Christ in all humility

Christ in all humility

To hold everything in your hands, but to lay it all down,

To have all power, but to grasp after nothing;

To wait gently and patiently in tranquil love,

For the other to step closer,

Ardently longing for the approach, but forcing nothing;

Bearing all power and authority as lightly as a smile,

Being responsible for all things, but deeply settled in soul, at peace,

Oblivious of all clamour, listening intently to the whispered cry for help,

Not a trace of arrogance in a mind pure of self,

Too focused on the other,

Gazing in love;

Forgetful of all his concerns, but full of sympathy for us;

Hands held out empty in entreaty

To take hold of his offer of friendship;

Kneeling, he washes our feet and tends to our wounds;

Looking intently into our eyes he discerns our emptiness,

The aching void and the longing for wholeness;

And piercing our façade, he reaches to the roots of our dis-ease

And gently, patiently, steadily draws out the thorn till it is gone;

And closing up the wound

He presses the flesh together

And we know it will heal;

To walk light-stepped, when the weight of the world presses on his shoulders,

To have time for the least of us,

To break off from men of power and wealth to enquire after us;

To laugh full-heartedly at our pleasure;

To know all things, yet desire our thoughts;

To shape his life to our cares:

This is Christ in all humility.

To keep the night watch,

To bear the pain of endurance,

To do the hard slog through the night to be ready waiting for us at the dawn,

To do the work all alone when everyone else has neglected it,

To bear the insults and the slapped face, undeterred,

To not turn aside when all others have;

Keeping faith with the faithless, still hoping for us to turn again;

Making all sacrifices, and then doing it again,

And still without reproach, still hoping on our behalf;

Even though we lost our hope long ago, he has kept it safe in his heart;

Suffering to hold his place by our side,

Bearing the blows, heedless of wounds,

Held fast by his love for us;

Most of all bearing the injustice of the suffering of all the innocents,

And weeping long into the night, all alone,

And getting up again, resolute;

Kneeling again to tend our wounds, not his own,

The flame of hope still alight;

Not just resisting evil, but overcoming evil with good;

And still to laugh

With overflowing mirth, joyful beyond measure,

A stream to water all seeds of the soul,

To fill the heart with joy;

To suddenly come alongside us,

And by his friendship make us whole,

Through his presence to bless us:

This is Christ in all humility.