On the wall in front of my desk hangs a single picture. The black and white photo reveals a pair of worn leather sandals and a small water basin. Below reads the familiar passage from 1 Peter, “All of you, clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor on the humble.’”[1] Over the years I have had a great deal of time to reflect on those characteristics I most appreciate about Jesus of Nazareth. Humility always rises to the top of the list.
The Apostle Paul duly noted, “In your relationships with
one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who,
being in the very nature of God,
did
not consider equality with God something to be grasped;
rather,
he made himself nothing
by
taking the very nature of a servant.[2]
This passage is amongst the most powerful biblical accounts
of what theologians refer to as descending
Christology, the supreme example of downward mobility attributed to the Incarnate Word, the God who chose to take on flesh. In the person of Jesus,
God is revealed as the Suffering Servant, the Meek and Lowly, the Man of
Sorrows, Immanuel. In Christ, we
have the consummate confirmation that God is with us.
Thus I find it comforting to sense these same qualities in
the person of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine Jesuit who earlier today was
elected the 266th pope of the Catholic Church. By now, examples of Bergoglio’s
humility are widespread. Shunning
the pomp and vestiges that have accompanied ecclesiastics since the Middle
Ages, Bergoglio rides the bus, cooks his own meals and lives in a humble
apartment. When he became a
cardinal in 2001 he told his Argentine supporters to take the money they
planned to spend on airfare to Rome and give it to the poor.
The acts of simplicity and servitude that marked the life of
Jesus, the lowly Nazarene, certainly befit the man Catholics now honor as the
Servant of the Servants of God.
Like Pope Francis I, I pray that we all might clothe ourselves in
humility toward one another, taking the very nature of a servant. “Blessed are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth.”[3]
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI would love to have this picture - (large size) of basin and towel on my wall. Any ideas where i can buy it?
sharon