We spoke last week about 17 signs and means of humbleness, now we shall continue with the same subject: 1. A humble person should flee from all aspects and sources of grandiosity. The humble should flee from love of leadership and superiority, love of domination and haughtiness, and from the desire to be first. All such things lead to perdition, and the Lord warned His disciples against them, saying, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mt 20: 25- 28)

I would like to present to you some brief exercises on humbleness, which I will expound in more detail afterwards. 1. If pride is represented in self-assurance and grandiosity, humbleness appears clearly in self-denial. So many are the exercises on self-denial, and the Lord has put self-denial foremost of the conditions of discipleship to Him. He said, "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Ps 34: 18) Indeed, for by self-denial a person can attain to humbleness, and will not seek glory or greatness.

Some people are born from their mother’s wombs, meek by nature. They never need to exert any effort to acquire calmness; they have perhaps gained it genetically, or as a gift from God. Some others are born with a fiery nature inclined to nervousness or violence. We are not going to debate the meek by nature, by birth, or as a gift of God; rather, we will consider how to acquire, or get habituated to, meekness.

The humbleness of the Son: 1. His Incarnation is the first aspect of His humbleness: "Being in the form of God … made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself …" (Phil 2: 6- 8) Can there be more humbleness than emptying Himself of all aspects of greatness and honor meet for His divinity and taking the form of a bondservant! Such humbleness reveals the wisdom of the divine dispensation, for the first sin entered into the world by pride, both of man and of Satan, so the Savior had to overcome it by humbleness.

The greatest and true example of humbleness is that of God, blessed be His name. God alone can be described as humble. God alone is the highly lofty, who condescends from His loftiness. Any human being is but dust and ashes (Gen 18: 27), and before that was mere nihility. How can we say that anybody, being all sin and iniquity, is humble? Man is not in a high place that he may descend from it, nor in perfection that he may conceal it. Humbleness, as described by a father, is to know one's origin, weakness, and sin.

One of the brothers asked St. Abba Bachomios one day, saying, 'Tell us about one of the visions you see that we may benefit.' The saint said, 'A sinner like me does not see visions, but if you want to see a wonderful vision of real benefit to you, know that a true humble and pure person is better than all visions, for in such a person you will see the Invisible God. No vision is better'

• Once St. John the Short asked the brothers in the monastery, 'Who sold Joseph the righteous?' When they said, 'His brothers,' he said to them, 'No, not his brothers, but his humbleness, because he could say to those who bought him that he was the brother of the sellers, but in humbleness he kept silent, and was sold, yet he became governor of Egypt!'

Humbleness does not mean that you descend from a higher to a lower level, nor to feel that in spite of your greatness you undervalue yourself or conceal your greatness, for such feeling of being great yet willing to descend, or concealing it, does not reveal humbleness, because although you conceal it, you see it clearly. God alone is the Highest, and He alone condescends from high, while all human beings are dust and ashes. Humbleness in truth, as the church fathers say, is to know oneself, to know who you are: You are of the dust of the earth! Rather, the dust is older than you are, for God created it first, before creating you!

What is humbleness, and what is its significance? What did the fathers say commending it? What does the Holy Scripture say about it? What is its place among and its relationship with virtues? What is its relationship with high gifts, with grace, and with trials? How can a person be humble? All this and more we would tackle – God willing – in a series of articles on this important topic, so that you may know what this great virtue is, and what other virtues it implies.

He has authority: What authority was that? It was the authority of the Legislator. • The words "You have heard that it was said … But I say to you" repeatedly came on the Lord's mouth, when speaking about murder, about adultery, about divorce, about oaths, about any eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and about the relationship with the neighbor and the enemy (Mt 5: 21, 27, 28, 31, 32- 34, 38, 39, 43, 44) • In His words about the Sabbath, He said, "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mt 5: 12: 8) As Lord of the Sabbath, He put its rules as He willed. • When He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you” the scribes grumbled within themselves, so He said to them, "… that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins … 'Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.'" (Mt 9: 2- 6)

These words are repeated thrice in one paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount in (Mt 6: 25- 34). The Lord says, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on …" "Do not worry about tomorrow …" "Do not worry about tomorrow … Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Mt 6: 25- 34)

In case each master has a different tendency, one cannot serve both equally, or with the same degree of honesty. One's service will be true from all the heart to the one, and in flattery or hypocrisy to the other. In case both have the same tendency, anybody can serve them equally. A person can serve God, the church, the community, the state, and knowledge, but cannot serve two opposite or competing masters, whether the master is a person or a thing.

