This is probably stating the obvious, but I was suddenly struck today by the realisation that the true mark of maturity is a genuine humility. The humble person is not necessarily “right” in every instance, but he or she is fundamentally trustworthy.
Needless to say, I am talking about true humility, of people who are secure enough in who they are before God that they are able to admit to their own failures, ignorance and weakness. And then I wonder whether the expectations that we have of religious leaders do not militate against a growth in such humility – perhaps that is why the desert fathers counselled their monks to flee bishops (i.e. ordination) – thereby undermining their ability to radiate a true authority. For the authority of the truly humble is somehow self-authenticating and, at least in my experience, also enables others to begin to grasp something of the truth about themselves.
And I also wonder whether, at least for most of us, growth in such humility only comes with age and hard experience? It is probably not for nothing that Orthodoxy ascribes a particular role to the elders, however much I may dislike the romanticism with which that term is sometimes used!
A vow of conversation 
June 1, 2011 at 2:43 am
Macrina, there is much to ponder here. I thank you for expanding the discussion to new heights. It is definitely a humbling experience to age. I think humility is the hardest part about being or becoming a true Christian follower of Christ. Humility seems a closer and very real presence of a weighty cross upon the shoulders and knowing that heaven is just beyond the horizon. One is only desirous of heaven when one is humble. I hope this makes some sense. I’ve been through many a humbling experience, so the subject is very appropriate.
June 1, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Thanks for your comment, Fran. I suspect that there is a lot more that could be said, but some things are difficult to articulate – and even harder to learn as you note.
June 1, 2011 at 3:09 pm
I liked this related post:
http://saintjameskids.blogspot.com/2011/06/abba-macarius-defeats-devil.html
June 1, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Thanks, Joseph. That reminds me of the words of Saint Anthony that I posted here.
June 5, 2011 at 6:27 am
Humility is the essentially the “poverty in spirit”, the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
The bishops are the successors of the Apostles who “keep watch over themselves and all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit made them overseers (episkopoi) to shepherd the Church of God that He obtained with the blood of His own Son” (Acts, 20, 28). They are the “servants of Christ and stewards (oikonomoi) of the mysteries of God” (I Cor. 4,1). St. Pachomius refused to be ordained out of his own humility, not because the office of bishop would not be conducive to humility. That’s why the Orthodox have their bishops recruited from among the monks after a long exercise in humility.