January 9, 2010
Christmas Weekday
And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours. 1 John 5:14-15
“The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.” John 3:29-30
Piety
Whenever I am in the company of others,
May I regard myself as inferior to all
And from the depths of my heart,
Cherish others as supreme.
In all my actions may I watch my mind
And as soon as disturbing emotions arise,
May I forcefully stop them at once,
Since they will hurt both me and others.
(Verses from the Tibetan text The Eight Verses for Training the Mind)
Study
During one of the Advent homilies at Mass, the celebrant remarked that John the Baptist could have probably started his own church. People were flocking to the desert to get blessed by him. However, John was a man of great humility. He knew from the time he leapt in his mother’s womb that his place was to make room for Jesus.
Today, we hear in his own voice, John express his humility. He must increase; I must decrease. Jesus must now take center stage and John gracefully exits.
The world does not revolve around John or around us. The world revolves around the Son who is the light of the world. Of all the traits called for by Christianity as well as other religions of the world, humility is chief among them. As Sr. Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, titled her book, “Humility Matters.” She writes in the introduction:
“Humility matters. Since God is our heart’s desire, we long for our own direct experience of God. Our world is suffering. Indeed, the root of most of the anguish on earth is the human ego in denial of its true vocation: to renounce our false self and to embrace our baptismal initiation into Christ Jesus.”
Perhaps such a noble sentiment is easier said than done. All around us, culture is screaming for us to put ourselves ahead of others.
Have it your way. – Burger King
You deserve a break today. – McDonalds
Where do you want to go today? – Microsoft
Because you’re worth it. -- L'Oreal
We can eat the “Breakfast of Champions” while we are putting on the Ritz.
Action
How to practice humility it is the central concern of Christianity. And the journey is one which will take a lifetime. We might want to “just do it” but until then, we have to learn step by little step through our piety, study and action.
For your piety, meditate on the core of today’s Gospel: He must increase; I must decrease. Discuss this with your group reunion.
For your study, consider buying or borrowing a copy of Sr. Meg’s book Humility Matters (yes, you can get it from Amazon) or Thomas a Kempis classic Imitation of Christ. Sr. Meg actually has a meditation on her web site about this book running now. They are only up to chapter 5 so you can jump right in at any time. The introduction starts here. http://megfunk.com/entry.php?id=323
Thomas รก Kempis believed that “all problems could be solved by retiring into Christ.” For your action, the next time you face a conflict with another person, instead of holding your ground to win at all costs, try to retire into Christ.
