|
A congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
|
|
Saint John’s Church |
|
Father Rob’s Sermons |
|
Saint John’s Episcopal Church 920 Belvedere-Clearwater Road North Augusta, South Carolina 29841
Church Office: (803) 593-5662 Vicar’s Cell Phone: (803) 341-0075 Email address: RobHartley@comcast.net website: saintjohnsclearwater.org
|
|
Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost |
|
October 1, 2006 Topic: Humility |
|
James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. [NIV]
One of the great spiritual truths of this life is this: Whatever is good for life with God in His Kingdom to come is good for our lives in the here and now. God’s invitation to you and me is that we start living the Kingdom life now, and we will see the blessings of the Kingdom… now. So, when James says in this morning’s reading, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up,” James is not talking about God exalting us when we go to heaven, although God surely will. James isn’t saying we just have to grin and bear this humility stuff now and we’ll get an extra chevron with our good conduct medal when we walk through the Pearly Gates. James is talking about God blessing us and lifting us up in the here and now through our humility of life.
And, of course, this is what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.” It is interesting to me that Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit heaven,” although this surely may be true. Jesus instead implies that the humble will see the reward of their humility here in this life.
But when we look at this through the eyes of this world and not from Jesus’ perspective, this humility stuff seems odd, paradoxical, even foolish. Who wants to be humble when the world, the flesh and the devil teach us to pursue happiness by being self-serving, dominant and greedy? But Jesus, the most humble man who ever lived, says there is a more perfect way. Who is lying to us? Is it Jesus, or is it the devil?
Humility is not being a doormat for the powerful and aggressive, or being unwisely compliant in dealing with others; so, what is humility? Two phrases in particular from our reading in James’ letter give us some hints about the true make-up of the humble life. The first is v. 7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” The humble life is characterized by submission to God. When we humbly bow before the awesome majesty of God, and when we submit to God’s good and perfect will for our lives, we have the bedrock upon which God can build humility, gentleness, peace and blessing into all the other nooks and crannies of our lives.
Secondly, James says in v. 12, “There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?” Humility is not claiming any prerogative or power over our neighbor, most of all, the self-appointed prerogative of judging others. Who are we to pronounce condemnation upon another’s sin, dysfunction and shortcoming? That is God’s job at the Last Day; besides, God is intent on healing and redeeming instead… We should be also.
Have you experienced the inner peace that comes from laying aside your judgment of others? It is not only liberating, but more importantly it opens the door for you to be God’s instrument of redemption rather than condemnation in a person’s life. A great truth of the Kingdom… here it comes… It is in your humility that you are useful to God. Humility is looking on others as Christ looks upon them… as persons of great worth to the Father. Humility is seeking not to rule over others or to use them, but to serve them as Christ serves us all.
This past Wednesday in our study of the Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, we read about God in Christ laying aside his prerogative and power of being God for the purpose of coming among us to serve and to redeem. Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-8: 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, Even death on a cross. What are we to do, therefore, with our own arrogance and judgmentalism when even God Himself humbly chooses to love and to serve? To follow Jesus, therefore, means to choose a path of humble submission to God and humble service directed at the welfare of others.
When God says we too will be lifted up (blessed) in our humility, do you believe it, or do you believe what the world tells you? We have all tried the world’s way of being lifted up out of the muck, mire, futility and hopelessness of this life. Have you tried Jesus’ way to the blessed life? That include humility before God and neighbor. If you want an example of blessing through humility, look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. Did she believe God, or did she believe the world? Look at Luke 1:35-49: The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. … 38Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ … 46 And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
All of us here at St. John’s are called to be on a journey away from the pride and arrogance that ravages our lives, and toward humility before God and our neighbor that blesses our lives. Remember, it is the humble who are useful to God. Like Mary, let the Holy Spirit come upon you and lead you into submission to God, and into love and service to your neighbor. You too, like Mary, will be able to say, “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed…” |
|
Contact webmaster: webmaster@saintjohnsclearwater.org |
