Katharina Schütz Zell (d. 1562) was an important reformer in the city of Strasbourg. She became infamous for marrying a priest, Matthias Zell (1477–1548), and publishing a defense of him.

She wrote several meditations on Scripture, letters of consolation, and polemical treatises on marriage. In this commentary on Philippians 2:5-11, Schütz contemplates the experience of poverty in light of the petition lead us not into temptation. She holds up Christ’s baffling and salvific willingness to humble himself as an infant.

Christ’s Humility in Poverty Dignifies Our Own

When we are in poverty, Christ gives us patience on account of the poverty of his whole life. He did not have to lower himself, and so his humility and poverty should eradicate the willful abundance of our own overweening pride. For he indeed gave up all the riches and honor of his former station for our sake, humbling himself to take the form of a slave.

Philippians, Colossians, ed. Graham Tomlin, Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT Vol. XI, p. 48