I must decrease, that he might increase: The Virtue of Humility

As I read Jesus' words in today’s Gospel (Mark 9:30–37) it made me think about humility. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wonder if I am truly humble. Am I willing to be simple and vulnerable about both my strengths and my weaknesses? Do I feel the need to guard my reputation and be right even in little unimportant details? Am I quick to share my opinion, even when I am not asked for it?

But perhaps we might ask ourselves, what is humility?

Humility is the virtue, which gives us self-control against the danger of pride. The virtue of humility is the opposite of the sin of pride, or that spirit within us which urges us to exaggerate our strengths and abilities, especially in comparison with others.

In a sense humility is like a set of brakes that brings us back to reality, regarding our strengths and talents. It involves honesty with yourself. At times however, it is also the accelerator which helps us to not say we are less than you are.

It is not proud to acknowledge that we are good at something. We might be a very good cook, artist, soccer player, teacher, or musician. Pretending to not be good at something we do, would be false humility.

Yet we must always acknowledge that every talent we have, and every gift we have received is from God. God should get the glory for our goodness, strengths, and talents. These things are his gift to us.

In our Gospel today, Jesus catches his disciples discussing among themselves who will be greatest in his kingdom. In response he says to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the servant of all.” (Mk 9)

To further make his point, Jesus then “places a child in their midst” and “and putting his arms around” the child says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (Mk 9:37). To give us models for humility, Jesus highlights being a servant and being childlike as the proper attitude for his disciples.

While most of us do not have personal servants, it is not hard to imagine what a servant looks like. Servants set aside their own preferences to make others happy. They are attentive to other’s needs and try to meet those needs. They are happy to wait for others, to go last, and to take the lowest place.

Apart from serious issues of justice, they do not demand their rights. If they must assert their rights, they do so with gentleness and respect for other people. They do not keep score when they are wronged, and are they are quick to forgive and mend relationships.

Servants are docile to legitimate authority. They are concerned more for other people’s needs and rights, than their own personal rights.

Being childlike also reveals some truths about humility. Obviously, Jesus is not saying we should be like children in every respect, but we can be childlike.

Young children are often very simple, and simplicity is something that we can all practice. We can continue as adults to be honest and straightforward both with others and ourselves. We can also choose to be vulnerable.

Young children are experts at vulnerability. They will tell you what is on their mind without any filters. They are not political. They do not have a hidden agenda. In a certain sense, they have a primeval kind of vulnerability that we often lose, as we grow older. While obviously, in an adult way, we can continue to be vulnerable in our relationships with others.

Research from modern positive phycology tells that vulnerability is the key to knowing ourselves fully, the instrument of our healing, and even the key to happy relationship with others.

Children also have an untainted sense of openness to others. They easily suspend judgment and reach out to others without prejudice. At least in healthy relationships, children also offer unwavering trust in relationships.

We quickly loose this innocence as we grow older, but a humble person is not afraid compare themselves to others. It is not without reason that the words pride and prejudice sound right as a pair of sins. A humble person remains open to others and can celebrate the gifts that God has given to each person.

I don’t know about you, but as I search my heart, I am still a work in progress at learning to live the virtue of humility. To be honest, in the past vulnerability is not something I valued. Like many people, I saw vulnerability as a weakness.

Yet when we think about our faith, learning humility is one of the greatest lessons of our faith. Humility literally opens the door to our faith. The church teaches us that there is a universal call to holiness, but that this holiness is a work of grace in our hearts that only bears fruit when we cooperate with the prior work of God’s grace.

St. Teresa of Ávila says that all prayer and interior communion with God must begin with humility, and that humility is the secret to advancement in the life of prayer. St Teresa is not talking about just saying a few vocal prayers, but the kind of prayer that involves communion with the presence of God.

St. Teresa tells us that every time she advanced in prayer, and experienced spiritual growth, this only occurred because she previously gained a deeper awareness of her own inadequacy before God.

This is exactly what Jesus tells us. He promises us that, “the one who humbles himself, will be exalted” (Matt 23:12). This is a spiritual truth that is repeated over and over in Scripture.

Hopefully I have helped us to see the importance of humility for our faith, but how can we grow and improve in humility in our daily life? I think there are two important things we can do to grow in humility.

First since humility is a kind of honest self-awareness, I think we benefit most by placing ourselves in God’s presence in prayer. Being in God’s presence in prayer allows us to see ourselves as God sees us and allows us to give thanks for the gifts he has given us. This encounter with God involves his grace.

I realize that today we are concerned with sun safety and SPF 100 protection, so this is an imperfect analogy, but we might compare this to trying to gain vitamin D by purposely allowing our body to be in the sun. We cannot stay covered up or hide in the dark if we want our body to make Vitamin D, we need to step into the sunshine to gain this benefit.

Finally, as we learn to grow in God’s grace in this area, we can make the habit of making a daily examination of our heart in this area, and then to strive to cooperate with God’s grace. We can ask ourselves, what did I do well today in the area of humility and when did I fail?

Yet it is very important to understand that gaining humility is not like going to the gym to pump iron and to gain some “humility guns.” It must always begin with God’s grace. Without God’s grace, our actions usually lead to more pride and self-righteousness.

Perhaps we can make the words of St. John the Baptist our prayer, “I must decrease, that he might increase.”

