6 The Moon of the Green Leaves
The Moon of the Green Leaves
MAY 21–JUNE 17
Walk side by side in harmony with each other.
Try to feel what others feel. Love each other as family.
Be tenderhearted and walk with a humble spirit.
It does not require many words to speak the truth.
LOVE RULES OVER ALL THINGS
I am glad for the fifth Lakota virtue, Cantognake, “love.” Here is how this virtue is described: “More than just compassion, love is having the flame of emotion in one’s heart. Love rules over all things. The whole universe exists because of love. It is the motive of all creation.”
I’m glad for their emphasis on the centrality of love as a virtue we should all seek after.
SUCH MULTIFACETED BEAUTIES
“The Moon of the Green Leaves” . . . oh my, what a lovely understatement. To be sure every tree, every plant is bursting forth with various shades of green. But there is more. The multicolored flowers fill the senses. The warblers and the robins add song to the color. We have two barred owls who have started hooting back and forth to each other in the evenings. Oh, and I can’t forget the ruby-throated hummingbird that is building a nest under our deck. So, the Lakota calendar speaks well when it reminds us that this is “The Moon of the Green Leaves.”
I am wondering if the virtue of humility is advanced among those who can revel in such multifaceted beauties! I’m not sure, just wondering.
CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY
This morning I am drawn to the counsel of our friend Peter, older now . . . and wiser. In his first letter he counsels “elders” on how they are to “tend the flock of God” (1 Pet 5:1-5). I’m especially taken by the gentleness in his instructions to those with leadership responsibilities, “Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.” Next, he gives counsel to the younger ones to “accept the authority of the elders.” And finally, he gives wise instruction to both groups, “elders” and “younger”: “And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”
I rather like Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this passage in The Message:
But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—
God has had it with the proud,
But takes delight in just plain people.
Eugene’s “down to earth with each other” is a helpful way to unpack humility. It brings to mind once again the most basic notion of humility as tied to the earth, humus. Of course the metaphor from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), “clothe yourselves with humility,” is suggestive too. We might think of completely wrapping ourselves up in a cloak of humility so that the only part of us showing is our face. Of course, doing this in practice is the key. At home. At work. In our thoughts. Hum! I’ll want to work with this for a while and see what I can learn.
ACHIEVING SUCCESS WITHOUT FORFEITING HUMILITY
Of late I have been scratching my head to think of individuals of prominence who are characterized by humility. Then today in the midst of my musings I received a copy of the new edition of Philip Yancey’s two books that he wrote years ago with the surgeon Dr. Paul Brand, now rolled into one and titled Fearfully and Wonderfully. In his new preface Philip warmly describes the life and medical career of Dr. Brand.
Twice Philip’s description caused me to catch my breath. First, after listing the many accolades Dr. Brand has received over a lifetime of distinguished service, Philip adds, “Despite such international recognition, humility struck me as his strongest attribute.” Humility his strongest attribute! Yes, indeed. May this quality of life be seen more and more on the face of the earth.
Philip movingly shares some of his personal struggles with faith early in his writing career—think of Disappointment with God and Where Is God When It Hurts? Much of Philip’s early struggles came from exposure to what he describes as “toxic churches.” But here he relates to us a contrasting experience, the transforming experience resulting from a decade and more working with Paul Brand. He writes, “I can imagine God gently steering me to Dr. Brand . . . at a critical time in my spiritual journey. OK, Philip, you’ve seen some of the worst the church has to offer. Now I’ll show you one of the best.”
Through his extended relationship with Paul Brand a new assurance crept into Philip’s faith, an “assurance that the Christian life I had heard in theory can actually work out in practice. It is indeed possible to live in modern society, achieve success without forfeiting humility, serve others sacrificially, and yet emerge with joy and contentment.”
My mind came to a full stop on the phrase “achieve success without forfeiting humility.” I gasped. What a vivid example of exactly the combination I had been searching for.
I’ve known humble people who were not especially successful and successful people who exhibited precious little humility. But the combination of “success without forfeiting humility” . . . this is rare indeed.
And note, Philip did not come to this insight by reading a book but by observing a life. Good for Philip. Good for Paul Brand.
In a personal note Philip wrote to me, “I wish you could have known him!” Me too. Such sterling character formation is rare in our day.
