ταπεινός (tapeinós) & ταπείνωσις (tapeínōsis): Lowliness and the Paradoxical Power of “not rising far from the ground”—Part I: The Gospels
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ταπείνωσις (tapeínōsis)
Etymology & Definition
From the the root, ταπεινός (tapeinós) which means “ low”, or more literally, “not rising far from the ground.”
When a person remains in this low condition, then they experience abasement, humiliation (From the Latin word, humilis, meaning “of the earth, soil, ground”). This characterizes the state of ταπείνωσις (tapeínōsis).
ταπείνωσις:
4x in the NT
ταπεινός:
8x in the NT
We will track the development of both of these words simultaneously through the Gospels (this post) and into the Epistles (next post), as in certain instances they occur together in the same passages and mutually inform each other. As has been our custom, we will then move from the Scriptures to how this concept is worked out, enfleshed we might say, in the writings of the Church. And in the process we will find that vital humility is not merely a difficult, even impossible, virtue; it may be the virtue that should most mark the life of a believer. For it is this state of humility rooted in love out of which flows the transformative power of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Summary Synthesis
Tapeinós takes us immediately and directly into the very heart of the Son of God, where we encounter a deep paradox. By taking on His burdens, we experience true rest which the world can never offer us, (though it tries in all of its counterfeit ways).
From here we move into the still greater paradox revealed in the life of Mary, a self-titled slave-girl. In what has been called the “Paradoxy of Orthodoxy,” we find that in true poverty of spirit, there is salvation; in true poverty there are the riches of eternal salvation.
Detailed Analysis
The Gospel of Matthew
The opening instance of tapeinós takes us directly to the very the heart of the Eternal Son of God (Mt 11:27). In the only “I am”’ statement in Matthew (in fact, in the entirety of the synoptic Gospels), Jesus says,
Come to Me, all you who are growing weary (κοπιῶντες) and have carried great burdens (πεφορτισμένοι) and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me (μάθετε, literally, “become a disciple of me”).
And how?
How exactly is it that we, already burdened down by the work and toil and labor of the Fall, become true disciples of Jesus…by taking onto ourselves more burdens?
The answer:
Come to Me
For I am meek (ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι) and lowly in heart (ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ)
And in Me you will find rest for your souls.
A Paradox which even the world grasps
This is a paradox for which words are inadequate: When burdened, we find rest not by the cessation of our activity but by actually taking on to ourselves more burdens; not by escaping into the momentarily satisfying therapeutics of this age, but by embracing the reality of the hardship present in this fallen age.
In short, we find true rest as we follow the heart of Christ, Who sought not to escape hardship and suffering, but entered into its depths (advenire) in a way that broke its hold over us, transformed it and finally redeemed it (Phil 2:5-10; I Pet 2:21-25.)
Could this be a central reality that divides the Kingdom of God from the kingdoms of this Fallen Age?
More specifically, could this paradox answer why it is that when we take on what the world offers us in the illusory (or delusory) idol of what we will gain from it, we actually become more miserable?
Work more, harder, more…more goals, more plans, work, work, work….then you’ll finally be able to get it, success, money, security, happiness….then…you can finally rest.
But it doesn’t work.
The WHO world happiness report may be just one possible supporting claim. That is to say, the more money we make, after a certain point, the more our happiness actually goes down.
This makes absolutely no sense in worldly terms; yet even our fallen age is seeing that money and wealth is not the answer to our existential needs.
Or we could point to another line of research which has been termed the “Paradox of Modern Suffering.” In this synthesis, the researchers explain that “modern suffering” is not caused by what we lack, but rather by our excess. The more we have, the more our delusion of control takes hold such that we begin to think we can actually control every aspect of our lives in a way that will make us “happy.”
But it inevitably fails.
And when it fails, our worldly response is simply that we don’t have enough; we just need more so we can have more control over the things which didn’t work out. The problem, then, is only our lack of control…
Yet again, when we get more, our heightened levels of control serves only to makes us more miserable.
