Humbly Exalted. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Transcription

1 Humbly Exalted Jeremiah 11:18-20 James 3:13 4:10 Mark 9: th Sunday after Pentecost Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. From James, chapter 4, verses 8 and 10: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. Bridge James hopes that we move toward a full (and successful) dependence upon God because he says that: if we, actually, do draw near to God (trusting in Him fully) He will (most certainly and effectively) draw near to us. As we humble ourselves before the Lord, He (that is God, Himself) will exalt us (lift-us-up to a position of glory), and that will always have effect on our lives here and now. So we have, just, a couple of things to do; and they are, first, to stay close to God (He s gotten us there, now stay tight), and, then, second, to humble ourselves in that closeness (which means place ourselves, always, beneath Him in everything that we do). James moving of us to draw near to God has dominated our last two weeks. His entire letter is spent telling us what it means to fulfill just these two expectations and he does-so because of God s promises to, through that, profit us so that we d not feel the need to profit ourselves. Where God exalts us, there s no higher place we could be (and that s in this life as much as it s in the next)!. I watched this week s debate and saw 14 people vie (in it) for the position of who s the biggest and best. The term I heard get used for Donald Trump was megalomaniac and I don t know that he d consider that to be an insult. Defined as a disorder, though, where one dilusionally thinks themself more powerful or relevant than is appropriate, there, I think, Trump would, only, argue against the word

2 delusional. All 14, though, felt it necessary to make their stance-at-the-podium bigger and more impressive than the others. Even relative height was discussed (they showed a graphic of them all ordered from tallest to shortest and the commentators talked about how much more electable one is who s over 6 foot). As fun as all that seems, jostling-for-the-top-position in an election is what the process is all about. In a question asked to encourage each candidate to express their level of ego, each (one-at-atime) responded to the question of what they thought their Presidential Library and legacy would (one day) be. Only Chris Christie (the last one to answer) called it the people s legacy instead of his own (and that, possibly, just to wrangle for the position of most-modest since he heard all the rest answer other ways). Some humility-through-service was attempted by everyone through their answers, but, still, the design of the question was for each of them to imagine their accomplishments (their accomplishments) and, then, share that self-image with the voters.. Pride, James said, is a special problem for those rich, self-promoting or arrogant. Any set-above others (like presidential candidates, but others, as well) are greater challenged in this because ego (often) gets fed more than one s soul does. It s tough for people who ve gained successes to, then, attribute them to, just, humble use of God s gifts. Having worked hard for things, accomplished people lived watching themselves do that work, so God s role in it wasn t as visible as the creator and sustainer of them and their opportunities. James said that pride s easy to fall into when we livedthrough our work and, then, saw how rewarded we got for having done all of it. Others, less noting their accomplishments, might enjoy seeing credited people fall (since privilege and talent might, also, play into prideful success). But that vice of pride isn t, just, the plague of the obviously-successful. In general, pride s the root of all sin. While it may be fun to talk about it in presidential candidates or others who are well-to-do, even noticing-it demonstrates our own version of having it. Whenever

3 we feel the need to compare ourselves to others (gain some upper-hand over somebody else), we re acting-out neurotic behavior that has pride as its root. A Harvard psychologist said that a neurosis is living, in some manner, as self-centered moving in the direction of a crippling problem because there s misery that builds and comes from any pre-occupation with ones self. The very nature of a neurotic disorder is pride. If a sufferer is hypersensitive or resentful, then the fear they re displaying shows an emotional need to gain competitive advantage that s problematic because worth is what s, really, being fought for. If there s an issue with being chronically indecisive, fear might be the reason for it, but it s, often, not, just, the fear of doing something wrong but doing something wrong that might get one discredited for it or looked-down-upon for it. If one s being especially self-critical, then, maybe, it s an attempt to secure praise-worthiness. And pride is, perhaps, the hardest of all things to see in one-self. It would take another person to point out the problem-of-it except that, then, that other person jeopardizes expressing their own pride while trying to help us see ours. But, again, pride is the critical thing to fight since it s the root of every sin. C.S. Lewis summarized others by saying according to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison; it was through pride that the devil became the devil; pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti- God state of mind it is pride that s been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. And James agrees, having spent his whole book on the topic. He says: God opposes the proud and Scripture announces (all over the place) that God is the Reverser of fortunes in that: He will make sure that the self-satisfied fall (His justice will be executed upon prideful sin) Text

