A TOTAL FAILURE … in humility? – Most recently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was reported calling President Bush “a total failure.” What a thing to say, for goodness’ sake. Here is the third or fourth highest official of the USA calling the highest official of the greatest nation that ever existed on the face of planet earth “a total failure.” Of course, instead of apologizing, Pelosi could always say later on that she was quoted out of context, i.e., it’s not her fault but the reporter’s and whoever else reads the report and misinterprets it. I realize politics is not for the faint-hearted. And, it’s not a case of lacking in charity either. It’s greed, it’s ambition, it’s the desire to rule the world that drives people to become vicious, brutal, ruthless.
How does one ever manage to win in this crazy world? Here is the son of a former US President, in itself one of the most enviable of inheritance one can ever hope for in all the world, not content with having become Governor of Texas, the biggest state (outside of Alaska/Hawaii) of the great USA, who succeeds in getting himself elected also as President and getting reelected for a second term, only to be called “a total failure” by his own peers.
Why does one aspire to become the President of a great country if not to reap honor, fame and prestige? Money after all becomes a minor consideration at a certain point in one’s quest for total success. It becomes more a matter of the glory, the admiration and respect which do not necessarily come with having lots of money.
On a slightly lower level, I am reminded of our own President Erap. Not content with having demonstrated to his Ateneo classmates that it would have been a big mistake to vote him the least likely to succeed, and evidently not content with all the fame, fortune and adulation of millions of movie fans, he went on to become an unbeatable City Mayor, Senator, and finally President of his country. By any standard, that should have been more than enough honor and great achievement for any one mortal. Instead, he eventually became the butt of most coffeeshop jokes, ridiculed, vilified, and finally impeached as President and later convicted of the worst possible crime and sent to jail. Most volumes pertaining to him are in the nature of joke or comic books.
Marcos, he of a reputedly brilliant mind, fared no better. Indeed, his fate was much worse. While people became ashamed of being associated with Erap, most of those once identified with the late dictator cannot somehow evade the lingering hate and disgrace of having once been a part of that dark period of Philippine history. The moral: Anyone who dares to monkey around with our democratic system to suit his own personal ambitions will eventually be found to be a traitor to the motherland, and will be dishonored accordingly.
But, alas, dictators and ambitious men never seem to learn. The unquenchable desire for fame, wealth, glory it seems knows no bounds. Instead of seeking and paying homage and tribute to an unseen God, men want to play God, to be seen as God, nay, to become God. Speaking of God, around about the time of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Roman Emperor Octavius, later to be known or referred to as “C. Julius Caesar Octavianus” or “Caesar Augustus” (after his great uncle, Julius Caesar) or “Tiberius” eventually settled for the title “Imperator Caesar Augustus, Son of a God, Father of his Country.” Actually, he was also to be known or self-styled as “Divus Augustus” or the Divine Augustus. The inscription on his mausoleum reads “Res Gestae (RG) Divi Augustus” – The Achievements of the Divine Augustus.
How does the world produce such ruthless, mindless, and monstrous leaders as Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein? How can some world leaders engage in large scale murders and genocide, and why?
Two thousand years after the coming of Jesus Christ and we still can’t seem to get it. If there is one great lesson that we should have learned at all, it can only be this. God is great, yes. But more importantly, God is humble. He wants to teach us to be humble. Are you really interested in seeking and looking for me? Then, look for me under the humblest of circumstances. Look for me among the least of the brethren (Mt. 25:40).
The first time Queen Elizabeth II visited the USA, reporters had a field day raving that she had about 4,000 pounds of luggage which included two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone died, forty pints of plasma, white kid leather toilet seat covers. She brought along her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. Tens of millions of dollars were expended for such a brief visit. Not to be outdone, Madame Imelda and her infamous collection of shoes would do any royalty proud. Yet, if you will believe the Christmas story, not as another fairy tale, when God decided to send His own Son into the world, he could not have arranged more humble and humbling circumstances. “She wrapped him in swaddling cloths, laid him in a manger … because there was no room for them at the inn…” (Lk. 2:7)
All the great saints, St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, including the so-called Three Wise Men, learned their lesson well. They searched for and were led by the guiding star of humility and found their God in the humblest of men and circumstances.
Humility has to be one of the greatest lessons that Jesus himself, the Son of God, if you will, tried to teach us. Unfortunately, it is so simple, so unappealing, so nondescript that there is a strong tendency to take it for granted. Indeed, it is so unglamorous that the few people who have learned to live by it are hardly ever noticed much less idolized as heroes or celebrities, although in fairness to the Church many have been canonized as saints.
When a religious decides and announces that he/she is going to give up sex and live a celibate life, that fact alone is considered heroic and admirable. When someone is able to work miracles, heal the sick, make the lame walk, turn stones into bread, that is considered spectacular, almost divine, and the person much admired as a living saint, or a prophet. When a young girl announces that she looked directly into the sun and saw it spinning, tens of thousands of people will rush to the place and build a basilica. When a smooth-talking preacher or TV evangelist is able to make people cry, repent, laugh, sing, and/or pick the pockets of the congregation at will, he becomes so popular he sets up his own church and political leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen will fall in line to pay homage and seek his endorsement.
