CHRISTMAS CAN BE A WEEK AWAY... HUMILITY CANNOT BE









Pic.: Divesh Shah


“Humility is not thinking less of yourself…It's thinking of yourself less.”
C. S. Lewis

Christmas is barely a week away. All the pomp and glamour associated with this festival aside, one lesson Jesus has left for us… He taught us right as He was born… He is ‘King of all Kings’, I, as a Christian believe… He is the Son of God… the Messiah… The Salvador… God Himself. Now, all these are my beliefs as His follower, a Christian…

But, then, what is there for me to learn from Jesus’ birth in the manger… amidst the cows?

The day before His death, Jesus had held His last supper. But, just before the supper, He had surprised His twelve disciples by washing their feet…

What lesson was that?

Sometimes, when I think of these two episodes in the life of Jesus, I seriously think, I do not have to learn any more lessons in life… The lesson taught, through these two episodes, is enough to make me – and anyone else, for that matter – a true Christian…

Humility is the essence of being spiritual. Lord Ram’s life is a monumental example of this. Just think of His magnanimity… to choose a life of fourteen years in the forests just because He thought it was His ‘Dharma’. Imagine, Ram without this one episode in His life!

Jesus, to me, is my Lord for such things…

Humility is not the weapon of the weak… It is the weapon of the Mighty!

During the entire Christmas and Lent seasons, I do go through this churning: “Am I busy doing only the rituals… or, am I supposed to ‘live’ the legacy Jesus had left behind? Many a time, when I realize, that I am only busy ‘showing off’ as a Christian, I go through a very important spiritual experience inside my heart…  

"It is pride that changed angels into devils," said St. Augustine, "it is humility that makes men as angels."

Christmas can be a week away… Humility cannot be!


GERALD D’CUNHA


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