Monday, September 18, 2017

remember who you are


Today St Gregory the Great reminds us to remember who we are, in A Year with the Church Fathers. This reminds us of Mufasa's appearance to Simba in The Lion King, reminding him of the same words, but with a different meaning.

Of course, Mufasa was reminding Simba that he was a king. He couldn't go on leading a selfish life of Hakuna Matata forever... his people needed him to come home and be king. He was bigger than the life he was currently leading. And that's good advice for us, too. We, too, were made for bigger things. We are sons of the King, just like Simba was. And our people need us to step up and help them to face off the jackals and scarred leaders who try to bring them down.

But St Gregory uses the same words in another direction. He says that when things go WELL, we need to remember who we are, too. We can't let our heads get puffed up with pride, because everything we do is only possible because God enables us. Without Him, we can do nothing.

So, "remembering who we are" puts us on the road, away from the ruts on either side. We don't selfishly live lives of squander and care-free existence, because we're better than that. But we don't think of ourselves too highly, either, because everything we have and do is a gift.

It brings to mind another lion's words to the children in the Narnia books. "You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "That is both honor enough to raise the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content."

Let's remember who we are.... and be content.

God, thank You for helping us find the road, and stay out of the ditches of selfishness and pride.

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