A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

GET HIGH ON HUMILITY

Matthew 21:1-11, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, March 16, 2009

It is reported that the following was discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls. “And Adam said, ‘Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here, and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me.’ And God said, ‘No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish, childish and unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself.’ And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and it wagged its tail. And Adam said, ‘But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the kingdom and all the good names are taken.’ And God said, ‘No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.’ And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, ‘Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility.’ And the Lord said, ‘No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration.’ And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility. And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Cat did not care one way or the other.

Our text is about humility. Even if Cat doesn’t care one way or the other, God certainly cares. Proverbs 18:16 famously reminds us that “(p)ride goes before destruction…” and it is God who makes sure that all who raise themselves too high are eventually brought down to earth, as scripture says: “…every mountain and hill shall be made low….” Being humble is not an easy trait to get a handle on. I mean if you’re good, heck great at something, then the truth is the truth. Like Ted Turner said, “If I only had a little humility, I'd be perfect.” But we believe differently. If we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, then the Lord shall lift us up. So walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Look beyond your needs to the needs of others and you will be on the road to being a humble servant of Jesus Christ. Remain humble as if you had nothing of your own, for God saves the humble person. Job 22:29

What we want to see this morning is that the way to enter anyone and everyone’s heart is by being humble.

Just as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding humbly on the back of a donkey, to the cheers of the crowd, we should enter all situations in our lives consciously aware of our reliance on God and others to help us make the best of things. All our sufficiency for any good comes from God. And this isn’t just for when we begin. Christ’s lesson is that even at the moment of our greatest earthly triumph, we need to remain humble. So many people start climbing up and doing well because they were humble and devoted just to doing a good job without wanting the glory. But when they are raised up a little, they toss away what got them where they are. Often it is not when we are down that we see what we are made of, but rather when we are lifted up and have freedom and power. The fact is the back of a donkey doesn't put one up above the heads of others. Sit on one and you see pretty much face-to-face with a standing crowd. Jesus couldn't ride impressively through a crowd mounted on a donkey. He could only ride in the midst of the crowd, being as much a part of the crush as were all the others—and this was at his greatest moment. Now that’s humility. Resist being proud, and God will give you grace. Don’t be a hypocrite, but instead think honestly about yourself, your gifts and weaknesses. Hold on to what makes you a valued member of the team, God’s team. Be meek, gentle, and lowly in heart, “and you shall find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

A famous naturalist once visited fellow nature-lover Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt's home. One evening the two of them walked on the lawn looking up at the stars. They talked of the galaxies and the great expanses of the universe. They identified the various constellations. Then followed silence. Finally Teddy Roosevelt summed it all up: "Now I think we are small enough. Let's go to bed."

Jesus’ decision to ride into Jerusalem breaks with his usual mode of transportation: walking. Until now Jesus and the disciples have, like most first-century travelers, simply walked to their next destination. Occasionally, when required, they have taken a boat, but even when Jesus was on the water, he walked! So we must ask the question: Why does Jesus now decide to mount up? Matthew declares it is to fulfill scripture, specifically the image drawn in Zechariah 9:9 of the king entering Jerusalem “humbly and riding on a donkey.” The point Jesus makes is that, yes he is king, yes he is messiah. But he is a different kind of king and messiah than you have been expecting. He is a triumphant king, but not a conquering warrior. Jesus is a gentle king, who has no sword; instead, he will submit to what his enemies would do to him, and in so doing he will gain his kingdom, conquering sin and death. As scripture says, “Humble yourselves … under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6

Now I know we try to live like this, but sometimes it is the smallest things, the common choices that take us away from Christ’s life. The alarm clock fails. The dog throws up. The kids can't find their shoes. Finally, you're out the door, armed with a cinnamon latte in the travel mug and the car phone on speaker. Meeting begins in 30 minutes? Commute takes 40 minutes? Speed limit remains 55? No problem. Glide casually into the HOV lane. Accelerate to about 70. Can't spare a minute. Need to double-park to pick up a quick package? Scoot into a handicapped spot to drop off a colleague? No problem. You know, this is not living humbly. This is living as if we are better than others, and better than the rules that govern all. Is it possible to show Christ to the world while disregarding road rules, for example? Scripture says you should “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.” Philippians. 2:3-4   Now  the practice of humility opens us to Christ's presence; or more specifically, it enables us to pay attention to Christ's presence and guidance. Humility orients us more toward the spiritual so that we can live a life of Spirit. Another way to understand humility is to view it as a state of being in which we become radically open to God throughout our lives. Humility is a way of life in which we orient ourselves to seek God's direction rather than living purely according to our desires, habits and instincts. This is the path to a Christ-like life.

There was a certain man who was one of the most learned people of his generation. He had a Ph.D. in philosophy, he had a Ph.D. in theology, he was a world-class musician, and concert halls around the world were sold out when he went on tour. He had the world by its tail. Then, to the surprise of everyone, he decided he wanted to go back to school. Not to teach as a member of the faculty, but to earn yet another doctoral degree. The third doctorate he received was in medicine. Would he become Europe’s premier surgeon? Not at all, but he would become Africa’s premier doctor, and one of three most known humanitarians of the twentieth-century. As soon as Albert Schweitzer had his medical degree, he left the comfortable surroundings of Western Europe and went into the jungles of Africa. There he cleared away part of the jungle and began building a clinic and eventually a hospital. Once the clinic was built, he started providing medical care to the young and old of Africa. Many years later, in 1952, Dr. Albert Schweitzer won the Nobel Peace Prize for his ministry of healing in the jungles of Africa. When he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, he shared with that distinguished crowd in Stockholm the reason he had built a hospital in Africa. The reason was summed up, he stated in the first words he always said to his native patients as they awakened from an operation. He would say, "The reason that you have no more pain is because the Lord Jesus told the good doctor and his wife to come to the banks of the Ogooue River and help you. If you owe thanks to anyone, you owe it to the Lord Jesus."

Unlike so many other heroes who entered Africa mounted on a stallion—so to speak—gun in hand, Albert Schweitzer lived with, healed, helped, and loved God’s children at eye-to-eye level. He was once a talented and intelligent man who became a truly great human being. He put his pride to the side, and did God’s work.

We can get snared in pride in even the most simplest and unassuming ways. A woman tells the story that her parents told about her often as she was growing up. One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me and my brother who is four years older than I am. I was maybe one-and-a half years old and had just recovered from an accident in which my arm had been broken among other injuries. Someone had given me a little “tea set” as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and my brother was playing nearby in the living room when I brought Daddy a little cup of “tea,” which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was “just the cutest thing!” My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, “Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??”

Be careful with pride. Being humble helps us in all situations, and helps us do God’s work. Be humble, stay humble, no matter how good you get, because no matter what God is the one who deserves the glory.

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