Humility
Read Philippians 2: 5-11
Humble. Humility. Humiliation. All three words come from the Latin root: humus. It means “dirt”…the soil, the rich earth out of which things grow. The word humiliation is related…to be humiliated is to be brought back down to the earth. The word humble also finds its meaning in this root word. Humble people may take their life’s work very seriously, but they take themselves lightly.
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Think for a moment if that were the only verse of Scripture available to you for meditation. Take everything you think, believe, and understand about yourself, the world, even the way you form opinions and decisions and set them aside. Now, “take up the mind of Christ Jesus.” Conform and mold all that you are after Christ’s way of thinking.
Paul says Christ “emptied himself; did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited; and took on humanity in the form of a slave.” What a change Christ made for the sake of the whole world…salvation. Paul does not talk about what a good teacher Jesus was or about the miracles he performed, or anything that might distract from the essential message: Christ was God; he humbled himself to humanity and then to death as an ultimate gift of self-denial for our sake.
In this season of Lent, may we be open to reflect on our understanding of humility. How might the practice of humility enrich our life of faith? What role might it play in our speech, our actions, our decisions, our lifestyle and our relationships? Who might benefit from our gift of servanthood in the name of Christ? Paul offers some answers in verses 1-4 of this same chapter.
Rev. Judy May
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