Humility Nuggets - 3

In Humility Nuggets -1 post, we argued that the human role of attaining the virtue of humility is to become an Icon of Christ. One crucial step towards being humble enough that we may no longer live, but Christ may live  in us, is a process of reordering of our priorities.

Simply, but very hard to do, is to place everyone else, and their wishes or plans, on a higher rank priority than that of mine. This is exactly what the Bible commands us: "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (Philippians 2:3 NKJV). In fact, the Arabic translation of this verse suggests that each one should esteem the other better than how the other esteems himself! It goes that far.

In order to practically esteem others better than ourselves we simply need to continuously, and with joy, to think of the other, and their needs and/or plans, before we consider ourselves and our own needs or plans. Every single time I start planning something to do, I should pause, take a step back, and consider "the other" needs and check if what I am about to do would help the other's plan or not. "The other" here is mainly everyone I serve. By serve, I mean spiritual service; let it be organized ministry in a church, a hidden private service, an open breaching service, or an everyday service. And we are called to spiritually serve each person we meet, every day, all the time, by being salt and light.

That was my role, the labor. The Lord grace will then do take care of enabling me to do so esteem others better than myself, until it feels effortless and by default. Also, it is God's grace that I do so in joy!

Humility Nuggets - 2

"Permit it to be so now" (Matthew 3:15)

Blessed Theophany feast! The verse above shows the meekness of our Lord Jesus Christ as he respects the will of St. John the Baptist. Respecting other's will and freedom is at the core of meekness, which is the apparent fruit of the inner humility of the heart. It is so true that we are called to respect other's will even if their will and freedom is against our own will as when our Lord Jesus accepted jews' rejection. For yet He was crucified to save those who did not accept His will [Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34]. Even if the other's will is at conflict with our own goals, we still need to respect it. "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also." (Matthew 5:40) Further, we need to respect other's will even if it is in conflict with their well-being from our perspective, as when our Lord Jesus respected the will of people of Gergesenes who asked Him to depart after He healed the demon-possessed man [Matthew 8:28-33]

In order to be able to accept and respect other's will, we need to first learn to accept and respect our own will! In other words, we realize our, and others, limits and respect it. Like when Jesus healed the people of Capernaum and then He left them while they were seeking Him. Our benevolent Lord did not ignored their will, for He did respond to them, but He have had set a limit beforehand, and when the limit was reached, it was time to serve His own spirituality to be able to continue serving, and it was also time to move on to preach other cities:  "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, 'Everyone is looking for You.' But He said to them, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.' " (Mark 1:35-38) Fr. Anthony Messeh comments on this very verse in his talk about dealing with overly needy people (here) that it is like when w e ride an airplane and we are instructed that in case of emergency we should put oxygen masks on us first, only then we are able to help others who need help.

It should make perfect sense that if our own privacy is continuously prevailed, we have no concept of respecting others privacy. Similarly, if our own freedom and will are not respect, we end up having no concept of respecting others freedom and will. And if we don't respect others freedom and will, then we are not yet quite humble nor meek.

"Not driving chariots, like the rest of the kings, not demanding tributes, not thrusting men off, and leading about guards, but displaying His great meekness even hereby."  (St. John Chrysostom)

Humility Nuggets - 1

Checkout the icon below. How do we call it?

You probably got it right, it is the Theotokos (i.e., Mother of God) icon.

About a week ago, my wife and I just moved to our home in CA. As we unpack, she started placing magnet icons on the refrigerator on the shape of the cross. The main magnet was of the Theotokos, while the other magnets were for martyrs and saints. I then said: we should have one more for daddy Jesus Himself, He is more important. Then I was immediately, thanks to God, struck with the following 2 facts:

1. The Theotokos Icon is actually of Baby Jesus! St. Mary got her title of Theotokos only because God, Jesus, is in the picture! How come I oversaw Him? How many times and many faithful and righteous people do stare at the Theotokos Icon and only speak to St. Mary, as if God is not in the picture?! How many times we seek saints intersession and seek miracles, overseeing God, Jesus, who is in fact the main actor in the icon, and the saint's story behind the icon, as well as in any miracle any saint would do! I have always thought that humility is to be out of the picture. I realized yet another deeper dimension of humility. Humility is to not only be in the picture, but even the main character of the picture, yet be unseen or overseen.  This is God's humility!

2. St. Mary, Pope Cyril 6th, St. George, St. Mina, St. Philopater,  Mother Irini, etc., ... all whom we call saints, they were all humble enough to live no longer they live, but Christ in them. If we look closely to read each and every Icon, we will in fact see Christ Himself. This is our, mankind, ever long aimed humility.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) NKJV

Duties.. no rights!

Matthew 22:37-39

New King James Version (NKJV)

³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Although it is straight plain clear, it is still a striking discovery to most Christians that our Lord Jesus Christ left us some duties, but no rights. For His will was to love one another as he has loved us and that is how people recognize us being His disciples [John 13:34,35]. For practical everyday life, this will maps down to duties but no rights!

