Transcript of Abbot Clement=s Talk on Monday, August 30, 2004
In Michael Casey
=s book on reflecting on Chapter 7 of the Rule on humility, he tells us we have to be cautious, or at least alert, to the possibility of misinterpreting humility. Humility as let=s say passive, as not really getting engaged in things or withdrawing. Or a low self-esteem where a person doesn=t see that they have gifts from God to give to others, etc. The real truth is that humility is the foundation for a great souled person. A person who is really free interiorly and exteriorly, a person who fulfills his mission, and a person who is truly wise.If we reflect on John
=s gospel to help us we can get some sense of the great souled person that humility should be the occasion for blossoming. In John=s gospel there are two basic views of the world. Jesus says he doesn=t pray for the world in chapter 17, he says that the disciples don=t belong to the world, that he protects them from the world. Obviously, John is using the world as the place of evil and sin. So the Lord=s mercy and grace protect us from this.The positive side is rather strong. God so loved the world he sent his Son to redeem us. The whole attitude, John revealing our stance to the world is one of strong, positive expectation and so the liberation theology people that insist that we must be engaged in the world for its sanctification are basically right. Our presence to the world then has to be manifested in this great souled stance.
There are two basic traits that flow from this. In Jesus
= life we see when he was talking and countering the Samaritan at the well. When the disciples come and see that he=s talking to her they=re upset, or at least questioning, and he says that his food is to do the will of his Father. Then again when the Pharisees see Jesus work a miracle on the Sabbath Jesus says: AThe Father works till now and I work.@With these two examples and others it
=s clear that Jesus stands in the present moment, the here and now moment, and responds to it with the kingdom. He can find the will of God in it, and he gives himself to it totally. So his attitude toward the present is really one of service and it becomes even clearer how deep this is if we look at another section of John=s gospel where Jesus is pierced by the lance on the cross and blood and water flow, it=s the culmination, the climax, of all the seven signs of John=s gospel. All seven miracles. It=s the indication that Jesus= whole life is one of self giving. That he pours himself out all the time, everywhere, in his life. These two characteristics are really what mark the great souled person who is living in humility. We have the capacity to be real, to be really present where we are. And we have the capacity to serve and to give ourselves away.We need to reflect on these questions then, who have you met in your life who lived this way? What did you notice was the outcome of that kind of life on the people that were served? What kind of impression did it make on you? Was there ever a time in your life when you consciously avoided responsibility that was clearly yours? What did it reveal? Did it reveal that you have a long standing of non-commitment? Or was it an occasion for you to discover some area that you need to be committed to? What about in your own life. When were the significant moments of true self-giving that you performed? How did you appreciate those moments? Did you continue to appreciate them so that you have some sense of who you are from those experiences? Did you experience the joy and the richness that Jesus says comes to those who remain in his love? Finally, we need to reflect the fact that here we are at the end of August, 2004, and this is our part of the world. What exactly do we bring to it? What kind of welfare do we enrich in the present community? What interests, needs and challenges of the community are really being handled and responded to by us?