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Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Philippians 2:5–11
Saint Paul gives us one of the most beautiful hymns in the New Testament.
It is a hymn about Christ.
About His humility.
About His obedience.
About His glory.
But behind this hymn we can hear another story:
the story of Adam and Eve in the garden.
The serpent said:
You will be like God.
This has always been one of the deepest temptations of the human heart.
To rise higher.
To grasp more.
To control life.
To become like God without God.
Adam reached out for the forbidden fruit.
But Christ went in the opposite direction.
He was in the form of God.
Yet He did not cling to equality with God.
He emptied Himself.
He took the form of a servant.
He became human.
He humbled Himself.
He became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
This tells us something astonishing about God.
God is not like the emperors of this world.
He does not save us by showing off power.
He does not come to crush us.
He does not force us to kneel.
In Jesus,
God comes down.
God serves.
God gives Himself.
God loves to the end.
This also tells us what it means to be truly human.
The world often says:
Become greater.
Become stronger.
Become famous.
Become untouchable.
Become your own god.
But Christ shows another way.
To be human is not to grasp.
It is to receive.
It is not to dominate.
It is to love.
It is not to use others.
It is to serve.
It is not to save ourselves.
It is to trust the Father.
Adam tried to become like God through disobedience.
Christ reveals God through obedience.
Adam took.
Christ gave.
Adam grasped.
Christ emptied Himself.
And because Christ went down so low,
the Father raised Him high.
God exalted Him
and gave Him the name above every name.
At the name of Jesus,
every knee shall bend.
Every tongue shall confess:
Jesus Christ is Lord.
But we do not kneel before Jesus
because we are terrified.
We kneel because we are loved.
We kneel because He gave Himself for us.
We kneel because His humility has saved us.
His cross has set us free.
His love has captured our hearts.
So today, Saint Paul tells us:
Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.
Do not grasp.
Do not cling.
Do not live only for yourself.
Follow Christ downward,
into humility,
obedience,
service,
and love.
For this is the way that leads to glory.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark
Year of Mark - Get it from Amazon
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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© 2025 Krakus.
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