Humble Before God

The word “humble” comes from the Indo-European word which means “earth.” This makes sense if you think about it. The same root gives us humus the name for the black soil that is full of organic material. It also gives us the word human and, interestingly, groom as in bridegroom. None of this is surprising since many peoples have stories or an understanding that humankind came from the earth and returns to it. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust as we say in the service for the burial of the dead. To be humble then is to be connected to the earth. That is good advice. For the opposite would be to assert that you are of some lofty group, better than others. It is easy to do this when you look around and see people who are struggling whose lives are in shambles who are hungry, homeless, and imprisoned and think how much better you are than they. Peter warns us to be careful that we do not fall into this trap. It should be a great warning to us that he is telling this to the early Christians who were not the wealthiest, most prestigious people in the world. In fact most of the Christians were poor, many were slaves, yet they needed to be reminded to be humble. You would think, considering where they came from, they did not need to be reminded of this. Peter saw that they did need a reminder. Had they forgotten where they had come from? Were they putting on airs claiming to be better than others because they were Christians? We do not know the specific reason Peter was reminding them to be humble but we can surmise because we are not much different than they were.

Be careful he tells us, for the devil like a roaring lion prowls about waiting for someone to devour. Now we catch a glimpse of the people to whom Peter is writing. They were like us.  They often were enticed by glitzy promises of an easy life. They complained about the suffering they experienced. Blaming God for it. Remember Peter’s theme throughout the book is about being witnesses to Jesus’ salvation. We are called to be witnesses in every situation – in Joy and sadness, in health and sickness, even when we suffer. The lion wanders about trying to make it so that others do not see or hear Jesus proclaimed by his followers. We cannot do this on our own but with Jesus we can live our lives as witnesses to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. You know this. You also know people who have been devoured by the lion. In fact you have met the lion yourself. The difference between being devoured or not is that Jesus wrenches you from the lion’s mouth and sets you back upon your feet so that you can continue in the life God intends for you. So don’t be haughty about your escape from the lion. Instead rejoice and humble yourself before God. 

It is not for us to see the whole picture or to know God’s whole plan. All we are called to do is to recognize that we are Jesus’ people and that he has given us the Holy Spirit to watch over us and to guide us. We are called to place our trust in God and, recognizing that God has given us all that we have, share our gifts with the world. Do not be haughty or put on airs. Instead put on Christ and him having been crucified so that all the world will see and hear Jesus as you share his gift of salvation with them.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!