4 but God will, also, exalt (or lift-up) the humble / the servants / the repentant (His mercy and love will prevail among the humble). In Mark s reading, the first paragraph accounts how Jesus told the disciples about His humble service which would culminate in His death as sacrifice for the huge need of the world. Meanwhile, the second paragraph describes how they weren t listening (all wrangling for honored positions as biggest and best in His earthly reign). 12 hand-picked disciples were supposed to be paying attention under Jesus, yet showed themselves to be prideful and slow to learn. Thankfully, the Lord kept at them as He does us when we re slow. He sped things up for them at Pentecost and does so with us when we let the Holy Spirit teach us. But here, Jesus tried teaching by putting a child in the middle of them and (lifting him up and holding him) told those twelve to (instead of scrambling for personal-gain) serve one like this child (lift him up by placing themselves in service beneath one like that child) as if lifting-up and serving Him. When James talked about wisdom and understanding and an appropriate trust, he was talking about the humility of a service that lifts-up others without any concern for where we re at under them while doing it. Receiving and serving God is from that very same humble posture: and it has to be from a place that we re OK being-at, lifting Him-up from under Him so that we can, then, lift-up others from the serving place that we ve assumed beneath God. A humble servant is something that we can (and must) try to be. We must try religiously (and that trying is a lifetime project). James said: Humble yourselves (which means that it s something that we re supposed to try to exercise ourselves in doing) with the wonderful news that, because God says He exalts us when we practice humble service under Him, we profit by doing so. The point of James whole book is that God takes pleasure-in, and considers Good, humble efforts and He makes our status (when doing that) something glorified that we don t have to worry about. He wants us to enjoy esteem that s lifted high, but not by self -esteem; esteem, rather, in Him that s

5 much bigger. Being there acknowledges that we know OUR WORTH IS IN HIM BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW HE SAVED US, WORTH KILLING HIS OWN SON TO DO IT. See, as bad as pride is, humility accepts God s grace and gifts and joyfully appreciates our undeserved status in Him. It is, therefore, the very birthplace of Divine growth: humility under God. An author wrote once of an earthly kind of growth: some never get started on their destiny if they don t humble themselves to learn, grow, and change. Much more-so, one of our church fathers said of Divine growth that humility s the entire root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue. It s, therefore, the place (and posture) where we can receive Good and blessedness and joyfulness it starts it all. Humility s a challenge, though, because it s out-of-step with this world. Considered a sign of weakness, humility is unappealing and discouraged by society as was, for instance, Jesus washing His disciples feet on that night before He died. Remember, there, that God girded Himself with a towel and knelt before 12 crusty pairs of smelly men-feet, taking each, then, in hand and scrubbing-it until layers of caked filth fell into His basin of water. That s not the earthly path to success and power the world doesn t preach humble service to God, so, also, to neighbors. Peter, even (a man of the world as much as he grew to be a man of God) practically demanded that the Lord get off His knees before Him and, instead, exalt Himself and rule there. Not getting it, he thought he could, only, respect that kind of leader. But Jesus didn t get off His knees until He was done serving that way. He said that what you see me do for you, do likewise for each other and, then, He moved out into a garden to submit to being arrested and tried and whipped and crucified-until-death, carrying the cross from which He d hang to where sinful pride would kill Him on it. Never deserving any of that, God s Son tookall-of-it for 12 men and for about 110 who followed Him around and for several million Jews and for several hundred-billion other people like us (as well as for any one little child born who d forever-die if

6 He d not done that). Humble service is out-of-step with this world, something we re to be out-ofstep-with-this-world-about (in it, but not of it) just like Jesus was (in it, but not of it). To which the Father raised Him up because of that. Because His Son humbled Himself to the point of death, the Father highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name. We saw Jesus exaltation through the words of the witnesses of Him being raised and ascended. And the Father s baptized us into that exalted name, so that we are sons and daughters through Jesus also exalted because He is. Application So, reversed in fortunes will be those both prideful and humble the prideful humbled and the humble exalted. Which are we? Both is God s answer. It s why James talks to us in both of our situations (as prideful sinners and as forgiven ones who God lifts-up to the high esteem in which He holds us). We are prideful (and it s the root of every sin that we commit, but humble, too, by lives of repentance for our pride. As we repent and believe, we, then, get reversed away from our arrogance, knowing God s mercy so glorified into service under Him. Thy will be done, Father, and not my will, because Your will is always to my benefit and to the benefit of this world. Mine is (too often) prideful, so thank you for raising-up Your Son, and for raising-us-up, forgiving us for our pride and exalting us as forgiven. You exalted Jesus through His service to Your will and, now, You exalt us in Him to join in service as well. Thank you for gifting us and for making us worthy to participate in Your work. In +Jesus name. Amen.