OUR MORAL LANDSCAPE
As I pondered further on this combined quality of “success without forfeiting humility” several other individuals did come to mind. I thought of Rosa Parks and Dag Hammarskjöld and John Glenn. I’m sure there are more fine examples. Still, the rarity of this combination is what strikes me. And it causes me to wonder why our moral landscape appears so barren in this regard. I will think on it.
THOSE WHO BEST BEAR HIS MILD YOKE
I’ve been meditating of late on John Milton’s famous sonnet, “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent.” Sometimes it is titled “On His Blindness,” and Milton is clearly struggling with the personal tragedy of his own coming blindness. And not only his blindness but human tragedies of every sort. He wrestles with these frailties and wonders how we can serve God with such limiting capacities. In reply he learns that “God doth not need / Either man’s work or his own gifts.” No, it is those “who best / Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.”
To be sure, “Thousands at his bidding speed / And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest.” But, and here is the central reality for Milton . . . and for us, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Milton here is giving us a posture of humility in its most fundamental form. In his approaching blindness Milton “sees” that the act of service given to him is to “stand and wait.” Nothing more. Nothing less. This is how he is to bear Christ’s “mild yoke.” Oh, may I have the same perfect vision.
THE MOST DAMAGING FALL FOR THE SOUL
I am sipping an Americano coffee at the Owl’s Nest, a nearby coffee shop. (Well, it’s eight miles away . . . nothing is “nearby” to our home.) I find it a good place to read because it offers a quiet setting rather than piped in music. Today I come across this observation of Evagrius, “Pride is the cause of the most damaging fall for the soul.” I’ve read this sentence before but today the thought carries greater weight.
It is, of course, easy to see this “fall of the soul” in the vicious despots and horrible dictators that march across the pages of history. However, I should also watch my own life to see if there is anywhere I can detect personally a “damaging fall for the soul.”
I remember Evagrius’s teaching that humility conquers pride. This is the cure for the “damaging fall for the soul.” May it be so for me and may it be so for all who suffer from the ravages of pride.
“MY LIFE IS HID IN HIM THAT IS MY TREASURE”
Today I am seeking to meditate on George Herbert’s poem “Colossians 3:3.” Herbert takes the phrase from Colossians “your life is hid with Christ in God” and inserts it diagonally through the poem. Interestingly he personalizes the phrase by changing “your life” to “my life.” Inserted diagonally are the words, “My Life Is Hid in Him That Is My Treasure.”
What catches me today is his use of the phrase “double motion,”
My words and thoughts do both express this notion,
That Life hath with the sun a double motion.
His “double motion” describes how we all live on both a horizontal and a vertical level. Outwardly we are carrying on the tasks of our day: doing laundry, talking with clients, working at our computer. This is the horizontal motion. Yet underneath, deeper down, our life is hid with Christ in God. And it is here in the innermost sanctuary of the soul that the real, substantive work of spiritual formation goes on. This is the vertical motion.
This inward reality remains out of sight to all but the most spiritually sensitive. The outward is always clamoring and demanding. The inward is silent and never draws attention to itself. If we satisfy the outward, we receive acclaim. If we satisfy the inward, we receive nothing. Well, nothing outwardly—inwardly we experience a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We must, however, remember that this is a “double” motion. It isn’t as if the outward is bad and the inward good. Oh, no! It is that the inward is central and the outward flows out of the inward. As we give attention to that which is central, the outward tasks of life become more like a reflex action to the prior initiation of the heart. A double motion.
I am coming to see humility as among the most silent and unobtrusive of the inward works of the heart. And among the most important.
NATURE’S SOFTENING INFLUENCE
Tonight I find the Lakota concern for creation care helpful. I’m instructed by the words of Chief Luther Standing Bear, “for the Lakota there was no wilderness, because nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly. The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too. So he kept his children ‘close to nature’s softening influence.’”
These words are especially instructive because of the connection he makes between character formation and our personal nearness to the earth. Today people argue over the causes of climate change and the ways in which we are to steward the earth. Yet, all these discussions still leave us in charge; how we are to do this and not do that. See, we remain in charge.
Rather, Chief Standing Bear reminds us to bend down near the earth and learn from the earth. This is an act of humility. And it is where we experience “nature’s softening influence,” as he puts it.