My duty is to love, unconditionally. I am called to love everyone and this love should be incarnated into my treatment with everyone! That is I am ought to love and hence:  serve my critical spouse, obey my obnoxious boss, smile at my phlegmatic neighbor, deal normally with homosexual people, deal fairly with Muslim brotherhood people (given that I am Coptic from Egypt), provide a hand to the elder lady trying to cross the street, let the way for the teenager driver trying to pass me, be patient at the cashier,  pray for the corrupt leaders, sustain immorality, and the list goes forever. All this should come out of love, and yet, the most difficult part that we typically oversight (at least I did for so many years) is that we have NO RIGHTS IN EXCHANGE!!

This is so true and clear in the marital relationship. It is also the most mis-concieved will of God, probably because the duties are different. As the church commands the wife and husband on the matrimony ceremony:

+ to the wife the church commands: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:22)

+ whereas the command to the husband is: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25)

God will here is clear: woman, submit to your husband unconditionally. This is your duty. Man, give up yourself for your wife, unconditionally. This is your duty. Both deeds should spring out of deep love: a wife loves her husband as the church loves Christ, and a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church. The question a husband asks himself then is: what are the husband rights? What should he expect in exchange after he gives himself for his wife? The answer is actually: NOTHING. Yet, poor he, mistakenly thinks that his right is his wife's submission. Which is not true. Because when Christ loved the church, He loved her with all her pitfalls, and He gave Himself up for her to save her, without expecting any love back. Until today, how many people (for whom Christ gave up Himself on the cross to save) are still far from Him? Not only many people are refusing to submit to Christ, but they also deny Him, yet they fight against Him and His kingdom! Christ still loves them though, and continues to send His daily blessings (such as life and breath!) until this very moment! And He will continue to do so. This is exactly how a husband is expected to love his wife.

St. John Chrysostom interprets [On Ephesians, Homilie 20] these wills as follows. To husbands: "Take then yourself the same provident care for her, as Christ takes for the Church. Yea, even if it shall be needful for you to give your life for her, yea, and to be cut into pieces ten thousand times, yea, and to endure and undergo any suffering whatever—refuse it not." 

Then to wives: "And Paul would never without a reason and without an object have spent so much pains on this subject, as when he says here, Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. And why so? Because when they are in harmony, the children are well brought up, and the domestics are in good order, and neighbors, and friends, and relations enjoy the fragrance. But if it be otherwise, all is turned upside down, and thrown into confusion. And just as when the generals of an army are at peace one with another, all things are in due subordination, whereas on the other hand, if they are at variance, everything is turned upside down; so, I say, is it also here. Wherefore, says he, Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."

He explains then in more details the motives behind such commandment to wives and then concludes:  "Let us take as our fundamental position then that the husband occupies the place of the head, and the wife the place of the body." The reader is referred to this enlightening and  edifying homily by St. Jon Chrysostom on Ephesians (here) for more with regard to the duties of a husband and a wife. But this is just one example of the duties one has, as a will of God, with no rights. Let us take another example briefly.

God gave us the duty to do charity: "for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’" (Matthew 25:35,36) This example is more clear to show how it is duties with no rights. Nothing is offered in exchange by whom we offer love in form of charity. No duties are on the naked person we clothe, the sick we visit, etc. Our duty is to love the person, out of our love to Christ Himself, or as if that person is Christ Himself, and then our charity deed will spring out of our love.

This is our duty: to love. And therefore, when one sits down to see how well s/he is doing, one should only look at her/his duties and how well they are accomplished. Is that exhausting? Yes and No. Yes if we think we have rights and try to ignore them. But No if we realize that we have no rights. Our rights are in fact with Christ only. Since He is the one who asked us to do these things. But if we think deeper, we will realize that we have no rights with Christ, in fact, we are in debt with His eternal Love! That is to say, He already provides, and will continue to provide, our rights!

وحشتيني

وحشتيني بعدد ما في السما نجوم

بُعدِك نساني معنى النوم

بناجي طيفيك طول اليوم

وانده عليكي بصوت مكتوم
 وامشي لوحدي غريب مهزو
واحتار في حبك فرح وهموم
 واشوف كلامك سما وغيوم
لا عارف اقعد ولا عارف اقوم

بس المهم ايه اللي يكون
حفضل قاعد ولو كان ده جنون
قلبي لغيرك عمره ما حيكون
صلاتي دايما الرب ليكي يصون
واضحّي نفسي فداكي بفنون
واسمع قلبك ورا اي كلام  بلون
وافضل للأبدية بيكي مفتون
منتي حبي وانتي انا وبيكي بكون

يا ربي يسوع

يا ربي يسوع احفظها ... باركها يا رب وفرحها 

إحفظ  بنتك عيني ... بارك بنتك حياتي 

احميها من الكل ومني  ...  أويها يا رب و ساعدها 

ثبت حبي لها دي منك ... اديها سلامك دي مراتي 

بارك يا يسوع صحتها ... ومتحرمنيش يوم ضحكتها  

فرح جيني دي قلبي ...اسعد اوقاتها وأوقاتي

بلا حدود

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أحبك فــــــــــــوق إحتمالي       فحبي لــــــكــــي بلا حدود