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Jan. 6, 2022 |
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Humility is another good way to arrive at interior peace. He
has said so: ‘Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart: and you
will find rest for your souls.’ (The Way, 607) |
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Where is he
that is born king of the Jews? Moved by this question, I too now
contemplate Jesus “lying in a manger," in a place
fit only for animals. Lord, where is your kingship, your crown, your sword,
your sceptre? They are his by right, but he does not want them. He reigns
wrapped in swaddling clothes. Our king is unadorned. He comes to us as a
defenseless little child. Can we help but recall the words of the Apostle: He emptied
himself, taking the nature of a slave? Our Lord became man to teach us
the Father's will. And this he is already doing as he lies there in the
manger. Jesus Christ is seeking us — with a call which is a vocation to
sanctity — so that we may carry out the redemption with him. Let us reflect
on this first lesson of his. We are to co‑redeem, by striving to triumph not
over our neighbour, but over ourselves. Like Christ we need to empty
ourselves, to consider ourselves as the servants of others, and so to bring
them to God. Where is the king? Could it be
that Jesus wants to reign above all in men's hearts, in your heart? That is
why he has become a child, for who can help loving a little baby? Where then
is the king? Where is the Christ whom the Holy Spirit wants to fashion in our
souls? He cannot be present in the pride that separates us from God, nor in
the lack of charity which cuts us off from others. Christ cannot be there. In
that loveless state man is left alone. As you kneel at the feet of the
child Jesus on the day of his Epiphany and see him a king bearing none of the
outward signs of royalty, you can tell him: “Lord, take away my pride; crush
my self‑love, my desire to affirm myself and impose myself on others. Make
the foundation of my personality my identification with you." (Christ is
passing by, 31) |
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