared core values almost 80% of us confirm the importance of
- Equality
- Liberty
- Progress
- No survey indicates that a dominant national characteristic is “humility”
- We think we are the richest country in the world, but ranked 13
- Or have best health care services in the world, ranked 18th
- We did not win the medal count at the 2022 Beijing Olympics [came in 5th after Canada]
- Unfortunately, we do have the highest per capita prison population in the world
- Difficult to characterize the almost 335 million U.S. citizens
- Humility is not about humiliation
- Though the words come from same Latin root meaning “lowly” (humilis), they are not the same
- Humiliation involves being exposed about a private matter leading to derision and/or distress
- Recall Olympic athletes reporting being robbed at gun point in Rio during the 2016 summer Olympics
- Eventually media flooded with the true story: they engaged in indecent and vandalizing behavior
- In the aftermath, the most famous of these characters lost major endorsements valued between 5 to 10 million dollars in future income
- No well-balanced person wants to be humiliated
- Humility is different
- “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”
- Researchers find humility has two main characteristics
- Intrapersonally it involves an accurate view of the self
- Interpersonally it involves a stance that is “other” rather than “self” focused
- Humility is good for us and good for business
- While not a national instinct, a humble stance has much to recommend it
- The main benefit concerns social bonds
- A humble stance appears to strengthen social bonds
- Especially in relationships that may experience conflict
- Or where difference threatens the security of a relationship
- Family relationships play this out on a daily basis
- Always “being right” is seldom an effective strategy for keeping our families well
- Given the political polarization in our society
- Intellectual humility is especially important
- This is an awareness of how incomplete and fallible our views on political and social issues are
- Business research has borne out the economic value of humility
- Humility is important for becoming an effective leader
- It also improves an organization’s evolution and bottom line
- Jesus, humiliation, and humility
- Jesus clearly had the gift of humility
- He was certainly more “other” than “self-focused”
- That humility led to humiliation in his public execution as an enemy of the state and the Temple
- It was not a humiliation he sought – he was not a self-hater
- But a humiliation he was willing to endure for the sake of others
- A sacrifice that sprang from his divinely graced humility
- As a gifted leader he was interested in cultivating “organizational humility” among his followers
- Multiple times in the gospels he invites his disciples to model his own servanthood (e.g., Mark 9:35, Matt 5:3, Matt 11:29, Matt 18:1 & 4, Luke 9:48, John 13:12-16)
- Such humility at the center of the Godhead reveals a shocking and liberating vision of the divine reign that Jesus inaugurated
- That does not demean or humiliate the other in order to promote self-worth
- But raises up others so that the liberation of God may be full realized
- And all may rise together as honored children of God
- An illustration
- Booker T. Washington was among the most respected African American leaders of his era
- An adviser to two American Presidents
- The Founder of the renowned Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
- A wealthy white woman wanted someone to chop wood for her
- She approached a Black man strolling by and asked if he would like to early some money
- He smiled, rolled up his sleeves and did the work
- Later a servant informed the matriarch of his identity
- When she came to his office at the Tuskegee Institute to apologize, he respond, “it’s perfectly all right, madam.” “Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it is always a delight to do something for a friend.”
- Jesus refused to call us servants, but instead “friends” (John 15:15)
- Humility is a graced venue for expanding that circle of friends.
- Booker T. Washington was among the most respected African American leaders of his era
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Preaching with Sciences
Edward Foley, Capuchin
Duns Scotus Professor Emeritus of Spirituality
Professor of Liturgy and Music (retired)
Catholic Theological Union
Vice-Postulator, Cause of Blessed Solanus
