September 27, 2026; Philippians 2:1-11; 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Boy, is Saint Paul out of touch! In today’s second reading, Paul expresses a teaching that most people today would dismiss as foolishness. Paul tells the Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfishness, or out of vainglory, but rather humbly regard others as more important than yourself.” This kind of thinking to many would be considered nonsense. Life is about me. Success is about my goals, my appearance, my influence, my achievements. Indeed, one might say that our culture promotes selfishness and vainglory. This attitude was captured in the now famous line of Bette Midler in the movie Beaches. She says to a friend, “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you think about me.” Me, me, me. It is the mantra of our age. And Saint Paul’s teaching that we should have regard for others is easily dismissed as so much whistling in the wind.
But before we dismiss Pauls’ words as out of touch or naïve, we should at least consider why he thinks they are so important. Paul calls us to see others as more important than ourselves, because that is the attitude of Jesus. Jesus does not act in his own interests, but in our interest. Jesus puts us first. He gives his life for our salvation. This is why our faith, at its foundation, insists that we show regard for the interests of others as well as our own. Salvation is not me, me, me, but us, us, us. Jesus died for all of us, and so it is only when we show regard for all of us, that we become his disciples.
When people put themselves first, much of our society cannot function, A person who is concerned only about his own interests, cannot credibly be a part of a family. Someone who is caught up in her own concerns cannot be a friend. A country cannot survive when its people are exclusively focused on my family, my income, my religion, my nationality. As long as our focus remains on ourselves, we cannot preach the gospel, because our words ring empty. And when those in government office keep boasting about their own importance or stoking their own glory, they negate their role as servants of the people.
Paul’s words may be out of touch, but it does not mean they are wrong. True success is not about me. It’s about regarding others as important as ourselves.