Some people do us a favor by putting us in our place. We need people to tell us the truth. We are not as important as we think we are.
Macrina the Younger (ca. 327-379) served this role in the lives of her two famous brothers. Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Caesarea, influential leaders in the early church. When Gregory returned from the university, he found his boyhood home a far different place than he had known before. Macrina had convinced their mom to free the family’s slaves and convert the family estate into a Christian community. Marcina shaped its monastic life around three simple practices: prayer, work and serving others. During a severe drought, she combed the area to find children abandoned by starving parents and adopted them into the community.
Gregory arrived home puffed up with self-importance, having excelled in his studies. His recent success as a public speaker had gone to his head. Macrina wasted no time in bringing him back to earth. She challenged him to put his talents to work in the church and forego worldly pursuits. He joined her community which shaped him in profound ways. When in 376, a synod deposed Gregory from his position of bishop and the emperor exiled him, it was Macrina who snapped her brother out of his whining by reminding him to count his blessings and recognize God’s favor. “You are renowned in cities and peoples and nations. Churches summon you as an ally and director, and do you not see the grace of God in it all?” she pressed. “Do you fail to recognize the cause of such great blessings, that it is your parents’ prayers that are lifting you up on high, you that have little or no equipment within yourself for such success?” Spoken like a true older sister!
Gregory wrote a biography honoring his sister, including their remarkable dialogue as she lay dying. She challenged him to refrain from mourning like an unbeliever and whispered a parting prayer: