Pentecost 12 “Pride & Humility”
August 28th, 2022 – Luke 14:11
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Address
Brothers and sisters,
Over the last 10 weeks our messages on Sunday morning have had us looking and recounting stories of God’s goodness. All these pieces of history have pointed us toward Jesus Christ who we call our Lord and our Saviour. They have been grand accounts of God’s goodness toward certain people that let us know about His goodness toward us.
God’s goodness toward us is in the hope we have of eternal life to come and peace we live with now as we await His return. This is what we have now simply because of Jesus – with nothing we have done or can do to attain it.
No practicing of a certain virtue will make us into true Christians or fall from it. We are true Christians simply because Christ has made us His own through His death and resurrection, and applying of that work to us through His Word and Sacraments (what are the sacraments?)
Means of receiving His Grace.
Virtue
Now, as His people, loved and forgiven, Jesus guides us to live a virtuous life. Christ gives us advice on how to live as people who reflect Him to those around us. This morning, instead of looking at stories which point us to Christ, we will look at a virtue for us to nurture within us which also points us to Christ.
I’m going to read our collect prayer for today which we prayed earlier, and I want you to listen to see if you can hear what our virtue of the day is.
“O Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride…”
Any guesses on our virtue? It’s humility! Or, you could also say it is the avoiding ungodly pride.
We prayed to our Father that we would be led by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus’ example in true humility.
Humility
I think we all have an idea of what humility is and how to do it. This morning we are going to slow down and look at the ways God has described it for us. Pay attention. People loved, rescued from eternal death and gifted eternal life, you are called by God now to be humble – every day of your life.
The Old Testament Reading
The Old Testament Reading today is from a special book. It’s the place we’ll start. It comes from a book written by a king whom God granted unmatched wisdom. Scripture states no one was as wise before him and no one would be as wise who came after him. The wisdom he had was God’s wisdom. It speaks to the virtue we are working on this morning. It speaks to humility. Proverbs 25:6-7 says:
6Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great,
7for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
This is putting into practice humility. Do not put yourself forward or in the place of those who are great. It is better to be brought up than have to be put down.
The life applications for us with this one are many! When you’re viewing a concert at the Centre, do not walk up on stage and start your juggling routine as if you are the most important person there all people want to see… and then be thrown out by security. It’s best to stay with the rest and if you are invited up you are honoured.
When you’re in line at the bank, best to not think you are above the rest and march to the front of the line and expect to be seen. In humility, you should wait at the back. If someone sees you and calls you ahead or to the side, you have been honoured.
Put yourself lower than those around you and do not count yourself as more important than they are.
Jesus put himself lower than us, came down to live with us, in our messiest places. He waited with us. He grew as we do. He did not seize control of the world or the throne of heaven, but was elevated by the Father and given kingship over all heaven and earth. He did not even count equality with God something to be seized. Humble. He did not count a criminals’ death beneath Him. He humbled himself beneath even the worst of us sinners – to save us.
Are we better than our Lord and God?
The Psalm
Here in our Psalm for today is a prayer for us to use in nurturing humility within ourselves. This prayer reminds us of who God is and who we are. It goes like this:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Even in times when we are the opposite of this. When our hearts are lifted up and our eyes raised high, and we occupy ourselves with things too great. When souls are chaotic and loud. We can still pray this word of God and, in faith, work to be put in our proper place. A place of humility before God and a place of peace and security.
The Epistle Reading
The Epistle reading from Hebrews 13. This letter is filled with bullet point style advice for us on what humility looks like. Here are a few paraphrases to note as you follow along:
- Show hospitality to strangers.
- Remember those in prison as though you were in there with them.
- Remember those who are mistreated since you also have a body that could be.
- Hold high in honour all marriages. (Don’t put yourself above it and break them)
- Be content with your money. God has, and will, provide.
- Remember your Christian leaders. Imitate them – as they imitate Christ.
- Be strengthened by God’s grace – not food.
- Bear criticism for being Christian as Jesus did for being the Christ.
- Cling to our lasting city in heaven not this one.
- Use our words to speak praise to God and acknowledge Him.
- Do not neglect to do good.
- Share what you have.
- Obey your leaders and submit to them.
- Help your leaders’ God-given roles be a joy and not a burden.
Humility. That summarizes what all these points are getting to. Put yourself under others. Serve others. Serve under God – who has served them and you in Christ.
Christ, our server, has taken away your dirty dish – your plate of sin, and has given you instead a clean plate of His perfection.
The Gospel Reading
The Gospel reading shows us Jesus Himself at a dinner at a holy man’s house and how He taught on humility. It begins with Him forgiving a sinners’ sin, or to say it another way, healing him and sending him on his way.
Then Jesus notices a piece of social dynamics. Those invited choosing for themselves the best places to sit. That’s how we live, isn’t it? “First come first served”, right?
Jesus, knowing the Scriptures, applies our Proverb from the wisest man on earth by speaking to them a parable. He says:
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
Jesus concludes His parable by stating this: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
What is exalting oneself? Exalting means to promote, raise, elevate, boost, praise, laud, acclaim, applaud… yourself.
Humility is to stay quiet and take the low place. If someone else raises you then you are honoured. So, as one taking the low place before God and others, raise up those around you in love – perhaps you will be raised up, too.
Jesus teaches us: “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Whether you are raised up by others or not is unimportant. What is important, is that Jesus raises you up before God the Father.
If you raise yourself up, God will humble you. If you are humbled by His Word, acknowledge your low place, your sinfulness, truly see others as more important than you are, then you have room in your soul to be filled and lifted up by Christ’s forgiveness for you.
All other things that lift you up, food, self-praise, money, status, it will crumble and betray you. Christ is the only one who can truly lift you up. His love and forgiveness has lifted you up and is a firm foundation that gives you royal honour and worth.
Of course, all of this is much easier said than done. I cannot condemn you for something I myself struggle greatly with. God is the one who can condemn. But, I can tell you that God forgives you for your pride. Jesus forgives you now for not reflecting His humility. His humility which paid the debt of your sins.
You are loved and raised up by God – so let us live humbly.
In Jesus Name,