"He has looked upon his lowly servant."
"My only ideal in life is to be the servant to whom the Lord gives the place He wants in His own heart and who desires only that I be faithful" (Teilhard de Chardin, my translation)
As the Advent season gets closer to its end, I am given the image of two mothers who able to see past beyond the life-changing events of their lives and are able to praise the Lord with a song. Certainly the situations are quite different: Hannah and Mary are on the opposite spectrum of life but it is what they have in common that seems to strike my attention today: they are both "lowly."
What does it mean? Who is the lowly? The dictionary based definition refers to the lowly as the "one who is humble, low in a position of honor before another who is greater." In Scripture the lowly is the one who before God is able to claim dependence and total reliance for everything. God always seems to prefer this claim so that He can do "great things."
Preparing for Christmas, therefore, requires a sense of lowliness, a sense of openness to one who is able to accomplish what we can't. How paradoxical that the image of the Greater One who comes to save is that of a vulnerable Child. Maybe this is also given to us a way of breaking away from our belief that only the strong can face battle. Mary's Magnificat seem to agree: those ones, those who rely upoin their strength, their possessions, their talents and gifts are diplaced and replaced by those who can't do a thing but they rely on God to finish up what they started.
What happens when we embrace lowliness ? We are able to see the "great riches" that God wants us to have and enjoy. Certainly not the kind of riches that allows us be stronger and more separated from Him, but that sense of fulfillment and meaning that our lives need in order to thrive, in order to be ourselves.
When we realize that lowliness leads to "new and great riches" we understand why people choose to rely on God and are willing to do His will: it brings out the best of ourselves, the best IN ourselves. Doing the will of God is truly the smartest and healthiest thing we do for ourselves.
Then, like Mary and Hannah, I want to sing a song today, a song thankfulness because He's allowing me to grow in the image of His Son which will lead me to be truly who I am.
I say Yes again; I say Yes and I commit myself to rely on His today... in all that I do, no matter how big or insignificant this might be. I know that He will do great things and in them and through them I will be greatly enriched.
1 comment:
Father Esposito, I have greatly enjoyed this series. You have made this protestant's Advent much more meaningful. May God continue to bless you and your ministry.
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