Small

             In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

          Someone in one of my writing groups asked the women in the group to share what they fantasize about doing/being in a fantasy setting and that got me thinking. The idea that we all want to be “like the Most High” came to mind, which led to the passage above. Jesus chose to become a human being. He didn’t choose to be born the son of a king. He was the son of a construction guy/carpenter. Only, he wasn’t the so of the construction guy, he was the son of a wicked coward or a Roman soldier and the question of which was worse was open to debate. He grew up and became an itinerant rabbi, collecting followers and irritating the religious establishment to the point that he died as a rebel in a small, backwater area on the outskirts of the Roman Empire. He was a nobody’s nobody and a disappointment to all who knew him. He was little, not worthy of notice except for one little detail. He was God. He rose from the dead.

          When we aspire to be “like the Most High,” we tend to think in terms of authority and power. As I answered the question in the group, I said I wanted to be significant, to do something that matters, not to be applauded by the millions, but to have those in the spotlight nod their heads at me. In other words (I said,) I want to be Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. Another possibility comes to mind. I’d like to be Brother Cadfael. They’re both gardeners who end up doing something that allows the good guys to win.

          And, I find myself wondering whether the goal of being “like the Most High” might be best achieved by seeing how small we can be while doing what we can. That, not surprisingly, takes me back to “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are, now.”