Luke1.46b-55 (Magnificat)│2 Samuel 7.1-11,16│Romans 16.25-27│Luke 1.26-38
Luc 1.46.-55 (Magnificat) | 2 Samuel 7.1-11,16 |Romains 16.25-27 | Luc 1.26-38
Walking
in humble footsteps
From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48278 [retrieved November 26, 2020]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
Humility
is a recurring theme – not only in today’s passage from Luke, but throughout
the Bible and indeed woven into the fabric of our lives. It’s so often
repeated, in fact, that we may sometimes take it for granted.
A
question that I have always struggled with is this: how can we talk about
our own humility while remaining humble? By its very definition, to be
humble is to reduce the importance placed on the self while bringing others
into the mix. To verbally prove and defend our own humility, then, is a little
troubling – if not a dichotomy.
The
season of Advent reminds us that from the moment of Jesus’ birth and through to
his resurrection, humility is more effective when practiced rather than
spoken. His life is the textbook example of responding to adversity,
suffering, and maltreatment with a reduced sense of self and a heart full of
compassion for his neighbours.
The
Father sent us His only Son, through people like you and me.
Jesus
washed the feet of his own disciples.
Jesus
died on the cross – and was raised up – for us.
No
matter the importance of his mission - nor the high seat of his Father - Jesus
practiced love and kindness. He was and is shepherd to all: the poor, the rich,
the lonely, the successful, the sick, and everyone in between. He is the
Servant King: powerful, yet setting his own self aside so that he could give
to others.
Cliché
as it may be at this time of year, it is always important to look at our Saviour
in the manger – wrapped in swaddling clothes, tended to by Mary and Joseph, and
carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. From the beginning of his
life until now, our hope was vulnerable, meek, and mild.
This Advent, let us
move in the same direction to spread kindness, love justly, and act humbly.
I’ll give it a try, and I hope you will join me.
Benjamin
Jance IV
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