Like Odysseus to the Mast

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost | Fr. Scott Archer | August 2, 2026

“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Lk. 18:14).

There are two ways of standing before God.

One stands as though he possesses something to offer—as though righteousness were an achievement to be displayed, a record to be presented, a claim to be made. The other stands with empty hands, conscious not of his own merits but of his need. One measures himself and finds satisfaction; the other measures himself before God and asks only for mercy.

This contrast reaches into every Christian life, because the great temptation is not always open rebellion against God. More often, it is subtle self-sufficiency. We begin to trust in what we have done, what we have avoided, what we know.

The eager multitudes came to Our Lord with humble and teachable hearts.

This is the pattern of the spiritual life: God does not despise our poverty; rather, through it He draws us into the fullness of His truth.

The multitudes did not come merely to see Christ; they came to hear Him. They received His teaching with humility because they knew they needed what only He could give.

The same humility is required of every Christian today. Christ continues to teach His people through His Holy Catholic Church, which, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, He has preserved from error when she teaches definitively in matters of faith and morals. To receive the teaching of the Church with humble faith is to receive the teaching of Christ Himself.

However, every age has its own voices promising wisdom apart from Christ. Heretics and false teachers often speak persuasively, dressing error in attractive language and appealing to human pride rather than humble faith.

More than seventeen centuries ago, the great Roman priest St. Hippolytus compared these false teachers to the Sirens of Homer's Odyssey. Just as the Sirens lured sailors to destruction with sweet and captivating songs, so heretics entice souls with pleasing words that ultimately lead them away from the truth.

Hippolytus says that those who are weak should imitate the companions of Odysseus by sealing their ears with wax, refusing even to listen to such seductive errors. Better still, let us imitate Odysseus himself in a higher way by binding ourselves firmly to the Cross of Christ, listening only to the voice of the Good Shepherd, who alone leads His flock into eternal life.

This, then, is the humility Our Lord praises. It is the humility that distrusts its own wisdom more than the wisdom of Christ. It is the humility that clings to His Church rather than the changing opinions of the world. Let us, then, receive His teaching with humble and obedient hearts, that He may one day exalt us in the kingdom of heaven.