In the Gospel, John the Baptist found it hard to say exactly who he was, and found it easier to say who he was NOT. There is wisdom in that. Were he to have said, "I am the Voice of Deliverance!" he would have probably got a big head, and pride would have overtaken him. As it was, he said, "I'm NOT the Christ; I'm not even the light! I'm not Elijah nor am I a prophet…I guess I'm just a voice in the desert…" St. Paul encourages each of us to say, "I am NOT perfect! I am NOT particularly holy, and I am NOT blameless"—for that is GOD'S job, to make us those things, in time and eternity. Ours is to recognize what we lack and pray for it. And in that way, we can be open to the Power of the One Who CAN make us holy, and lead us in goodness. It is so important to humility to know what we are not. It is when we are truly humble, accepting our insignificance that God can work through us, placing the Spirit upon us to help others heal and find freedom. As we approach the manger, low as it is, we have to learn to kneel, let us pray for humility and tenderness.
This is the major issue of Advent: attaining humility, which means learning how "not to be full of ourselves!" For when we are "full of ourselves," we have no room for the Greatness of God to enter, and Christmas (the season for which we are preparing) is the season of God's Greatness coming to us–Immanuel–God with us. To sense God's Presence we need to be smaller of ego than we usually are.
There is a wonderful lesson in one of the churches of Jerusalem–I think it's the Holy Sepulcher. The door is so small that one has to bend down to enter the church. The point is that we have to become small to appreciate the Greatness of the Mystery we might encounter inside that church. One has to learn to fall on his knees in order to stand in awe. Now, I wish I could say that was what was behind the design of the church; it wasn't. Actually the priests were horrified that arrogant Crusaders were acting like they owned the place, and were riding their horses into the church, so the monks fixed that! The lowered the doors so low than no horse could get in, but they also lowered the door so low that a human being has to bow, significantly, to enter. It was later, reflecting on this phenomenon, that they saw that something profound had happened...by accident or perhaps by a Greater Design by a Greater Designer! For now, EVERYONE must make himself or herself small to enter. And such is the nature of all true encounter with God.
Humility is about paying attention to others. Have you thought of that? When we are "full of ourselves" we don't pay much attention to others, UNLESS they can help or aid us in some way. But, the humble person pays attention to what's happening around him, and sees what others need, and can step into the breach and supply the need. Moses was considered to be the "humblest" or "meekest" man to have ever lived–so says Numbers 12. How do we know? Well, he PAID ATTENTION! How long do you suppose he had to watch that bush burning before he realized it wasn't burning? Hours? All day? Who knows how long he stood there, but FINALLY as it dawns on him that something miraculous is happening, THEN the Voice comes: Take off your shoes, you are on holy ground!" God appears when attention is paid, and those who are not humble only pay attention to themselves! So...with this season. We try to become less "full of ourselves" so that we can sense the Holy, the Presence, the Sacred in our lives.
John the Baptist, like Moses, is not "full of himself." Rather, he is well aware that he isn't much out of the ordinary. "I'm NOT the Christ, I'm NOT the Light, I'm NOT Elijah, I'm NOT the prophet." So when he was asked to state who he really was, he said, "I guess I'm a voice in the wilderness." I want to suggest to you that we are all "voices in the wilderness." Do you know who the first "biblical voice in the wilderness" was? It was Hagar with her son Ishmael, just after they had been thrown out of Sarah's house, in a fit of jealousy. Abraham had dismissed them with a skin of water, and nothing else. And there they were, in the wilderness, preparing to die. Hagar took her child and put him under a bush to protect him from the heat of the sun, and sat and watched as he wailed. And she, herself, cried out from her place in the wilderness. And, guess what? God appeared, and showed her a well, and led her out of the wilderness to safety. We are told by early commentators, both Jewish and Christian, that when we "cry out from our place in the wilderness" that God appears for us, too, and brings help and leads us to safety. But, we have to cry out from our poverty...not from our "being full of ourselves." Sarah cried out for help....she did NOT cry out curses on Sarah or Abraham. She cried out for help for her son. She recognized her poverty, and prayed for help.
Advent is about recognizing our lack, and asking for God's Grace to fill us with His Strength, His Love–other words for Grace. To know our own lack, and call out, is to open ourselves to God's Greatness so He can come to us and fill us...Immanuel...God with us. And when we are filled with God, we have an "innate radar" that hears others crying out from their place in the wilderness...and as we go to them, we bear God to those people. It is in this sense that our lives can be blessings for the earth. So let us pray to be small enough to kneel at the manger to be filled with the Greatness of the One Who will transform us into benedictions of goodness and peace for our world. And may God bless you all. +
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