Humility – long considered a sign of wisdom, and valued
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Proverbs 25:6 – “Do not put yourself forward in
the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great….”
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Many early church leaders commented on wisdom –
Ignatius, Augustine, Ambrose
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But not just Christians – all cultures
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Confucius – “Humility is the solid foundation of
all virtues.”
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Socrates – “Pride divides men, humility joins
them.”
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Buddha – Humility is the ladder to divine
understanding.
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Hinduism teaches, “To cultivate the fruit of
wisdom, prepare the soil of your heart with virtues like humility.”
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Tau Te Ching – “Humility gives its own power.”
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Even today – Rick Pitino – “Humility is the key
to success.”
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Wisdom for how we relate to one another in this
life
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Yogi Berra – “It’s not the heat, it’s the humility.”
It’s really no surprise that Jesus taught about humility.
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After all, the Creator’s Law is written on the hearts
of all humanity. (Rom 2:15)
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“All truth is God’s truth.” even more so when it
comes to humility!
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Jesus speaks from the wisdom He put into His
creation.
But there is more to grab from this Gospel lesson than a bit
of wisdom about humility.
Jesus is confronting the sin that is also in the heart of his
hearers – both the hearers in the reading, and our own!
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We recognize the value of humility – but we
struggle to live in it!
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Aristotle – “Humility is a flower which does not
grow in everyone’s garden.”
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Even the pagans knew!
Jesus reveals that sin is ultimately about love that is
directed wrongly, which often shows in different kinds of pride.
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Man with dropsy – edema – excess fluid built up
in tissue (Pres.Trump’s Chronic Venous Insufficiency) – not necessarily
dangerous in itself, but is often a symptom of something bad in the heart,
liver, or kidneys – can be painful, tight skin, limits movement, skin break
into ulcers, infection
o
A man in obvious need – but it’s the Sabbath day
– no work! – Jesus challenges and then heals
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Confronting a tendency toward self-justification
– “I kept the Law” – I did all the right things – confirmed, had my kids
baptized, gave, went to church, generally good people.
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Compassion for others?
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“You value your animals more than other people!”
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Seat of honor – self-importance –
thinking of what we deserve in our comfort or recognition.
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Inviting those who can invite you – self-indulgent
motives – quid pro quo! What will I get out of it?
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They were judging Jesus – v. 1 – “Jesus went to
dine at the house of ruler of the Pharisees (obviously invited), and they were
watching Him carefully.
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Ultimately, they were judging God – self-deification.
Jesus’ words turn our eyes outward – away from ourselves and
toward others.
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Simone Weil – “Humility is attentive patience.”
Jesus confronts our sin when he confronts our pride and our
focus on ourselves, and, in so doing, He models compassion and humility. His
attention to others becomes an example for us to follow.
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Powerful witness to the world when we walk in
Jesus’ way of humility!
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Attentive to the need of others – respond –
prayer and action
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Criticism of “thoughts and prayers” – a certain amount
of truth!
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Attentive to the dignity of others – build them
up – recognize as fellow creatures – truth and justice in our relationships
§
The Golden Rule
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Attentive to the value of others – love them –
recognizing the value God has placed on every person – Creating and redeeming
More important than what we’ll do with this, is that this humble
wisdom was Jesus’ way of saving us.
I need to pause on that, because I’m afraid you heard me
wrong! I’m afraid you heard me say that this wisdom was Jesus’ way of saving
us, and you thought I meant that if you do these things, then you’ll be saved.
No! I’m saying that this humble wisdom was Jesus’ way of saving us because …
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Jesus humbled himself – even humbled himself to death!
And not just any death but the most horrific and humiliating death – on the
cross – to rescue us
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Attentive to our need – reconciliation with God!
Salvation from damnation!
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Attentive to our dignity – “I created you for
something better than this!” – relationship with Him in truth and justice
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Attentive to our value – love – “greater love
hath no man than this …”
When we walk in humble wisdom we walk with Jesus
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Creator’s Way – written on our hearts, but lost
in our sin
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Savior’s Way – Cross of redemption in love
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Spirit’s Way – points us to Jesus, guiding us to
point others to our savior too.
It has been complained that Christians are all hypocrites – I
have been accused of it myself.
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It’s true! We tend to think too highly of
ourselves and not enough of others.
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Thanks be to God, Jesus the true ideal of
humanity shows us humility.
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Even more, thanks be to God that Jesus in
humility died to bring forgiveness for our sinful pride.
Go in Jesus' forgiveness – and be changed by it to reflect Jesus’
way of humble wisdom to the people in your life. Amen.
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