{"id":4231,"date":"2016-01-05T21:40:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T21:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/?p=4231"},"modified":"2016-01-05T21:40:28","modified_gmt":"2016-01-05T21:40:28","slug":"learning-to-bow-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/learning-to-bow-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to Bow Down"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"bow-down\"<\/a><\/h5>\n
October 24, 2010<\/h5>\n

Luke 18:9-14<\/h3>\n

Carl Jung, the famous psychologist, was a man of faith. One day he asked his Rabbi, \u201cWhy is it that in biblical times God appeared to many people and many people saw him, but today hardly anyone sees God?\u201d The Rabbi thought for awhile and then said \u201cI think it\u2019s because today there is not anyone around who can bow down low enough.\u201d\u00a0Bowing down low is not a modern virtue. We dedicate ourselves to improving ourselves, to lifting ourselves, to encouraging a positive self-esteem. There is nothing wrong with feeling good about ourselves and about our achievements. But when it comes to our relationship to God, another stance is demanded. God is greater than us. So the only way we can come into God\u2019s presence is by knowing our radical dependence on God\u2019s mercy. Yes, we are good and worthwhile people, but in the presence of God, we must humble ourselves. We must bow down low so that a relationship with God can be formed.<\/p>\n

This is what the tax collector does well in today\u2019s Gospel. Standing apart, he does not lift his eyes to heaven, but simply prays for God\u2019s mercy. Jesus says that his prayer is answered, and he goes home justified. But the same is not true of the Pharisee. Now the Pharisee, to be sure, was a good person\u2014a very good person. His fasting and his tithing are all good works. But what the Pharisee does not understand is that none of these achievements can be the basis of a relationship with God. In order to be related to God, he must take the same stance as every other person including that of the tax collector. He must understand his radical dependence on God\u2019s mercy. Knowing this truth is important for each one of us, because it is the only way that we can have our correct relationship with God. It also prepares us for what is to come.<\/p>\n

Basil Hume was the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster England. In 1999 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Upon this news, he told his friend, Tom Crawley, \u201cThe first thing I thought when I realized that I had the cancer was that I wished for another chance\u2014a chance to start over. I knew that if I had more time, I could be so much better a man, a monk, a bishop. But then I thought that when I die it would be a great advantage to come before God with nothing. Instead of being able to say, \u2018Thank you God for making me such a good man, such a good monk, such a good bishop,\u2019 it would be so much better that I could simply say, \u2018God, be merciful to me, a sinner.\u2019 If I came to God empty handed, I then would be ready to receive what God would give.\u201d The stance, then, of a disciple is not to come before the Lord with all of our blessings and achievements but rather to bow down before God and to be empty enough to let mercy in. This is why we must begin to cultivate in our lives an attitude of humility.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s certainly right and just that we should be thankful for our health and for our energy\u2013 to be grateful that we can run and swim and play ball. These are all that come from God. But one day it is likely that we will find ourselves in a situation where our health is faded, where our joints no longer bend. In that moment, the important thing is that we will be able to open ourselves to receive God\u2019s love. So even today, as we have our energy and our health, it is important to carry these gifts with humility realizing that they are ultimately not the most important thing.<\/p>\n

It is right and just that we take pride in our talents and abilities\u2014in our ability to work, to earn a living by speaking, selling, closing a case, or designing a project. All of these things are blessings from God. But a day will most likely come when our breath becomes shallow and our mind a little feeble. On that day, the only important thing for us to say is \u201cGod have mercy on me, a sinner.\u201d So even today, as we use our talents and abilities, it is important to carry them with humility because they will not always be with us.<\/p>\n

It is right for each one of us to be thankful\u2014thankful for our possessions, for our talents, for our relationships, for our achievements\u2014but it is also important to remember that a day will come when none of them will matter. This is why we should begin today to cultivate the habit of humility, to recognize today our complete dependence on God. In the end, that is the only thing that matters. \u201cThose who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The stance of a disciple is to bow down before God and to be empty enough to let mercy in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5879,"featured_media":4232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/files\/2016\/10\/bow-down.jpeg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}