God
Faith
The "wheel of fortune" concept I described at the bottom of this post has continued to bear fruit in my life. I have an immense journey still ahead of me; in fact, the road is never-ending because we can never fully understand the infinite nature of God. But nevertheless, I feel centered in Christ in a way which I did not even twelve months ago, or perhaps even more recently than that.
Those around me continue to hold me up and inspire my heart, inspirations which make me more amenable to the continued receipt of God's grace. Just today one of my dearest friends, Marina, wrote this to me when I expressed to her my difficulty in keeping up with the Divine Office this past week:
She went on to suggest that I keep a gratitude journal as she does, so as to stay aware of all the blessings He brings us. I love that idea, and will start such a thing!
But what really put me into a deep, contemplative mood was her rightful assertion that Jesus is meek and humble.
God's Humility
We know that any adjective which we can justly ascribe to God's nature is manifested perfectly. God is complete; nothing can be added to Him, or subtracted from Him.
I had never thought of God as perfectly humble, and so I had never meditated on that mystery! I will do so tonight: what a gift! It is profound because we can not imagine a human who has even one trillionth of God's power, who would not be completely corrupted and consumed by ego. To think that Jesus is perfectly almighty, and perfectly humble is astonishing.
As curious creatures, contemplation on these tensions and apparent contradictions trigger in us a continual desire to know God more and more deeply.
We turn to the eternal creator of the universe, and He is meek and humble in our presence? I struggle to process such a sentiment. Naturally, we can't take this for granted either: we are not God's equal, and need a healthy fear of Him. But the idea of a humble God is so unexplored for me, that I walked down the cube-lined hall at work to another one of my best friends, to ask him about this.
We went on to explore the nuanced concept. He expressed, "But can't humility also lead us to a sort of flagellation, like David covering himself in sackcloth and so on?" As the conversation progressed, we began to conclude that in fact such scenarios are not always expressions of humility: they can be manifestations of ego; even if interiorly, we are attempting to prove our righteousness to ourselves.
We posited that true humility is selflessness for the other: radical hospitality.
Bottom of Totem Pole
I wrote about my "floor mat" notion in this post. In light of these conversations with my friends today, I realized what discretion we must practice when operating pastorally! For someone who knows, to at least an ordinate degree, that their strength comes exclusively from the Lord, the "floor mat" lesson could bear great fruit, as it did for me.
But for someone who has not yet consciously accepted their own frailty and weakness in the absence of God-- indeed, of their absolute helplessness-- the "floor mat" lesson could be debilitatingly destructive as it would punch out the only leg they have to stand on, which is their ego, and so plummet them into despair.
Praise and glory be to God that I received this abject metaphor in humility not too soon. I will exhibit caution from now on when sharing the "floor mat" concept, and other metaphors, with others; to couch them in context. But most of all, to be a good listener and an authentic companion to them.
Juxtapositions
One more thing: speaking of tensions, as difficult as it is we should try not to be too distraught when we discover the sins of others whom we have respected in the past, even when those sins are severe-- so long as we believe that they are sincerely contrite of heart, and that they will ask for and receive God's forgiveness.
Now, if the person takes pride in their sin, or celebrates it, or identifies with it-- that is a grave peril and it is a moral good to feel great concern for their soul and to pray for them. Through His passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus purchased for us the opportunity for salvation-- to be among His chosen elect. But, He will not force us: a conscious and persistent rejection of that divine gift is called "hell".
Also, the presence of sin in another's life does not take away the perhaps virtuous and beautiful things they may have enriched our spiritual lives with in the past. The pastor of my church growing up was credibly accused of having abused a minor in the 1970s-- a grievous sin indeed, to put it mildly.
He caused great harm in the lives of others. This is a sad state of affairs. May God bless those victimized by him with healing. But, some things he said to us students in the lattermost years of his life also brought us closer to the Lord! He died of a heart attack mere months after the allegations became public-- in spite of his sins, there was mass grieving amongst the student body when we were told the news of his passing. I was there: I remember it like it was yesterday.
Like someone such as Paul, he did tremendous evil early in life, but turned his ways around and became a much loved priest. Such is the hope we have in Jesus.
After all, if the presence of sin was disqualifying, no one would be left standing. We can condemn and lament someone's decisions, while also praying for their soul, while also cherishing the good things they brought to the world, all at the same time! Such is the mystery of the world and the unfurling of divine providence.