Thinking as God Does

I suppose we all have our quirks, but one of the strong parts of my personality is the fact I am an adult who suffers from attention deficit disorder. I sometimes have difficulty focusing, and my thoughts are easily distracted. I can take some solace in finding at least one saint who clearly shared my condition, St. Teresa of Ávila. Being ADHD, one of the things I really do not like is the idea of a “pop quiz” where I feel the sudden pressure to perform.

To be honest, as you read Mark’s Gospel, one gets the impression that the disciples are a bit dull, or at least slow to catch on to Jesus message. Jesus repeatedly says to them, “Do you not understand” or even with a bit of exasperation, “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:17).

Earlier in this chapter, the disciples are flustered. Even after witnessing Jesus feed five thousand people with a few loaves, the disciples are worried because they forgot to bring lunch! Is Jesus frustrated with them? He seems to be.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives them a quiz. First, Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mk 8:27). This question is not too threatening. The disciples quickly report the neighborhood gossip. They reply with what they have heard, some people are saying you are John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others are saying that you are one of the prophets.

John the Baptist has just died two chapters earlier in Mark’s Gospel (6:27-28) so the crowds must mean John the Baptist come back to life. Herod, the ruler of Galilee, says exactly this to his officials in Mathew’s Gospel (Matthew 14:14).

Others suggest that Jesus might be the prophet Elijah who was ‘taken up to heaven by a whirlwind’ (2 Kings 2:1, & 2:11). Later the Bible the prophet Malachi prophesied that Elijah would return from heaven before “the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5) to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children (4:6).

Finally, others suggest that Jesus was another prophet. Either yet another prophet who returned from the dead or perhaps a new prophet for the final times.

Now Jesus asks his disciples a more personal and important question. “But who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29). Each one of us still needs to answer this question. Who do you say that Jesus is?

Initially Peter seems to get a gold star for answering, “You are the Christ or the Messiah.” Jesus does not simply accept this answer; however, he goes on to explain what kind of Messiah he will be. Jesus will be a suffering Messiah who will be rejected by the Jewish leaders, killed and finally will rise from the dead after three days.

Our first reading form Isaiah is from a collection of poems about a future messiah, or suffering servant, who will offer himself up for the people and take away their sins. This suffering servant says,

I gave my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who tore out my beard;

My face I did not hide

from insults and spitting.

This is actually part of a long series of poems by Isaiah that prophesy future the suffering and death of Jesus. Hearing Jesus say this, Peter reacts and tries to correct Jesus, but receives a hash rebuke. Note that being able to recite the correct words did not mean Peter’s heart was open to God.

Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”(Mk 8:33).

I do not know about you, but I would feel ashamed and deflated if Jesus said this to me. Peter was supposed to be the leader of the other disciples, but now in front of all of them, Jesus corrects him harshly.

One of the keys to spiritual growth is to have the humility, or use more modern words vulnerability. This is the honesty with our self to admit our weakness, and our mistakes, and to grow from them. Vulnerability is the power to walk directly into our shame and own it, and then to grow into something new.

Again, I do not know about you, but I find this kind of vulnerability excruciatingly difficult but at the same time something that leads to life changing freedom and intimacy with God.

Facing my fears, am I really willing to suffer for my faith? Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mk 8:34). Many saints have told us that the beginning of the spiritual life involves both detachment, “denying oneself” and humility.

It is also interesting that Jesus does not make the problem about knowledge or the correct answers to the test questions. Peter said the right words, but was still wrong in his heart. Our reading from James talks about his. Our works of holiness are the fruit of a changed heart (CCC 2002). We are not simply learning to say the right words, as we might do in a question and answer catechism lesson.

There is a clear change that must take place in our hearts. We must learn to think as God does, and not as our human nature does.

How can this change take place in our hearts?

This past week we celebrated the Nativity of Our Lady. I think we can learn how to guide our hearts toward God by examining Mary.

At the annunciation the Angel Gabriel says to Mary, “Hail Mary full of grace” (Lk 1:28). Greek word used here implies that Mary has already received and been prepared by God’s grace at some point prior to meeting the Angel Gabriel.

The first initiative is always Gods. He begins by giving Mary an abundance of grace. Mary’s part occurs in her response, “let it be done to me according to you word” (Lk 1:38). God’s preparation of Our Lady was of course unique, but St. Paul tells us that for each one of us, God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Eph 1:4).

Each baptized child receives the grace of the Holy Spirit and is joined to Christ. Receiving the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation further joins us to Christ and brings us into communion with him.

God knows each one of us by name. He even had a plan for our lives “before the beginning of creation.” He has taken the initiative to send his Spirit and offer us his grace. His grace is already active before we even think about responding (CCC 2001). Like Our Lady, he is waiting for us to say “Yes.” Yet God requires our response and cooperation (CCC 2002).

In a sense, this is like receiving a present for our birthday or for Christmas. This beautiful gift must be unwrapped by us personally, and then received with great joy. It requires our cooperation before we become aware of what is in this gift. Only then, can we properly receive his gift and give thanks for it. 

How can God change our hearts? This is supernatural work, which begins with God’s desire and initiative, but it cannot change our hearts without our cooperation. It begins with humility and detachment, but ultimately it requires our complete surrender, our “yes” to God. The surrender of our hearts, allows us receive the fullness of his grace, to thank God, and to bear fruit in our lives.|