The Bible often speaks of humility that is exemplified in a specific person. The Gospel according to Saint Luke recalls us of the time when Mary, the Mother of God arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah. She entered Zechariah’s house and greeted her cousin Elizabeth who exclaimed, “"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the humility of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:39-49)

Mary was a young woman full of humility and grace. According to tradition, she lived in the Temple from the age of three and was reared in the things of God. The Lord looked upon her humility with great favor and chose her among all women to be the dwelling of the Most High.

The incarnation of the Word in her womb is an essential teaching of the Christian faith. We believe that the timeless God entered into time and history and became one of us, so that He may restore us to our original dignity that was lost in the beginning through the disobedience of Adam. The same Spirit of God that moved over the waters in Genesis 1:2, now intervenes in Mary’s life desiring to transform her into the living tabernacle of God. All of this could not take place without the cooperation of Mary and her openness to the Holy Spirit.

Like Mary, by surrendering to God’s will, we are admitting that only His transforming power can renew us. We are precious and honored by God, why would He humble Himself and become man? Why would God want to experience our lowly human condition? It brought about the total reconciliation of opposites: life and death, holiness and sin. Without the incarnation of the Word, the re-creation of the world would not have been realized and we would be dead in that sin. As vessels of humility, just as in the case of Mary, God is waiting to use us in His service.

Yet we continue choosing to exalt ourselves at the expense of others. Christ offers us the virtue of humility to keep us grounded. When we admit that we are all but mere dust and ashes (Sirach 10:9), we learn to accept our common humanity. As long as we recognize that we are nothing, the God Who created the world out of nothing, can make something out of us.

Each of us must learn why Jesus said that to save your life, you must lose it. (Matthew 10:39) Without patience and humility, even virtues such as heroism, self-denial and martyrdom are worthless. Through learning humble-mindedness, you will see how you can find happiness in self-surrender. Like Jesus, it makes us total vulnerable to hurt and shame. It is the ability to face our insecurities and fears that transforms them into valuable opportunities for spiritual growth.

The great late C.S. Lewis tells about the absence of humility in our lives. “There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians ever imagine that they are guilty themselves... .The essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil; Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind... As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

The practice of pride impedes our spiritual progress. It stifles our stature. It places us outside God’s will. In fact, it robbed Adam of His place in Paradise. But because of the humility the New Adam, Jesus the Messiah, we were restored to our original dignity which provides us with the courage to live by grace.

In the English language, there is another definition of “pride” meaning a tribe or pack of lions. When you think about it, Satan and his hosts are ravenous beasts looking to ruin and devour innocent souls. They want to defend their territory. They are hungry and will not settle until they killed fresh prey.

Do you realize that at every baptism that is performed, that a real war has been declared on Satan? The candidate for baptism at this point is called “a newly-chosen warrior of Christ our God.” At the entrance of the church, in view of the public assembly of believers, he or she is asked three times: "Do you renounce Satan and all his works, and all his angels, and all his service, and all his pride?" And three times: "Have you renounced Satan?" To add to the seriousness of the renunciation the candidate is asked to “breathe and spit on him.” This act shows total contempt for the devil and his legions. A declaration of war has been issued.

Desiring to be placed in the service of God, and having pledged the renunciation of a past life of sin, the candidate (or his or her witness) then responds to the priest's thrice-repeated question: "Do you unite yourself to Christ?" And again three times: "Have you united yourself to Christ?" In all, the candidate must give an affirmative reply twelve times, emphasizing their willingness and unwavering desire to be joined to Christ.

Many times godparents are chosen who give lip service to these vows and do not understand the gravity of the spiritual combat ahead. If we have "renounced Satan, and all his works and all his pride," we must struggle not to give in to the spirit of this world, but to concentrate on "the one thing needful"--uniting ourselves to Christ. We should daily renew the vows we gave to Christ when we were received into His holy Church and truly “born again.”

To be “born again” may seem foolish in the eyes of the world, but Jesus doesn’t think so. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicode'mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5).

In the Eastern Christian understanding, “water and the Spirit” correspond to our individual Baptism and Chrismation. Through the descending into the font, the candidate has been united to Christ in a death like His. (Romans 6:3) To strengthen the newly-illumined servant of God, the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit (Chrismation/Confirmation) follows. Then the Church immediately gives the person the life-giving Food of Christ’s Body and Blood for the journey ahead. The Godparents, priest and other spiritual guides will act as mentors to assist this precious soul in the things pertaining to a healthy relationship with God for many years to come.

The enemy is now desperately looking for any crack in these defenses. Because the devil knows our points of weakness, he knows the strength and protection we get from the Holy Sacraments. He tries to discourage us from receiving these Fountains of Grace and will offer us all kinds of excuses as “unworthiness.”

In the Byzantine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, the prayer said by the priest during the singing of the Cherubic Hymn states, “No one bound by carnal desires and pleasures is worthy to come to You, to approach You, or to minister to You, the King of Glory, for to minister to You is great and awesome even to the heavenly powers themselves.” We should never refrain from the Sacraments because of a sense of unworthiness. No one is worthy. It is because of our pride that we stay away from the Sacraments; partaking of them is an act of humility. We approach the Sacraments to become worthy of eternal life.

Jesus is humility personified. Saint Paul said, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).

Humility is not about “I am right and you are wrong” or “I have God and you don’t.” It is a daily lesson in discipleship. It is a constant struggle. It means to imitate Christ’s extraordinary humility to the best of your ability at in every circumstance that you face. If you should fail, never fear or despair but understand this: God became one of us to walk beside you on life’s road, to cheer you on! He not only believes in you, but loves you so much.

© - 2006
Raymond J. Mastroberte
1/27/06