DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Mark 9:33-41
(1/25) For
Fri of the 35th Week after Pentecost (APE Fri of the 30th
Week)
The
Heights of Humility: St. Mark 9:33-41, especially vss.
35, 36: “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to
them, ‘If any
one desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of
all.’ Then He took a little
child and set him in the midst of them.” Earlier in his Gospel, St.
Mark records the Lord Jesus’ stringent requirements for being united to
Him - taking up your cross and following Him (8:34-38). In the present passage, the Lord reveals
other dimensions of taking up the cross through self-denial and service to
others. St. Theophylact
of Ochrid shows how the Lord connects the question of
being honored by Christ and simultaneously humbling
yourself: “The Lord does not forbid us to desire to become His favorites,
for He wants us to desire advancement in the spiritual life. But He does not want us to grasp for
honors and privileges, but rather to reach the heights by humility.” In this vein, God forbid we belittle
anyone of low estate, education, position, or language! Especially, let us defer to those who
simply serve the Lord with little deeds of kindness and love.
Observe
how the Savior develops His teaching concerning humility. First, He states the attitude required:
“to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mk.
9:35). Then, He dramatizes this by
setting a child among us (vs. 36).
Tradition identifies this child as St. Ignatius of
Without
question, our Lord chose to be “last of all and servant of all”
(vs. 35) as His life in the flesh manifests. In His birth He “made Himself of
no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (Phil. 2:7), entering
human society as a member of the lowest class, taking His first breath in a
cave used to shelter livestock, fleeing as a refugee, growing up unknown in a
carpenter’s shop, accepting “a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins” (Mk. 1:4,9) - thus making Himself “Who knew no
sin to be sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). His associates were the outcasts of
society: “many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus
and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him” (Mk.
2:15). In the end, He was executed
with common criminals, “one on His right and the other on His left”
(Mk. 15:27).
Observe
how Gregory the Great reveals Christ’s use of the humility of the Cross to benefit us in
attaining humility: “since it is competent for Divine Power not only to
make good things out of nothing, but also to refashion them from the evils that
the devil had committed, the humility of God appeared among men as a remedy
against this wound inflicted by the proud devil, so that those who had fallen
through imitation of their haughty enemy might rise by the example of their
humbled Creator.” Bear your
every cross as did the Lord - whether you afflict your body by abstinence, meet
your neighbor's need with compassion, or suffer wrongs on behalf of others.
As for
being last of all, St. Gregory warns those who hold position of honor and
distinction in the Body of Christ: “there are many in the Church who
scorn to be little ones and they do not cease to be great in their own sight in
place of humility....they claim their heavenly country - and yet they do not love
it.” It is as Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov declares: “God...set no limits for
any of us on the spiritual plane....We are called to eternal life in the
Kingdom of our Father Which is in heaven;” yet, as the Lord states,
“entry into the Kingdom inevitably entails suffering. Many decline the Father’s gift of
love precisely because the utmost effort is required....” Do not fear the life in Christ, which
you have accepted. Be a little
child of your Father, and, at the same time, establish yourself with the prodigal
son: “I...am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Lk. 15:21).
Thus, if God wills, let Him raise you however
He will to the heights by humility.
O Christ
God, Thou hast dwelt in a cave, and a manger did receive Thee: Glory to Thy condescension, O Thou only
Lover of mankind Who hast revealed to us the heights
of humility.
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