THE HUMAN SIDE
Whenever I was anxious about disturbing events, my Italian grandfather would say, “Gini, it is all in the Bible. Not only does it contain the same distressing happenings of today, but also the wisdom needed to contend with them.”
St. Matthew’s Gospel contains the wisdom of which my grandfather spoke. Christ prays, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike” (Mt 11:25).
In lauding childlikeness, Christ exalts the virtue of simplicity that is wisdom par excellence for our times. What does simplicity mean? An example from popular folk etymology about ancient Rome gives us one answer.
During Rome’s golden years, proud Roman senators commissioned marble busts of themselves to be made.
The folk tale goes that as demand for busts grew, craftsmen couldn’t keep up because of the time-consuming smoothing process marble requires. As a consequence, corners were cut by filling in rough spots with wax.
During an extremely hot summer, the wax began to melt, exposing the marble’s imperfections. Roman senators crafted a law that read in Latin “sine cera,” meaning without wax.
Waxing over the flaws in marble was outlawed. Hence it is from “sine cera” that our word “sincerity” might be derived.
“Sincerity” connotes simplicity. It prompts us to tell the truth as it is, no forked tongue and no forgery, and to be a straight arrow and a person of one’s word.
Simplicity is contrary to the Roman senators who exalted themselves. To be simple is to be self-effacing and modest.
When Christ says, “No one can serve two masters” (Mt 6:24), he points to another quality of simplicity: not seeking adulation while at the same time professing to serve others. Simplicity simply means surrendering one’s self entirely to the task.
Undoubtedly, today’s life is very complex. Would, however, things be different if it was simplified according to the Bible, if there was less waxing over the truth, less double-mindedness, less self-serving and self-exaltation, and people simply turned to God in gratitude for their gifts, existence and for having been chosen to serve God’s creation?
