SIMPLICITY & HUMILITY- HERE TODAY AND GONE TOMORROW!
During this special Lenten Season, the election of a new Pope named Pope Francis 1 augurs well for the Catholic Church as well as for the 1.3 billions followers on this perilous voyage through rocky waters and stormy weather. The choice of Francis is no coincidence and the divine message is loud and clear. Many Christians have generally lost their ways in our broken world and this sad state of affairs may be attributed to some of their leaders’ wrong modeling, wrong teachings and wrong lifestyles. Somehow the virtues of simplicity and humility have become bad words that are too vulgar to pronounce on our modern lips –not to mention about practicing them in our quest of Christian spirituality. The election of this new pope with his personal focus on simplicity and humility certainly hits the nail on the coffin and Jesus certainly wants his followers to focus on the practice of simplicity and humility in their quest of wholesome spirituality. I believe this is the wholesome answer to the systemic problems of our modern world- sheer greediness, arrogance and self-righteousness. What wounded humanity truly needs is a strong dose of humility and simplicity in their life to cure him/ her of the modern disorders.
As a student of history who has studied the historical sources of the history of Israel, I am convinced that Jesus was a real historical figure who has much more authenticity and validity than many other historical figures such as Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar, Plato or Aristotle etc.
In the history of mankind, many great men appeared in the past to enlighten us on the way to become better human beings. They have made great contributions to the betterment of mankind. One such wonderful man is Gautama Buddha who has impressed me deeply with his wonderful concepts of `awareness’ and `compassion for others’. Another great person is Lao-Tze, the founder of the Taoist philosophy. has given mankind three great gifts- simplicity, patience and compassion for yourself. Other great spiritual mentors include St. Augustine with his insight on the importance of humility; St. Francis of Assissi with his practical simplicity and love for all living things; Mother Teresa who put her great love for the dying poor into practice while practicing humility and simplicity in her daily life.
As a human being, Jesus has the claim of being the greatest person who has ever lived because he possessed such great love for mankind that he was willing to be used as a sacrificial lamb. Yet in spite of his greatness, the paradoxical truth shows that Jesus possessed lots of humility e.g by washing the feet of his close disciples in the last days before his crucifixion. In his brief period of slightly more than a thousand days of active ministry of teaching his gospel, he lived a life of sheer simplicity and humility.
Through his words and deeds, Jesus has shown us that it is more important to be aware of the great unconditional love of God for wounded humanity. Yes, it is important to love God. But it is more important to be aware that God loves us deeply and unconditionally- just as we are -with our sinful or shameful pasts blended with our ideals and our beautiful dreams.
He is the most gentle person I have ever read in history or I have ever known in my life. In my limited ways, I have the privilege of studying comparative religions on Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc during my undergraduate days in the university for my B.A. degree (History). Yes, Jesus tells us in the New Testament that he has come specially, if not primarily, for the sinners. Yes, he proclaims loudly and publicly that the reason for his coming is to heal the sick and the wounded (physically and spiritually). Jesus chose his meaning of life and his mission to cover the salvation of humanity in general and the healing of the sick and the wounded in particular.
Jesus likes to mingle and interact with the sick, the poor and the social rejects such as the prostitutes, the publicans etc. When he was attacked for such perceived inappropriate social behavior, Jesus replied pointedly that this was the reason why he came- to heal the sick and the wounded because those who were well and healthy would not need the healing services of a physician. By his conduct and his compassionate attitudes, Jesus made himself extremely accessible to the public sinners and the dregs of society who were the targets of social marginalization and discrimination. The human beings found in Jesus’ world were mostly ordinary people -people who were needy and sick with wounded self-esteems. Jesus did not like mixing and rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty of the Jewish society. In fact, it is narrated in the New Testament that those occasions when he interacted with the high and mighty often led to confrontations, conflicts and eventually his crucifixion.
If we look at Jesus with an open creative mind, we can see that if there were no sinners in our world, there would be no need of a messiah or savior. If there were no sinners, there would be no Christmas. If there were no sick people, there would be no need of doctors. This is how Jesus sees his mission as the meaning of his life- to save the frightened sheep that has gone astray; the despairing soul pondering on ending his/her life; to give love to the social rejects and the hopeless etc. His life is therefore closely intertwined with the destinies of sinners and wounded people. Jesus comes with the message of the good news during this Lenten season- that there is always hope and love at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark your tunnel may be.
I hope we, the wounded human beings, can look upon this Lenten season with a fresh insight- that Jesus really came into the world to be the compassionate companion of needy people with wounded self-esteems. He really wants to initiate a personal encounter with wounded human beings especially those who are homeless, helpless, hopeless, depressed, suicidal and people are in despair seeing no light at the end of the tunnel. If we can look upon Jesus in terms of a `great friend’ whom you have never really met, you can be sure that if you are ready, Jesus is ready to come into your life to give you some real peace and joy to give your life some meaning and lots of hope and love. This zen quotation will enlighten us more- `if the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear’. So if we keep an open mind and respond with awareness that God loves us deeply and unconditionally, the divine grace will flow into our hearts and souls to give us abundant blessings of real peace and joy. This is the real gift of Jesus’ coming. All you have to do is to accept the gift of God’s love unconditionally and humbly.
This is a time of simplicity; a time of patient waiting and a time of compassion for oneself as well as for others. Today, the spirit of Jesus is alive in our broken world. In this Lenten season, the spirit of Jesus is here to bring hope to the hopeless, love for the loveless, peace and serenity to the broken in spirit, wholesome self-esteem to those shattered by shame and sin, and spiritual salvation to the depressed and despairing souls. Jesus wants to share his love with you … if you will give God the chance to change your life for the better; if you will give Jesus the chance to comfort you as your best friend; if you will give yourself a chance to grow into a wholesome loving human being who can live harmoniously with your neighbors and with yourself. May this Easter bring you a fresh insight into the meaning of your life and to live an authentic life filled with God’s unconditional love and grace, simplicity and humility just as Pope Francis 1 has lived his life in Argentina.
Submitted by David YKK
COPING WITH WOUNDED SELF-ESTEEM, FEARS OF SOCIAL REJECTION & ANXIETY WITH CREATIVE & QUANTUM PERCEPTION 