May the peace and strength of Christ Jesus be with you all.
Those around me continue to hold me up and inspire my heart, inspirations which make me more amenable to the continued receipt of God's grace. Just today one of my dearest friends, Marina, wrote this to me when I expressed to her my difficulty in keeping up with the Divine Office this past week:
"The Divine Office is hard... it is natural to have ebbs and flows in prayer, based on moods. We are not prayer machines. I'm sure Jesus appreciates anytime you approach Him. He does have a meek and humble heart... I think He wants to ease the need for striving in prayer."
She went on to suggest that I keep a gratitude journal as she does, so as to stay aware of all the blessings He brings us. I love that idea, and will start such a thing!
But what really put me into a deep, contemplative mood was her rightful assertion that Jesus is meek and humble.
God's Humility
We know that any adjective which we can justly ascribe to God's nature is manifested perfectly. God is complete; nothing can be added to Him, or subtracted from Him.
I had never thought of God as perfectly humble, and so I had never meditated on that mystery! I will do so tonight: what a gift! It is profound because we can not imagine a human who has even one trillionth of God's power, who would not be completely corrupted and consumed by ego. To think that Jesus is perfectly almighty, and perfectly humble is astonishing.
As curious creatures, contemplation on these tensions and apparent contradictions trigger in us a continual desire to know God more and more deeply.
We turn to the eternal creator of the universe, and He is meek and humble in our presence? I struggle to process such a sentiment. Naturally, we can't take this for granted either: we are not God's equal, and need a healthy fear of Him. But the idea of a humble God is so unexplored for me, that I walked down the cube-lined hall at work to another one of my best friends, to ask him about this.
We went on to explore the nuanced concept. He expressed, "But can't humility also lead us to a sort of flagellation, like David covering himself in sackcloth and so on?" As the conversation progressed, we began to conclude that in fact such scenarios are not always expressions of humility: they can be manifestations of ego; even if interiorly, we are attempting to prove our righteousness to ourselves.
We posited that true humility is selflessness for the other: radical hospitality.
Bottom of Totem Pole
I wrote about my "floor mat" notion in this post. In light of these conversations with my friends today, I realized what discretion we must practice when operating pastorally! For someone who knows, to at least an ordinate degree, that their strength comes exclusively from the Lord, the "floor mat" lesson could bear great fruit, as it did for me.
But for someone who has not yet consciously accepted their own frailty and weakness in the absence of God-- indeed, of their absolute helplessness-- the "floor mat" lesson could be debilitatingly destructive as it would punch out the only leg they have to stand on, which is their ego, and so plummet them into despair.
Praise and glory be to God that I received this abject metaphor in humility not too soon. I will exhibit caution from now on when sharing the "floor mat" concept, and other metaphors, with others; to couch them in context. But most of all, to be a good listener and an authentic companion to them.
Juxtapositions
One more thing: speaking of tensions, as difficult as it is we should try not to be too distraught when we discover the sins of others whom we have respected in the past, even when those sins are severe-- so long as we believe that they are sincerely contrite of heart, and that they will ask for and receive God's forgiveness.
Now, if the person takes pride in their sin, or celebrates it, or identifies with it-- that is a grave peril and it is a moral good to feel great concern for their soul and to pray for them. Through His passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus purchased for us the opportunity for salvation-- to be among His chosen elect. But, He will not force us: a conscious and persistent rejection of that divine gift is called "hell".
Also, the presence of sin in another's life does not take away the perhaps virtuous and beautiful things they may have enriched our spiritual lives with in the past. The pastor of my church growing up was credibly accused of having abused a minor in the 1970s-- a grievous sin indeed, to put it mildly.
He caused great harm in the lives of others. This is a sad state of affairs. May God bless those victimized by him with healing. But, some things he said to us students in the lattermost years of his life also brought us closer to the Lord! He died of a heart attack mere months after the allegations became public-- in spite of his sins, there was mass grieving amongst the student body when we were told the news of his passing. I was there: I remember it like it was yesterday.
Like someone such as Paul, he did tremendous evil early in life, but turned his ways around and became a much loved priest. Such is the hope we have in Jesus.
After all, if the presence of sin was disqualifying, no one would be left standing. We can condemn and lament someone's decisions, while also praying for their soul, while also cherishing the good things they brought to the world, all at the same time! Such is the mystery of the world and the unfurling of divine providence.
May the peace and strength of Christ Jesus be with you all.