Humility is the foundation of the house of love. Yet even that foundation sits on the firm earth of gratitude. ”Abba Peter (the Pionite) said, “We must not be puffed up when the Lord does something through our meditation, but we must rather thank him for having made us worthy to be called by him.’ He used to say it is good to think about each virtue in this way.” Abba Peter’s comment brings to mind a similar statement by Jesus, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30, NRSV). When the fruits of our prayer are evident it is tempting to become self-satisfied. It is possible to feel a sense of personal power. “My faithfulness in prayer is paying off! I’m getting wiser! I’m able to do great things for God!” Abba Peter reminds us that, like Jesus, we can do nothing on our own. In the same way that Jesus has called to embody the work of God, our faithfulness in prayer is a response to God’s desire to work in us. Abba Peter points out that this openness to collaborate with God is consummated by gratitude. Humility dissolves without gratefulness. Gratefulness is the floodgate of all the virtues. It is both recognition of what God makes possible in us and a demeanor of life that continually opens us to God’s presence and power. As he was dying, Abba Benjamin said to his disciples, “If you observe the following, you can be saved, ‘Be joyful at all times, pray without ceasing, and give thanks for all things.'”
David G.R. Keller
Oasis of Wisdom, p. 137.
