Jesus was not the kind of “king” people expected. He was not the kind of “savior” human wisdom wished for. And he was also not “God with us” in the way we might expect God to come. Today’s reading, another early Christian hymn, honored Jesus, but not by starting with his power or majesty. It praised his willingness to “empty himself” (the literal meaning of the Greek in 2:7) for us. Jesus did not demand divine prerogatives, but came to serve, and even to suffer.

• The New International Reader’s Version sums up well this hymn’s view of the depth of Jesus’ descent: “He came down to the lowest level. He obeyed God completely, even though it led to his death.” Pastor Bill Hybels wrote a book called Descending into Greatness based on this passage. Does that kind of “career path” (or “life path”) strike you as backward, or do you sense the power that it carries? How does this deepen your understanding of what it means to want to “be like Jesus”?
• Scholar H. C. Hewlett said “humility” means “the recognition of our true littleness as those dependent utterly on God.” That differs from yielding outwardly while being irate inside about someone else “winning” or depriving you of a treasured “perk.” How can that kind of humility, modeled by Jesus, open your heart to God’s love? How can it clear away inner barriers that may block us from loving one another?