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Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up. Matt. 23:11-12
[Jesus invites us] to follow him on his humbling way: “The one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). “Anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:35) “The one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:4). “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). “How happy are the poor in spirit . . . those who mourn . . . those who hunger . . . who are persecuted” (Matt. 5:3-10). “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).
This is the way of Jesus and the way to which he calls his disciples. It is the way that at first frightens or at least embarrasses us. Who wants to be humble? Who wants to be the last? Who wants to be like a little, powerless child? Who desires to lose his or her life, to be poor, mourning, and hungry? All this appears to be against our natural inclinations. But once we see that Jesus reveals to us, in his radically downward pull, the compassionate nature of God, we begin to understand that to follow him is to participate in the ongoing self-revelation of God.
[Jesus] presents to us the great mystery of the descending way. It is the way of suffering, but also the way to healing. It is the way of humiliation, but also the way to the resurrection. It is the way of tears, but of tears that turn into tears of joy. It is the way of hiddenness, but also the way that leads to the light that will shine for all people. It is the way of persecution, oppression, martyrdom, and death, but also the way to the full disclosure of God’s love. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: “As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up.” You see in these words how the descending way of Jesus becomes the ascending way. The “lifting up” that Jesus speaks of refers both to his being raised up on the cross in total humiliation and to his being raised up from the dead in total glorification. . . .
You are probably wondering how, in imitation of Jesus, you are to find that descending way. That’s a very personal and intimate question, and in the end I don’t think that anyone can answer it but you. It’s not simply a matter of renouncing your money, your possessions, your intellectual formation, or your friends or family. For some people, it has indeed meant this but only because they felt personally called to take that road. Each one of us has to seek out our own descending way of love. That calls for much prayer, much patience, and much guidance. It has nothing at all to do with spiritual heroics, dramatically throwing everything overboard to “follow” Jesus. The descending way is a way that is concealed in each person’s heart. But because it is so seldom walked on, it’s often overgrown with weeds. Slowly but surely we have to clear the weeds, open the way, and set out on it unafraid.
For me, this weeding out process is always related to prayer, because to pray is to make free time for God, even when we’re very busy with important matters of one kind or another. Every time we make free time for God, we clear up a bit of the descending path, and we see where we can plant our feet on the way of love.
Our Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, make ours
the same attitude that was yours.
You who emptied yourself,
taking the form of a slave,
you humbled yourself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
— After Phil. 2:5, 7-8
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