MY INSULATED BUBBLE
I begin this day tied to the computer responding to multiple problematic emails. I stay with it until about 2:00 p.m. At this point I feel my brain fried and so decide to go to the rec center for a small workout. The whole time at the rec center my mind is wrapped up with those pesky emails . . . “Did I said what was needed? How do I respond to the emails still unanswered?” The whole time I am in an insulated bubble completely disregarding those around me. I finish with the weights and return to the locker room still oblivious to all those around me. I shower, dress, and begin to make my way out.
As I am ascending the winding stairs toward the front desk the afternoon sun shines brightly through the large picture window blinding me for the final four or five steps. Once on the landing and regaining my sight I nearly run into a rather large man preparing to make the descent down those same steps. We are only two feet apart. He breaks into a warm, broad smile and stammers out a “hello!” He holds a cane in his right hand and clearly struggles to maneuver his left side. I surmise that he likely has had a stroke and is working on recovery. We greet briefly and I step aside. Being careful not to stare I watch out of the corner of my eye that he is not using the elevator and instead is walking down the stairs one slow step at a time.
Our encounter is a brief one . . . but what a difference it makes. Without trying he has burst my insulated bubble and caused me to become aware of another human being. In addition, I am humbled by his brave determination. I go up and down these stairs with ease . . . howbeit a little more slowly these days. He, on the other hand, must exert great effort just to make it down to the gym floor. I am guessing he has a trainer waiting in the gym to guide him—carefully, painfully—through a series of exercises. In time he may improve. He may not. Nevertheless, he is there determined to take the next step. My anonymous friend teaches me humility.
THE FIRST AND MOST ESSENTIAL ELEMENT
Early this morning I am pondering the strong words of Andrew Murray that humility is “the first and most essential element of discipleship.” Wow! When I read these words of Murray I instinctively thought, “of course, he is exactly right.” And yet how many years have I viewed other things as “first” and “most essential.” Surely, the first and most essential thing is developing evangelistic skills so as to draw those who are far from God into “the Divine Center.” Maybe, memorizing passages of Scripture is first and most essential. Or, perhaps growing in supernatural power in prayer is first and most essential. On and on.
I simply never would have thought to place humility as “first” and “most essential” in thinking about discipleship. It feels so contrary to modern sensibilities . . . even religious sensibilities. What I failed to understand was pride’s corrosive influence in our spirit. It utterly corrupts the heart. And it will destroy our efforts for Christ and his kingdom so subtly, yet so completely. Oh, how we need to experience humility’s greater strength to undermine pride and ultimately free us from it.
I now see that in discipleship to Christ we need to train ourselves to fight the devil, defeating the pride-filled arrogance and raging narcissism that plagues modern culture. We need to learn the subtleties of pride that can seep into the innermost chambers of the heart puffing up our ego.
This is the negative side of our training in the way of Christ. More is needed, much more. We need to experience the positive side discovered in humility. Humility is a pristine virtue that first needs to be understood. Second, it needs to be valued. Third, it needs to be faithfully modeled. Fourth, it needs to become a fixed experience in the personality.
Such training demands a loving community. Others are needed to provide us perspective and discernment: a spiritual director, a spiritual friend, perhaps a wise elder. For humility to mature we need a community of persons who know how to lovingly guide another soul. This is what I need most of all.
A BEAUTIFUL HUMILITY
To close out my journal this month I think it will be good if Julian has the last word:
He [Jesus] says, “Do not blame yourself too much thinking that your trouble and distress is all your fault. For it is not my will that you should be unduly sad and despondent.
Our enemy tries to depress us by false fears which he proposes. His intention is to make us so weary and dejected, that we let the blessed sight of our everlasting friend slip from our minds.
It is a beautiful humility—brought about by the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit—when a sinful soul willingly and gladly accepts the chastisement our Lord himself would give us. It will seem light and easy, if only we will accept contentedly what he calls upon us to bear.
The key phrase of the passage is “a beautiful humility.” Although it feels as if Julian throws us a curve ball here by tying this lovely phrase to our “willingly and gladly” accepting “the chastisement our Lord himself would give us,” perhaps she is suggesting that from such a loving and gracious Lord, receiving correction is more encouraging than discouraging.
I love the kindness in this passage from Julian. She tells us of Jesus’ concern about our self-condemnation, “Do not blame yourself too much.” She urges us not “to be unduly sad and despondent.” She reminds us that Satan seeks to drag us into depression by means of “false fears.” She urges us not to allow “the blessed sight of our everlasting friend slip from our minds.” Mother Julian offers us much encouragement.