Humility

 

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

I am back at work with gusto and enthusiasm.  Last weekend I taught a class on contemplative living, guided a labyrinth walk, and facilitated the last meeting of our on-line, on-site course in lay discernment.  Throughout the weekend I kept returning to the beautiful lesson of these words from Paul

-live with all humility and gentleness, and with patience.

For the next three weeks I want to explore these spiritual virtues, beginning with humility.

Humility is the grace to know the truth about myself.  It is not the kind of knowing that passes itself off as harsh assessment.  It is also not the overblown admiration for myself, which is sometimes mistaken for self-esteem.  The virtue of humility keeps me in touch with the reality of myself in Christ.  I am then free to move with grace through my life and within the context of my relationships.

The root of the word humility comes from humus or earth.  This refers to the origin of being.  The dust, which God molded in Eden and then enlivened through His Spirit, is the cornerstone of our experience of humility.

Humility invites us back to our essential reality. 

For me, it is so often in humble moments that I experience a glimpse of the grandeur of God’s beauty.

As I sat at the labyrinth last Friday night I was filled with the settled peace of simply being and waiting on what and who God was bringing to me for that moment.  I was not anxious and I was also not asleep.  A moment of humility, whose song was the breeze in the trees, the light going down, the smell of fall, the crunch of feet against dried leaves.  Humility is letting God be God and me be me.  It is a posture of acceptance and surrender.

Blessings,

Debra