General. It has always happened that man has tarried between a time of grace and a time of refusal of the blessing which God gives him. When Jesus came on earth, he condescended even unto death on the cross, which was a great scandal in itself but worth doing in order to save us from the slavery of sin. In Baptism we also belittle ourselves and cease being the haughty men of the world we really are so as to put on the living Christ and his holiness.

Zechariah. The regality of Christ’s coming on earth was announced to take place in the image of a king vested with humility. He was to portend peace and announce it to all nations and this peace would be accepted because rarely has a ruler been humble and preached principles of non-violence. The imagery is that of Christ and the Church.

Epistle to the Romans. St Paul writes about the duality of human nature which consists of the flesh and of the spirit. Bound as we are to the flesh and the world, we are bound to sin in search of gratification of the flesh, but the force of the spirit overwhelms that of the flesh and should lead us astray from sin which only brings about death. We were not called to live in death but to bring about death to sin and thus reacquire the eternal life for which we were called.

St Matthew. Intellectualism is not the hallmark of the Christian. Humility in physical and intellectual weakness are of the essence of Christianity and spell out a truly converted person. Christ talks about himself and recognizes that what he has was given to him by the Father and whoever has seen him has seen the Father. The Father and the Son together witness absolute love and kindness, which are the signs of humility. This means that following Jesus is like taking upon oneself a sweet and light burthen.

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