A Lesson in Humility

by Celia Hunter

Do you remember the Mac Davis song from 1980? I know; 1980 is a very long time ago, but
there’s a 2019 version by Willie Nelson which goes to prove it stands the test of time: “Oh
Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Hard, indeed. It seems like
it’s a constant battle, reining in the urge by some to bully and browbeat those they consider
inferior to themselves.

In today’s reading it’s clear that arrogance and an attitude of superiority are not the qualities of character that line up with God’s call to us. Let’s look at what Jesus is saying in our reading
from Matthew’s gospel.

This passage follows the one from last week and is a continuation of the scene in the temple.
We are just four Sundays away from the triumphal end of our church year, and for Jesus,
these are essential teaching days. Time is short. Jesus is taking us down the inevitable track
to the events of Holy Week. He has a crowd gathered around him as he teaches in the
temple. His disciples – his followers – are there, taking in every word. They have been
absorbed by the back-and-forth between Jesus and the temple authorities. It’s been a tactical
game of chess the scribes and the Pharisees set up to take the king and yell out checkmate.
But Jesus has held them in check every time. He evades each trap they set.

It’s important to know the roles that these two groups, the scribes and the Pharisees, play.
We hear them referred to often enough but let’s remind ourselves who they are.
The scribes are first recognized in the Old Testament in the time of the kings David and
Solomon. They documented royal decrees and military records, and tracked genealogies –
family trees. As scribes they preserved the Scriptures by meticulously copying and re-
copying the sacred texts, and over time their responsibilities shifted towards religious duties.
They expanded their role after the Babylonian exile to include publicly reading and teaching
the law to the people, and came to be referred to as lawyers and teachers of the law. They
became the experts on the Law as set down in the Torah, the books in the Bible from Genesis through Deuteronomy. They interpreted and taught in the temple and synagogues, working closely with the religious sect known as the Pharisees who were dedicated to keeping the law in every detail.

The Pharisees’ intention was to ensure that the rules were kept, which in itself is a worthy
aim, fair enough, but what Jesus is attacking in our text today is the fact that all too often they have been stretching rules to extremes, making them, for the ordinary soul just trying to survive day-to-day and get by, next to impossible to follow. And the authorities then chide the ordinary folk for falling short, calling them “sinners”. Humiliating them, putting them down.

It appears that demanding adherence beyond reason, beyond good sense, can lead to losing
sight of the “spirit” behind the standards God set for the people through Moses.

Jesus has strong words for their self-righteous arrogance and their pompous behaviour.
The outward signs and symbols of piety are meaningless when actions and conduct are so
out of step with God’s will.

Only minutes ago, in response to the question, “which commandment in the law is the
greatest”, Jesus has responded with the very verse contained within those ostentatious
phylacteries worn by his challengers: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

The fringes Jesus points to are blue twisted threads at the four corners of a garment that are
to remind the wearer to obey the commandments; commandments that Jesus has summed
up with this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” He leaves no room for their superior bearing; the symbols are meaningless if their reason-for-being is ignored.

Jesus has no argument with the knowledge and wisdom that the scribes and the Pharisees
teach. Jesus has said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I
have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)

But he definitely does have an argument with how they behave. Do not do as they do. Do
not oppress. Do not discourage. Because, when all is said and done, there is but one
authority, and that is God. One teacher. We are all students. At one level or another, we are
all learners.

A church community is a collection of learners.

Mary sent out a message to the Community Choir a week or two ago that said it so well. She
wrote, “None of us can be a choir without the others. Some of you are very experienced and
have many tools in your choir toolbox while others of you are just opening the lid.”
Substitute the word choir for church, and it fits so well. We are all students, and with humility
and respect, we help one another out as we find our way, with Jesus as leader and guide.
There are three takeaways from today’s reading:

► how wrong it is to flaunt knowledge and wisdom especially without actually putting any
of it into action;
► how right it is that we see one another as fellow learners, with the Messiah as our
instructor, showing us how to live;
► and how perfect it is to serve, with humility and respect for all.

“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble”, Mac Davis wrote. If you take in all the lyrics, it’s easy to see
why it’s so hard: he – or the character he’s writing and singing about – is so wrapped up in
himself and his own magnificence that he has no time, and no need, he figures, for others. No doubt the song is all tongue-in-cheek. It’s funny. Or maybe very sad as he describes his
loneliness and isolation. But it brings home a couple of points.

► First: who do you serve? Who are you there for: self or others?
► Secondly: if it’s hard to be humble, is it just easier to feel superior, a cut above? And
how does that feel?

What is it, to be humble? We trace the word humble to the Latin word humilitas, which comes from humus, meaning ground or earth. To be humble is to be grounded. For us, we are grounded in our faith. It is good to be solidly planted.

► We acknowledge God as Creator.
► We know Jesus to be our Teacher and Guide. So much to learn.
► And we sense God’s Spirit at work as we explore what we have in the way of talents
and abilities, and limitations. Do we have many tools in our toolbox to share, or are we just
opening the lid?
► We explore, we share, and then we get to work.
As part of a community, we get to grow together. We are never done learning.
► The folks that get together for Bible Study on Wednesday mornings are discovering
new things every week and it’s exciting!
► The group that meets twice a month on Thursday mornings to make sandwiches are
focusing their attention on people they will probably never meet. Those sandwiches are
made with love.
► We have a new ministry that brings young parents and their tots together for a regular
time of play and conversation. We have individuals who volunteer time with Community Care,
with youth groups, who visit care homes and neighbours.
► Worshipping here together, and sharing fellowship in our coffee times, lunches and
other activities, we build a community that finds the joy in sharing common ground, learning
from one another, and serving with humility and respect.

This week, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, serving on the International Space Station,
reflected on the experience of his first space walk and how he felt as he looked down at our
planet. Seeing the earth from the outside, he said, made him feel “very small” and “almost
insignificant”. Almost. He says he was stunned by the beauty and the fragility of the planet,
and resolved to be “the best person he can [be].”

Humility. Respect. There is much that is good in this world.
I hope that for this week, we can hold him up as a brother among us who shows what it is to
be humble, to “feel very small” and yet sees how he can make a difference as he serves with
the talents and abilities he has been gifted with; the tools in his toolbox.
We all have them. May we use them in service to others, as God calls us to do. May it be so.
Amen.