Philippians 2.5-11; Romans 12.9-10,20-21; Matthew 20.25-28
It’s not often I get flummoxed by a sermon subject but this has been one the the hardest to write. Following the themes put forward by the series Lectio 365 which we are using, and based on the teachings of the desert fathers, the subject is “Humility”. It’s a difficult concept to grasp and there are quite a few opinions if you look the word up on the internet. Think for a moment, What does humility mean for you? Probably you can imagine the opposite better - “arrogance.”
I have at home a collection of letters written to my parents when I was at College and then overseas - my mother kept them for me to remember those times. I have read some of them and am quite appalled at what an arrogant so and so I was then. My wife would have added a “d” to the first “so”. I was very critical about some people and some situations. I’ve got a bit more tolerant since then but one of my problems even now is that I am still critical. And I have learnt that the best way of dealing with this is to remember some of the disastrous mistakes and outright sins I have made in the past. Not to dwell on them for Jesus has forgiven me. Psalm 103 states “as far as the east is from the west - so far has he removed our transgressions from us”. But it is good to simply remember that we too have sinned and made many mistakes so we cannot easily criticise others. There are exceptions to this as we shall see later.
There are other ways where we can lack humility. Only the other day, I was praying for some of the young people suffering from meningitis and families that were bereaved and the thought flashed into my mind - aren’t you good doing that, I wonder how many other are doing the same. Sorry Lord for that thought!!
To go back to the Lent course, the authors looked at one of the definitions given by a Desert Father. One of the hermits was asked, “What is humility?” He gave this answer: “Humility is a great work and a work of God. The way of humility is to undertake bodily labour and believe yourself a sinner and make yourself servant of all.” A brother said, “What does it mean to be the servant of all?” He answered, “to be servant of all is not to look at the sins of others, always look at your own sins and to pray to God without ceasing.”
I have already said something about “look at your own sins” and “believe yourself a sinner” but let’s look a bit more closely at some of the other words. “Humility is a great work”. That means it is a very important part of our faith and practice: “It is a work of God" For that to be part of our work, we need to keep ourselves close to God - it is God that gives us really humble hearts. Then the hermit goes on to say: “The way of humility is to undertake bodily labour. “ We can see this for ourselves because when we immerse ourselves in something like gardening or household chore, we do forget ourselves. Then comes the words: “make yourself servant of all”. We and many members of the church are pretty good at helping people when they need it. We can also help people we don’t know through charities, praying for them and those who run the charities. Again many of us do this. But I should point out something I am not very good at. Part of humility is accepting help when it is offered.
The hermit ends by saying: “Pray to God without ceasing”? How many of us can do that? I can’t. But the hermits spent hours in prayer and I was reading only the other day about Desmond Tutu, the South African Bishop. He spent three hours a day in prayer. But we can all spend some time in prayer even if it is quite short and send off arrow prayers - thank you God for the lovely day and so on. Pray as you can but don’t beat yourself up if you cannot do more.
So there is help in what the hermit says. - but let’s look a little more closely at Paul himself for he wrote our main lesson for today and then at the lesson itself. I don’t think we fully realise the cost to Paul when he became a Christian. After being a leading Pharisee, a pupil of one of the greatest Jewish teachers Gamaliel, he had to step down from his high position, abandon all his fixed ideas except for one - and that was his great zeal for God. He would have had to suffer complete ostracism by, and outright hostility from, his previous friends Then he had to counter attacks from many of his fellow Christians who wanted him to make
Christians conform to Judaism. Also, he had not been a follower of Jesus like the other Apostles so he calls himself “the least of the Apostles. Paul had to learn humility. But at the same time, his humility did not stop him from standing up for what, under God, was right - he even rebuked Peter who had drawn back from eating with Gentiles.
So, looking at what Paul writes, he teaches his closest friends, the Christians in Philippi - and us - what true humility is like by composing or perhaps copying an earlier Christian hymn.
“Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God … emptied Himself taking the form of a slave.”
As Graham Kendrick puts it “Kneels in humility and washes our feet.” That doesn’t mean he allowed people to trample over him. He stood firm for what was right, for what he came to do - bring in God’s Kingdom regardless of the cost. So we do follow the example of humility but also stand up clearly for what is right, what is good, what is compassionate. Humility is loving our neighbours as ourselves, not instead of ourselves.
But Paul goes on to say, and I want to end with this,
“he humbled himself and became obedient .. even to death on a cross.”
Today is Passion Sunday when we think of the cross. I ask you, as you probably will do anyway, to spend some time this week or on Good Friday to think a little more deeply of what Jesus went through for the world and for us. He put out his hands to be bound by the hands of those who led him away. He let himself be completely helpless as he underwent the mockery, the crown of thorns. Then the utter agony of being nailed to the cross and the huge pain as it was pulled upright and pushed into the ground. Some of the films of the crucifixion and resurrection can help us to imagine this more deeply. Again Graham Kendrick has the lines - and I find it hard not to weep when I sing them - “Hands that flung stars into space, to cruel nails surrendered.” This - is our God! Our God whom we worship.
Lord Jesus, thank you for going to the cross for the world and for us. Help us to follow your example of humility as we seek to carry forward your work. Amen.