God Chooses the Lowly

Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Scriptures today invite us into a quiet but radical truth: God works through the small, the humble, the overlooked, and the poor in spirit. God does this not as a consolation prize, but as the very heart of the plan revealed in the Book of Genesis.

The first reading comes from the Prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah, the ninth of the Minor Prophets, has an interesting introduction to his prophetical book. Curiously, the names of four of his ancestors are listed. Evidently his great-great-grandfather was a man named Hezekiah. Some suggest the possibility that this ancestor of Zephaniah’s was actually King Hezekiah of Judah.

St. Zephaniah’s time of prophecy occurred during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640–609 B.C.). Consequently, he is one of the pre-exilic prophets. Most scholars regard Zephaniah’s writings to have addressed the issues of the first years of King Josiah’s reign, when the king was still a child. At this time in Judah’s history, the people had been led for decades by two evil and violent kings (Manasseh and Amon), whose actions polluted the hearts of many people of the kingdom. The fallout was great: God was forgotten by many, and the pagan rituals of their neighbors were rampant.

The prophet Zephaniah urges the people: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth… seek justice, seek humility.” And then God promises to leave behind “a people humble and lowly” who will take refuge in His name. It’s striking that God doesn’t say that the powerful will be saved, nor the influential, or the self-assured. Instead, He gathers the ones who know how dependent they are upon God; namely, the ones who don’t pretend to be self‑sufficient. These are the ones who trust. Humility isn’t weakness. It’s clarity. It’s seeing ourselves truthfully—our limits, our dependence, our need for grace—and choosing God as our strength.

We respond with Psalm 146, of the Great Hallel psalms, so-called because of the reoccurrence  of the word “Hallelujah” throughout the psalm. This psalm paints a portrait of God’s priorities: God secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets captives free, lifts up those who are bowed down, protects strangers, and sustains the orphan and the widow. This is not a God who stands far off. This is a God who bends low, a God who notices, and a God who acts. If this is God’s heart, then it must become ours.

Paul reminds the Corinthians—and us—that God often chooses what the world dismisses: the foolish to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, and the lowly and despised to bring to nothing those who boast. Why? So that no one may boast before God. So that we recognize that everything—our life, our faith, our hope—is pure gift. This is not a message that flatters our egos. But it is a message that frees our souls.

Then we come to the Gospel—the Beatitudes, the charter of the Kingdom of God. Jesus climbs the mountain and speaks words that turn the world upside down. These are not the only Beatitudes in the Scriptures; however, these eight statements introduce the Sermon on the Mount and have gained special precedence in our Catholic Christian faith. These statements are not sentimental slogans or catch phrases used by someone seeking acceptance by the crowd. These statements are both counter-cultural and revolutionary.

Jesus is telling us that the people the world overlooks are precisely the ones closest to God’s heart. He is telling us that holiness is not found in power, prestige, or perfection, but in humility, compassion, purity, and courage. He is telling us that the Kingdom belongs to those who trust God more than themselves.

If we’re honest, most of us don’t naturally aspire to be poor in spirit or meek or persecuted. We’d rather be strong, admired, successful, and secure. But Jesus is inviting us to a different kind of greatness. A greatness that admits our need for God, that chooses mercy over judgment, seeks peace instead of winning arguments. Jesus asks his disciples to stand for what is right even when it costs us, to comfort those who mourn, and to live with integrity when no one is watching. This is the greatness of the saints. This is the greatness of Christ Himself.

It is important to realize that every one of the Beatitudes comes with a promise: Theirs is the Kingdom of heaven, they shall be comforted, they shall inherit the land, they shall be satisfied, they shall see God, they shall be called children of God. God is not asking us to choose humility and mercy and purity for nothing. God is promising that these choices lead to joy, freedom, and eternal life.

Today’s readings remind us that God’s way is not the world’s way and, therefore, cannot be our way. The world celebrates the powerful; God lifts up the humble. The world rewards the self‑reliant; God blesses the poor in spirit. The world admires the victorious; God crowns the merciful, the peacemakers, the persecuted. So, the question for us is simple: Which kingdom do we want to belong to? Are we willing to pay this price for the privilege of discipleship?

If we choose Christ’s kingdom—if we walk the path of the Beatitudes—then we will discover a happiness the world cannot give and cannot take away. Blessed are we when we follow Him.