A Fourth Church Sermon by Joanna M. Adams

August 17, 2003 | 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

What Ever Happened to Humility?

Joanna M. Adams
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church

Psalm 111:1–4; 9–10
1 Kings 2:10–12; 3:3–10
Philippians 2:3–11

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:3–5a (NRSV)

Proud people that we are, O God, we bow our heads before you.(1)
Move our souls to praise you as we ought, and grant us humble, obedient hearts
that we may receive what you have revealed and do what you command,
for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen.

There are some weeks when it is easier to write Sunday’s sermon than others. This was not one of the easy weeks for me. After being away on vacation, I returned to the office to find mail, messages, and magazines stacked shoulder deep. I did find myself able to grab a few hours of study, Monday through Thursday, but it was not until Friday that I was able to sit down to write. I gathered my notes, picked up my pen, took a big gulp of coffee, and then jumped three feet in the air. A noise as loud as a sonic boom broke my concentration. Just as I was deciding whether or not to dive under the desk, I remembered the Air and Water Show was taking place this weekend in Chicago. What I was hearing was the first of hundreds of airplanes, whose pilots would fly over throughout the day rehearsing for Saturday’s and Sunday’s big events. I understand by the time it is all over, more than 2 million people will have enjoyed the Air and Water Show this weekend.

What a strange sensation to spend the day up to my elbows in the New Testament’s understanding of power, as manifested in Christ’s self-emptying and sacrifice, while the spectacular displays of another kind of power altogether were taking place overhead.

Power has been quite a theme these past days, hasn’t it? Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, and everyplace in between—50 million people experienced the greatest electrical blackout, the greatest loss of power in American history, illustrating in a stunning fashion once again how vulnerable we humans are in the face of calamities over which we exercise no control.

That wasn’t the end of Friday’s story. When I came to the church later in the afternoon, I learned that a computer virus had invaded our online daily devotional ministries at Fourth. Many of our members and subscribers, though thankfully not all, had been flooded on Friday morning with hundreds of copies of the same devotion. That’s the kind of mess that will teach you a lesson in humility very quickly, as well as remind you that you really can have too much of a good thing.

When it comes to today’s sermon topic, we are in little danger of having too much of a good thing. Ours is a self-assertive, everybody-wants-to-be-a-winner kind of culture, in which we rarely ever hear a good word said on the subject of humility. Gone are the days when your grandmother, after you had bragged to her about some accomplishment you had achieved, would look over her spectacles and solemnly remind you that “pride goeth before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Since we live in an age that appears to be on an endless ego trip, it seems to me that worship would be an appropriate occasion to think afresh about the meaning of humility. The dictionary defines it as “the quality of being humble,” which in turn means “to be modest in behavior, attitude, or spirit.” Humility is not a false, manipulative modesty.(2) In my former life, I was a high school English teacher, and each year I would teach Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield. Every year Uriah Heap would show up again in all his unctuousness, and every year he would say, “I am a very ‘umble person,” and every year I would want to wring his neck.

Jesus said something else altogether about humility. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). It is puzzling to imagine what he might have meant by those words, but when you hear them, doesn’t it make you want to receive the gift that he is offering? With all your heart, do you not wish for it? But how in the world, how in this world can we do it?

Paul’s letter to the Philippians can be of assistance, I think. He writes, “Do nothing from selfish ambition, or from conceit, and in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” There is not a thing in those words to suggest either false humility or self-deprecation; rather they open the door to what is understood to be the right and satisfying relationship we would all want to have with God, with other people, with ourselves, indeed, with the whole created order. It is not that you shouldn’t pay attention to your own interests; if you don’t, who will? But do not let your interests take up all the room. There is somebody else here besides you.

In another of Paul’s letters, this one to the church in Rome, he wrote, “For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think” (Romans 12:3). It is legitimate to infer that thinking too lowly of yourself is not such a good idea either.(3) The admonition is to not think more highly of yourself than you ought to. Be realistic about who you are and what gifts you have, as well as what limitations you have. Grandiosity, conceit, self-righteousness are antithetical to a Christ-like way of life, but so is neurotic lack of self-regard. That’s the kind of outlook on life that says, “Well, I am just not worth anything. I can’t do anything. I do not have what it takes. The problems of the world are so great and I am so ineffective” and so on and so forth.

Never forget the ringing words of Paul later in Philippians. He is writing his letter from prison, by the way. He is confined by forces over which he has no control, and what does he say? “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This is Christian humility. Not sitting down and giving up. Christian humility gives you clarity and confidence about what you can do, but it also understands that the glory for all of it belongs to God. Christian humility saves us from having to be the best and the greatest and the strongest all the time, all on our own. It saves us from bragging about all the wrong things.(4)

The beautiful story that was our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures focuses on the young King Solomon, who has ascended to the throne of Israel upon the death of his father. He has been in office only a couple of years. Obviously he is finding the whole experience to be intimidating. He makes his sacrifice to God and then falls asleep and has a dream. In the dream, he has a vision. In the vision, God asks him to name before God what blessing he would want from the Almighty. In the spirit of genuine humility, Solomon acknowledges that he hasn’t done the job very well. “I do not know when to send the solders into battle; I do not know when to tell when the battle is over.” “I am just a little child,” he says, though he was in his early twenties. “I do not have confidence in myself yet, but I do have confidence in you, O God. It was you who showed great steadfast love to my father, your servant, David. Now you have made me your servant-king. Please give me an understanding mind, the wisdom to govern these great people.” It is possible, you see, for a strong ego and a genuine sense of humility to exist inside the same psyche. But if one is not present to balance the other, then everything gets out of whack.

