Do not think that you are the goal of this world! The world was not created to serve you, but you are called to be servants. And the servant listens attentively to the will of his master and works to implement his plans. The concept of domination is alien to your faith, it has been replaced by the concept of service. And it is only in self-denial that one of you who is invested with responsibility acquires the legitimacy of his power. And this power melts away as soon as its bearer is imbued with the spirit of consumerism. Often the meaning of the existence of this power is lost even before it disappears in reality. Neither the Lord, in whom you believe, nor those for whom you are responsible, will recognize such authority, which is not based on service. In addition, the cultural advantage by which you justify some of your superiority is now becoming, if it has not already become, a myth. Learning has ceased to be your exclusive possession, and enlightenment – in its dimensions of openness to goodness, refinement, taste, elegance – is spreading more and more among people. If civilization is in no small measure connected with women, who make up half of the human race, its inspirers and educators, then it is obvious that non-Christian women have the same share in the gifts of nature as Christian women.

Undoubtedly, there is nothing more precious to the heart of Christ than such a course of events. For Christ gives Himself to all, He is by no means anyone's exclusive property. He responds to the needs of all, just as He did His works during His mortal ministry regardless of the beliefs of the people. Any advance of the non-believers rejoices Him as well as the success of His own disciples. He is the Savior of the world, not just of his followers. It leads to salvation in various ways, including culture, technology, and legitimate methods of social struggle. Why should we not rejoice with Him in the achievements of others?

I will say more: the Lord is present in the ethical, artistic, scientific revolutions that enlighten the world and in one way or another reveal His presence in the universe. Modern Christian thought accepts this position and begins to realize that God is not only present in humility, kindness, or charity. If, in manifesting His presence, God desires the good of all, He must diversify the means of expression. Spiritual life, with all the inspiration and with all the power that transforms the personality that it carries within itself, does not exhaust the spiritual energy in the world.

Of course, the world is transformed by holiness. When he was still small, not very strong, and his problems were incomparable with the universal order, holiness had only one appearance. But in an open, unifying world, with its ever-increasing complexity, globalization, and all the problems that flow from it, holiness itself must surely take on new forms. Such forms that would not be alien to the objective search for a solution to the complexities of human life.

Creativity, through which the man of today seeks to grow and outgrow himself, presupposes the hidden presence of Christ in the world. The day will come when this presence will be revealed, but for the time being it must be hidden. The duty of love towards the world obliges the disciples of the Lord to participate in its development and radical transformation. Their love can no longer be limited to the individual level, but must be manifested at the level of social impact and historical change.

Christians, together with all other people, must bring about this transformation of the world for the benefit of all. It cannot be the work of any one group or country, no matter how powerful. No, it is no longer possible for him to remain the result of unidirectional activity, exchange and participation are necessary. For any help from the more powerful to the less developed runs the risk of subjugating the weak, of imposing its demands on him, and of finally arriving at a policy of superiority. A believer must not only give generously, but also be able to receive with the same simplicity, with the same humility with which he is supposed to give.

If this is the Christian view today, then you Christians, wherever you are, must be willing to give and to receive, that is, to be partakers. You must be willing to give, because you have been given much by Christ. You must be willing to receive, because this is also a grace that God bestows upon you through other people.

This idea of complicity could be a contribution of our country at the world level, since the great powers do not seem to have discovered it yet. In addition, the warning often comes from small ones. But here's what concerns you even more directly, and what is even more important: you need to understand that the true life of a person is to forget about yourself. Only by forgetting about oneself and meeting in truth with another, a person will finally find himself. Until now, you have not recognized any other in the Lord. You have only seen the ugliness of the other. Of course, a person is weak, contradictory, no one is free from childishness, cunning and egocentrism. But the ugliness of the creature cannot erase the seal of the Creator from it. Every human person, by the very fact of his calling, the gifts he received from God, and his striving for distant horizons, is a partaker of Christ. Only in this light should you look at it. In this way you will help her to revive in herself the divine personality that she is to become. And most importantly: you must realize that you will no longer be anything, that you will even become alien to Christ, if you refuse to look at someone else in this way.

So why assert one's imaginary superiority and want it to be recognized by others at all costs? Only in love does Christ dwell with us, and if you are not filled with love, you will not make any contribution to the building of your country, you will not bring good to humanity. Only in love will you comprehend yourself and your life, and therefore love should become everything to you. Without it, you will approach non-existence, return to primitive barbarism. In essence, you are the seed that must die in order for others to live. You possess the true secret of life, for Someone taught you to accept death. All your advantage is in this self-abasement, in the unceasing impulse that impels you to open the boundaries of the Church to new horizons of your sacrificial witness. You can only affirm your identity if you never assert it. Your whole peculiarity is that you do not seek to point it out or force others to recognize it. You will be saved only if you do not seek protection for yourself. On the contrary, you should plunge into the fray, into the very heart of the problems of this world. You will not seek dominion, for "the princes of the nations rule over them, and the nobles rule over them" (Matt. 20:25). And you are not of this world. Whenever you feel any pride in being strong, according to the logic of this world, or honorable, by all accounts, the life-giving Spirit will depart from you. For "God has chosen the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are nothing, to abolish the things that are" (1 Corinthians 1:28).

Do you believe in all these things?

Chapter 1. TO THE SOURCES OF ENGAGEMENT

The Greatness and Humility of God

For several years now, I have been shocked by the words of Jesus: "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29). Why did the Lord, Who possesses all the qualities of the Godhead and all the virtues of a perfect man, choose only meekness and humility for self-characterization, as if all the others were mysteriously manifested in these qualities?

In all religions, man is shocked by the greatness of the Eternal. St. St. John Chrysostom says in his commentary on the 2nd chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, which deals with kenosis: "Among the pagans there are great and minor deities. In the Scriptures only the great God is seen everywhere, and nowhere are there small ones."