humble

Opening Prayer: O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131:1-3)

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12

Journal: How would you define humility?  What is its fruit?  How do you grow it?  Where is it growing in you?

Reflection: Humility opens our inner ears.  It enables us to acknowledge the spirit of who we are and who God is.  Only the humble can understand the deep resonance of God’s voice in the whole of creation.  Humility withstands any arrogant tendency to reduce the world to our purposes. (Pathways to Spiritual Living by Susan Annette Muto)

Humility is not weakness but strength, for it receives the strength of God. It is not folly but wisdom, for it is open to the ever available wisdom of God.  It is not nothingness but fullness, for into the vacuum created by the demolition of human pride and self-sufficiency, pours the fullness of God. (Discipline and Discovery by Albert E. Day)

Prayer

Closing Prayer: God, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain. I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans.

     I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.

     Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! (Psalm 131:1-3, The Message)