To borrow from my favorite author, Philip Yancy, before Jesus, almost no pagan author had used “humble” as a compliment. Our God who came to earth was a humble God. He came not as a raging whirlwind nor a devouring fire. Unimaginably, the Maker of all things shrank down, down so small as to become an ovum, a single fertilized egg barely visible to the naked eye, an egg that would divide and re-divide until a fetus took shape, enlarging cell by cell inside a nervous teenager, Mama Mary. She in turn understood this lesson well. In her Magnificat she exclaims, "He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and he has exalted the lowly." Lk. 1:51-53
“For just an instant the sky grew luminous with angels, yet who saw the spectacle? Illiterate hirelings who watched the flocks of others, "nobodies" who failed to leave their names. Shepherds had such a randy reputation that proper Jews lumped them together with the "godless," restricting them to the outer courtyards of the temple. Fittingly, it was they whom God selected to help celebrate the birth of one who would be known as the friend of sinners, the poor, the outcast, the downtrodden.”
In the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes as they are known (Matt. 5-7), kitang kita na mahal ng Diyos, malapit sa Diyos yon maliliit na tao, yun mga dukha, mga api sa mundo, the downtrodden, yun underdog kun tawagin. Kitang kita po natin that during his time here on earth, Jesus honored people who may not enjoy many privileges in this life. To the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted, the poor in heart, he offered assurance that their service would not go unrecognized. They would receive ample reward.
Speaking of little people, do you remember the story of Zaccheus? He was not only diminutive in stature but despised as a publican (and therefore a collaborator) and a Nazarean at that. You know that Nazareans in Jesus’ time were treated like hillbillies, probincianos, if you will. The Bible tells us that Zaccheus, forgetting about his self-respect and dignity, climbed up a tree just to get a glimpse of Jesus passing by. Our Lord, on the other hand, ever on the side of the underdog, looked up and called out to Zaccheus, “Zaccheus, come down from that tree. I’m having dinner with you tonight.” And so it happened, Zaccheus was one of the few people that the Bible specifically mentions by name as having had the rare and exclusive privilege of having Jesus as a house guest for dinner. (Lk. 9:1-10)
In what is probably the hardest lesson of all, Jesus also said in no uncertain terms, "Whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Mt. 23:12
“Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt.11:29)
“The greatest among you shall be the servant of all… “ (Mt.23:11)
And what, you might ask, makes the virtue of humility so great. Let me put it this way, it takes one to know one. Without humility how can one be aware of, identify and sympathize with the poor, the lowly, the oppressed. We wouldn’t be able to recognize the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted even if they knocked on our door. And you know what Jesus had to say about that: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.” Matt.25:40
In short, humility predisposes us to serve (translate that as “love”) others and when we do we are really serving/loving God himself. In other words, God needs humble people to accomplish his work. Come to think of it, when we humble ourselves to serve others, we are doing God’s work, we are performing a miracle. We think of serving others for the greater glory of God, not for our own glory. AMDG.
Put it another way, the antithesis of humility is pride. I don’t think we need to be reminded who got into serious trouble because of pride. Lucifer, once the greatest of the angels. His battlecry was “NON SERVIAM.” I will not serve. The rest as they would say is history. JAMES L.
stephendlr wrote on Jul 19, '08
Dear James,
This is heavy stuff but it makes a lot of sense. I can only agree. There is so much wisdom coming out of you nowadays. I hope that when I get to be your age that I can be as wise and insightful as you. Carry on! |
avilacharles wrote on Jul 19, '08
And you said you were going to concentrate on trivia?
By the way, I too like reading Philip Y. And I feel good in your company. Your style full of grace.Like your Mama M. That humility of hers moved the words out "to bring down the mighty from their thrones..." And all generations including ours have called her blessed. |
Hi, Kuya Charles, it's an honor to be read by you. You might say humility and trivia go together and vice versa. It just so happens that whenever I observe some of the many follies of man, I cannot help but realize and remember to keep my nose close to the ground ("humus," to use you favorite language). tnx agn. rgards
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Alam mo James, dapat nag-pari ka talaga. Your insights are definitely pang-pulpit. I guess you should be a retreat master for ordinandi before they cross the line of no return / no exchange. How come you were not around when we were struggling to stay awake in Theology classes?
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Kuya, I could gather from your writing (and maybe from Zen) that humility is a virtue not to aspire for. To strive for it would be self-defeating. But humility is a necessary virtue; but then again how do you attain it without aspiring for it? Maybe one way is to focus on the deeper root word (etymology). Humility is humilitas in Latin and the root word of humilitas is humus which is organic and fertile soil. (Remember the other Sunday’s gospel?). If we are “down-to-earth” and accept our “humus-ness” (humus is supposed to be also the root word for human and humor), then we don’t have to look up or look down on any man. Accepting our humus-ness or human-ness means that we also realize that we need divine intervention to elevate or resurrect us from the soil. As others have paraphrased it, “Humus we are, and to humus we shall return.” Just in case, pls. don’t say Amen to this. Come to think of it you’re a down-to-earth guy, your writings are like a journey to the center of your heart or being. Amen.
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Hi, Tom, at last, mukhang I seem to have managed to get you into some reflective mood. Your comments are well-grounded (no pun intended). Everything I write about are mere words. The more impt thing is to try, as you suggested, to act and move and live accordingly. After all, as they say, thought should just be a guide to action, not a substitute for it.
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vj - tnx for your comments/compliments. whatever i write are mere whimsical, spontaneous expressions or little personal opinions with very little theological foundations. however, your supportive comments do inspire me to go on. tnx agn. rgards to your BETTER HALF.
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Manong, -- I really meant it when I said you should have been our Theology professor because you are able to capture the earthly application of what are heavenly or Godly or theological what not that our German professors have converted into very potent sleeping spells for us. As usual my friend, you did it again.
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elmersarmiento wrote on Aug 14, '08
Indeed, failure is a humbling experience. But then again, one can only claim humility for being up there in the first place. One cannot be humble if you are deep down at the bottom of the pile. James, your blogs are a "must-read". Right on.
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