The church community in Philippi was certainly out of whack when Paul described to them the mindset that he hoped they would adopt. Discord abounded; people were polarized. Some believed they were more favored by Paul than others; the others felt disrespected and unloved—ah, the church. But Paul urges all of them to adopt the approach to life and to one another that is most like Christ’s own approach.(5)

Have the same mind in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death.

Jesus had everything going for him: a position high above in the heavens, a position of equality with God; freedom, absolute freedom, from the arbitrary forces that interrupt and upend human existence—but he didn’t think that any of that was worth holding on to for dear life. So for the world’s sake, he gave it all up, choosing to become subject to the same powers and calamities that affect human life, including death—and not just death, but the cruel death of crucifixion on the cross, an ending reserved only for those on the outer margins, the thieves, the murderers, and others considered by society to be of no consequence whatsoever. He humbled himself, but this humbling was neither weakness nor meekness on his part. It was a brave and faithful choice that he made of his own free will.(6) To use Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s memorable phrase, “He chose to become a man for others.” He chose to descend into the heart of human existence without counting the cost, and he made it possible for us to do the same.

A New Yorker magazine cartoon this week shows God sitting majestically on a heavenly throne, with the stars twinkling all around. The planet earth is visible in the distance. The Almighty is looking at the earth and says, “Don’t you make me have to come down there.”(7) That is exactly what Christ Jesus did. He came down here. He gave it all up for our sakes. If Christ could do it, why would you or I ever consider ourselves too good to live a life for others? I don’t know about you, but for me a life for others sounds genuinely more promising than maintaining my citizenship in the kingdom of I, Myself, and Me.(8)

So what might humility look like in the Christian life today? I would suggest three possibilities. Humility looks like the willingness to welcome and embrace other people, especially those who are excluded, neglected, or marginalized in our power-oriented society.(9) It is remembering the words of Jesus: “When you have done it to the least of these who are my brothers and sisters; you have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40).

Humility welcomes and embraces. Humility is also willing to learn from other people, especially those who might be different from ourselves.(10) Al and I have known a young man since he was a toddler who is now grown and serving as a reporter for NPR in Iraq. In his emails, he writes of all the things he is learning about humility, pride, and human dignity and the resilience of the human spirit. Humility is open to other people and is open to learning from other people.

Finally, I would suggest that humility is the unwillingness to stand in judgment over others.(11) I am sure that if I were to take a poll this morning about everyone’s opinions over the vote at the Episcopal convention to approve Gene Robinson as bishop, we would undoubtedly have a divided house. As for myself, I thought the action of the convention was brave and faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray for the day when the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America removes from its constitution the provision that categorically limits service as deacons or elders or as pastors either to those who are celibate in singleness or faithful in marriage, marriage being defined as between a man and a woman (G. 6.0106b). Like the Episcopal church, like the congregation in Philippi, our Presbyterian family is deeply divided. Many on both sides believe that they are defending the kingdom of God against the feckless. Many on both sides believe that God really does love and agrees with them much more than God cares for their opponents. The day might come when I am proved to be wrong in this matter, but for now, I simply cannot get out of my head all the beautiful teachings in the New Testament: “Let those who are without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7). “Be ye kind, one to another” (Ephesians 4:32). “Judge not lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1). I keep thinking that were I to search for Christ today, I might find him most readily amongst those who are on the outside, waiting to be let in.

Humility reminds us that God is God and that you and I do not have the responsibility to play God. It helps us remember that Christ is Savior. That job has already been taken. Therefore, we need to get busy doing what our job is. I would use the word servanthood to describe it.(12) It is receiving the gifts, abilities, resources that God gives us and then taking advantage of every opportunity to do justice and to love mercy, and as the prophet Micah said, “to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

There are all kinds of power in this world, but listen. There is only one kind of power that will save. It is the power that was in Christ Jesus, who emptied himself and gave of himself and whom God raised and gave a name that is above every name. At the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bend and every tongue confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God. Amen.

Notes
1. Adapted from a prayer from Ernest T. Campbell, Where Cross the Crowded Ways.
2. John S. Mogobgab, Weavings, May/June 2000, p. 2.
3. Robert C. Morris, “Meek as Moses: Humility, Self-Esteem, and the Service of God,” Weavings, May/June 2000, p. 38.
4. See Walter Bruggemann’s article “Bragging about the Right Stuff,” Journal for Preachers, Pentecost 2003.
5. Fred Craddock, Philippians, John Knox Press, 1985, pp. 37–43.
6. Ibid.
7. New Yorker, 18 and 25 August 2003, p. 8
8. A memorable phrase from the writing of the late, great theologian Dorothy Sölle.
9. Michael E. Williams, “Gentle and Humble of Heart,” Weavings, May/June 2000, p. 10.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, “The Fast Less Chosen,” The Other Side, July and August 2003, p. 15.