A meek person is kind, calm, peaceful, and gentle-voiced, neither argues nor quarrels, does not break up with anyone, nor behaves rudely. In both the New and Old Testaments, it is said of Christ the Lord “ He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench(Matt 12: 19-20) (Isia 42: 2-3). He does not deprive anyone of hope. He does not quench smoking flax; perhaps a wind blows two years later and it may be kindled!

The wise never builds his house on the sand, on moving and unstable land, as the foolish does (Mt 7: 5), but rather builds it on the rock. Building on the rock: It signifies building on deep faith in God, on sound understanding of His commandments, or on strong firm foundation of love for God, for people, and for good. Such strong and firm foundation never falls. As engineers do, build houses on deep foundation of reinforced concrete, which no winds or rains can shake or move from its place. This is the difference between building on the rock and building on the sand. Some people go to church and listen to God's word, just for knowledge, while others listen, with the intent to act accordingly. While the former turn the mind into a store of knowledge or a moving encyclopedia, having answers to any question, the latter listen, act, and turn the word into life.

The Lord says, "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Mt 7: 24- 27)

He promised His disciples to be with them always, even to the end of the age, and He fulfilled His promise. He presented Himself alive for forty days after His resurrection, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1: 3). He gave them peace and joy as He had promised (Jn 16: 22; 20: 20) and comforted them after the crucifixion they witnessed.

The period between the crucifixion and the resurrection: In His resurrection, He sanctified the mortal human nature, giving it power to rise. Before rising, with His body lying in the tomb, He was working for us. Death caused His spirit to separate from His body, but His divinity never separated from His spirit or from His body. His spirit, united with His divinity, accomplished wonderful salvation for those lying in hope.

The journey back & Jacob's fear of his brother Esau After settling his family issues, whether the wrestling of his two wives, or the pursue of his uncle Laban, Jacob set on his way back to his father's house. Terror from Esau: He was afraid, or rather terrified and trembling, in spite of all God's promises and support. Probably the words of Esau were still ringing in his ears, "I will kill my brother Jacob" (Gen 27: 41), or he remembered how he seized the opportunity of his brother's hunger and took his birthright, and made him swear (Gen 25: 31, 33). Maybe he recalled the deceit with which he took the birthright when he said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn", and how his father said to Esau, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing." (Gen 27: 19, 35)

Lessons from the Lord's Resurrection So many miracles happened at the time of the Lord's crucifixion: there was darkness over all the land, the veil of the temple was torn in two, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; but did everybody benefit from these lessons? HAPPY EASTER Jacob the Patriarch (8) Back to his home country & wrestling with his uncle Laban

Our father Jacob submitted to the actual state, and accepted Leah as wife, then he married her sister Rachel, gathering between both sisters. He lived with the wife he loved, and the wife who loved him and sought his love. Both wives wrestled together. Our father Jacob avoided taking wives from unbelievers lest they turn his heart away from God as happened to Solomon the Wise afterwards (1 Kgs 11). He went to take wife from a holy family of his parents' relatives, not knowing that problems might follow him even with those holy people, from his uncle Laban who deceived him, and from his two wrestling cousins, Leah the weak sighted, and the pretty Rachel.

Jacob met his cousin Rachel by the well where the shepherds watered their sheep. As there was a large stone on the well's mouth, they used to wait until they all gather and roll the stone away. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his uncle, he went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his uncle (Gen 29: 3, 10).