Why?
Possibly because we’ve ratcheted up our view of what the “more” will bring us. And we may have realized in the process on a deep, maybe unconscious level, that our control doesn’t work. We don’t even know what we need; what can truly make us happy; and so we keep working, working, working…and our attempts are thwarted at every step.
A Paradox to which only a Person can bear witness
Jesus’ pathway is different.
As we have learned, His path is, in no uncertain terms, the opposite way from what the world offers us—not something slightly different; the exact opposite.
When we follow the heart of Christ and begin to take into ourselves His burden, we find that this burden is not only worth bearing, but it is the only thing that has the power to transform our hearts, which have become so divided by the “cares of this world (μέριμνα [merimna]) and the deceitfulness of riches” (Mt 13:22).
And He explains how this is so:
“For My yoke is exactly what is needed and most useful to you” (χρηστὸς). That is to say, there is nothing else which you need more than this. And as you carry it, you will find, as Christ declares, that this “burden is light” (11:28-30).
Everything else will burden you down, but in carrying His burden, you will be lifted up.
The Gospel of Luke
From the heart of Christ and the paradox of a light burden, we move to the mindset of Mary and the paradox of an exalted slave. In the Magnificat (with an excellent verse-by-verse commentary here), Mary, in what has been called “The Bible in miniature,” sings a song that expresses the mystery and “paradoxy” of salvation at the angel’s announcement that she, a “female slave,” will be the mother of the “most high.” This is where is the second instance of tapeinós and the first occurrence of tapeínōsis appears.
The Song of Mary
With her “soul” (that is, every part of her life and being), magnifying the Lord and her “spirit” rejoicing in God her Savior (Lk 1:46-47), Mary reveals to us the principle reason why—And here is the first place where we encounter the word, tapeínōsis.
“For He has looked upon the low estate (ταπείνωσιν [tapeínōsis]), we might say, the abject poverty, the nothingness, of His female slave” (1:48a, cf. 1:38).
And His look upon Mary will mean that
”All generations will call [her] blessed” (1:48b).
She is the one “who believed.” And in her belief, “there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (1:45). Mary unites genuine faith with vital humility, that is to say, with lowliness, with poverty of spirit— without which no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5:3).
“Great things” (μεγάλα [megala]) will be done for her. In the depth of honesty she displays of her low condition, she enters into the holiness of the Lord (1:49). Through her fear of God, she receives the eternal mercy of JHVH (1:50, cf. Ex 34:6).
The “proud,” in stark contrast, JHVH has “scattered in the imagination of their hearts”; the “mighty” He has “cast down from their thrones (1:51). Yet, the “lowly” (ταπεινούς [tapeinós]), He has “exalted” (Lk 1:52).
This is the way of Christianity. This is the pathway of Christ, the pathway of the Cross. This is the “paradoxy of Orthodoxy.”
By becoming low, we are exalted;
By becoming last, a slave in total abject poverty, we become first;
By emptying ourselves, we are truly fulfilled;
By denying ourselves, we come to fullness;
By becoming poor, we are made rich;
By becoming a fool, we receive true wisdom;
By losing our life, we gain it for all eternity;
In short, by dying, we truly live.
With this paradox of what a Christian truly is, we bring this first word study to a close.
[And for those of you who are interested we provide an explanation of the above icon.
The icon of Extreme Humility explained
The image of Jesus is presented in the following way to show the depth of His tapeinosis:
“At the arrival of unjust persecution, bow your head.
At the jeers of false accusations, cross your arms over your heart, whether physically or interiorly, and gratefully receive what is spitefully offered.
And when faced with the question, ‘How far, how far do I tolerate this shame, this injustice’, remember that the answer is the grave.
This is what the icon labels ‘Extreme Humility’, and it is humility that we must strive to emulate each day.”]