Messiah in the Mirror

Learning humility to prepare for Christmas

12/13/2020

John 1:6-8, 19-28 A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted, “I am not the Christ.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

Have you ever heard of the “Messiah Complex”? It is a sort of mental delusion in which someone believes they are the Messiah, which is Hebrew for “Anointed One,” or the Savior. When you believe you are the Messiah (Savior) you do not need a Savior to save you. But everyone else does! The Messiah Complex, therefore, has a twofold effect: it makes you think highly of yourself but lowly of others. Archbishop Fulton Sheen joked about how common this complex can be saying: “It used to be that only Catholics believed in the Immaculate Conception. Now, everyone thinks he is immaculately conceived!” That is, everyone thinks they are sinless from conception, perfect, hence a Savior who does not need to be saved.

But the biggest mistake a person with the Messiah Complex makes is they miss the real Messiah when he comes. They are not looking for the Messiah in the world because they see him in the mirror every morning. Mark Wahlberg said in the movie “Mile 22,” “Your ego is not your amigo.” But when our ego IS our amigo, then there is no room in our hearts for Jesus to be our Amigo. When we think we are the Messiah, we will miss the real One when he comes.

In the gospel of John, we see how St. John the Baptist overcame the Messiah Complex in order to prepare the way for the real Messiah, namely, Jesus. We read, “When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He admitted, ‘I am not the Christ’.” By the way, the term “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” the Anointed One, the Savior. In other words, the Jewish leaders were ready to bestow the crown of Messiah on John the Baptist’s head; he only had to accept the accolade.

Instead of having his head crowned, however, John had his head cut off by Herod. John said: “There is one among you whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” John did not want his “ego to be his amigo,” rather, he wanted Jesus to be his Amigo. Indeed, only two chapters later in John 3, the Baptist would add these humble lines: “The friend (the amigo) of the bridegroom (that is, Jesus) rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. He must increase, but I must decrease.” John did not think he saw the Messiah in the mirror, and therefore he did not miss the real One when he arrived.

Folks, if there is one virtue that will help us celebrate Christmas and not miss the Messiah when he comes, it is the virtue of humility. Humility is the quintessential virtue of Advent. For the four weeks of Advent, we try to learn what Mark Wahlberg meant when he said: “Your ego is not your amigo.” Here are a few ways to grow in humility so we do not miss the Messiah when he comes at Christmas.

First, be flexible with this year’s Christmas traditions; this year will not be like past years. Your gifts may not arrive on time if you mailed them. Your Christmas presents may end up being Easter presents. There might not be enough room in the church for you at midnight Mass. You may end up singing Christmas carols by yourself at midnight. Sometimes we want things to go a certain way, which we think is the “right way,” but it is only a thin disguise for wanting things to go “my way.” Humility helps us to see that even when things don’t go “my way,” they are somehow still going “God’s way.” Your ego is not your amigo.

Another suggestion might be to text, call or email a friend or relative with whom you have grown distant lately. That can happen easily during the pandemic and all the social distancing. It can be an easy excuse to avoid people we don’t particularly like. Perhaps you had an argument or a falling out and haven’t spoken to someone in years. Sadly, some people’s problems go on for so long they don’t even remember the original cause of their estrangement. But humility will help you reach out to them first, instead of waiting for them to make the first move. Your ego is not your amigo.

Another idea is to be quick to say “I’m sorry” and equally fast to say “I forgive you” when problems arise and not let them fester. When I was younger, it was always hard to say “I’m sorry,” because I was the one always getting in trouble. As I have gotten older, I often find it is harder to say, “I forgive you,” because now it is my job to forgive others. With the help of humility, we realize we make lots of mistakes too. The Messiah is not in the mirror. We find it easier to forgive and forget. Your ego is not your amigo.

Every year at Christmas our Messiah is born in a manger, to signify his humility and his holiness. Think about that: a manger is really a trough where animals eat hay and so it symbolizes that Jesus will be the Food, the Eucharist, that feeds the whole world. In other words, it was not enough that God should humble himself and become a man; he humbled himself enough to become Bread. The only one who never suffered from the Messiah Complex was the Messiah himself, the only One who could find the Messiah in the mirror.

Praised be Jesus Christ!