Greetings Glen Mar,

I hope you are having a great week! Today is the first day of Spring, and we know that warm weather is coming soon. At least, we can hope so. After all, we do live in Maryland.

This week, we are going to talk about humility.

Amma (mother) Syncletica said:
“Just as treasure is soon spent when brought out into the open, so does virtue quickly perish when publicly displayed. Just as wax soon melts when brought to the fire, so the soul is weakened by praise and loses its former strength.”

Humility is not a virtue we tend to think about too often in our culture. And even when we do notice it, it is usually only in light of realizing that they aren’t humble, right? It’s not so much about “How humble she is…”, but more like, “Wow, can you believe he said that? He really thinks highly of himself.”

Amma Syncletica embodied true humility. She recognized the need to focus on the less fortunate without announcing it to the world. She gave up all she had, went into the desert, and followed Christ. If she were around today, she wouldn’t make a Facebook post proclaiming her devotion to God. No. She sold all she had, gave her wealth away, and followed Jesus quietly into the wilderness.

So, how can we be humble? I think a great place to start is by considering that we don’t always have to be right. Sometimes, we just need to be quiet. I know how hard it is to be silent when you can prove yourself right. But what if being quiet brought more people to Christ than being “right?” Humility is formed through silence and solitude. We can practice both even when we are surrounded by people.

Next, we could loosen our grip on our possessions. For instance, maybe instead of having 20 coats, we could give some away to those who need just one. There is a hunger in many of us for a simpler, more faithful way of living. We know that there is a life to be had in that way of living, but we resist it for some reason. What if we stopped possessing our possessions? No announcements. No posts. Just letting go.

Ultimately, being humble is about stopping to seek glory for ourselves and giving all glory to God. As I said last week, and I will reiterate this week, you and I are not the stars of the show. Life does not revolve around us. Amma Syncletica knew this, but do we? In an influencer-driven world, we must regularly remind ourselves that all glory is due to God and God alone.

C.S. Lewis reminds us, “Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but of ourselves less.” Amma Syncletica and the other Desert Mothers and Fathers understood this, and they have been calling us to follow after them as they followed Jesus. How might you respond to the call this week?

Click here to learn about Moses the Strong, and let us pray for each other as we seek to continue following Christ into the wilderness this Lent.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris

P.S. In an unrelated but always associated manner, the Glen Mar Early Learning Center is currently registering children for the 2026-2027 school year. This is a ministry of Glen Mar Church, and one of the ways that we serve the world. If you or someone you know might be interested, please visit the website here.