9/9/07 - Pentecost 15 - Luke 14:7-11

HUMILITY IS THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN
- Christians know from where they have come
- Christians know why they will be exalted

What have you done for your family in this life? Have you cared for them? Have you helped them out financially? Have you looked out for them, lent them hand, sacrificed for them? If you have done any of these things you are still no better than the one who hates his family, who abuses his family, who murders his family. Because not one of your actions has earned you a thing.
What have you done for the churches you’ve belonged to in your life? Have you supported them with your offerings? Have you volunteered countless hours? Have you attended worship services regularly? If you’ve done any of these things you are still no better than the one who has never been to church, who despises the Word, who refuses to listen. Because not one of your actions has earned you a thing.
How have you lived your life? Have you worked hard? Have you been honest? Have you loved and forgiven and tried your best? If you have you are still no better than the one who has lived his life in laziness and corruption and greed. Not one of the actions you’ve ever done - no matter how good or well-intentioned they may have been, has made you any better than anyone else.
Does this surprise you? Does it surprise you that your actions do not give you any kind of an advantage over those whose lives are filled with sin? It’s because every one of your actions is filled with sin as well. Listen to what Jesus says about us, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’” (Mark 7:21-23). We as human beings are without a doubt unclean. We are defective, we are corrupted. Anything that comes out of us is slathered and soaked in sin. We are the farmland around Chernobyl. We cannot produce anything that is not contaminated and polluted with the sin that infects us. Even the action of coming to church today, singing a hymn, participating in Holy Communion. Even these actions are immersed in sin. They are far from the perfection that God demands.
This is who you are. This is why nothing you have ever done has made you any better than anyone else. And this is why humility is the mark of a Christian. Because Christians know from where they have come. They know what they do. They know how unclean they will always be. A Christian can be nothing but humble when they look at themselves and what their actions really are.
Consider the apostle Paul’s words, “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9). Paul knew from where he had come. He knew what kind of person he was. He could not express anything but humility. Consider the words of King Saul while he was still a believer. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint him king over Israel, Saul said, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me” (1 Samuel 9:21)? Saul was not worthy to be king. He knew he was not worthy because he knew from where he had come. Listen to the words of Peter. When Jesus allowed him to catch a miraculous load of fish, Peter fell to his knees and cried, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8)! These are statements of Christians. These are Christians expressing their humility.
And so how can there be even a hint of arrogance in a Christian? How can there be any kind of bravado or boasting or self-promotion? The way in which we are corrupted, the way in which we incessantly sin, the way in which Scripture says “even our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:4), should prompt any Christian to display a humility unequaled in this world. We have done nothing well! We have done everything horribly. And with this knowledge of what Scripture says about us it is no wonder that humility is the mark of a Christian.
Now we have finally arrived at our sermon text for today. We needed to know who we are and why humility is the mark of a Christian because in the gospel lesson we have already read Jesus tells a parable when “He noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table.” Jesus told them that when they are invited to a wedding banquet, do not pick the places of honor, but rather sit in the least important spot. The parable was to demonstrate this truth: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Now, Jesus in not playing the role of a Miss Manners here. He doesn’t just give you earthly advice. Jesus is not primarily concerned about how you are treated in this life because of your actions or how you should treat others. Jesus is primarily concerned about your spiritual welfare. And so it is very, very important to notice that Jesus does NOT say, “He is exalted because he humbles himself.” Humility is not the cause of exaltation. Humility is simply the mark of a Christian. Allow me to demonstrate that with an analogy.
Imagine yourself at a college graduation. You sit next to a young family and you overhear a small child ask his mother, “What are those rolled up pieces of paper up there?” “Oh, those are the diplomas that will be passed out.” “But who gets them?” the boy asks. “Well,” his mother replies, “the people in the black robes and the square hats with the tassels on them get the diplomas.” Now, does that mother mean that those people will receive the diplomas because they have black robes and hats with tassels? No. They will receive diplomas because they are graduates from that institution. The clothes they are wearing simply indicate who they are. Now apply that concept to Jesus’ words, “He who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus is describing who Christians are. A Christian will not be exalted because he humbles himself. Humility is simply the outward indication that he is a Christian.
And humility is the mark of a Christian not only because we know from where we have come, but also because we know why we will be exalted. And we have seen already that it certainly isn’t because of anything we have done. A sin-filled life will not produce an exaltation of any kind. We will be exalted because Jesus humbled himself for us. Paul says, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8)! Jesus humbled himself - he lowered himself - by becoming a human being. And he humbled even further himself by allowing things to happen to him like any other human being would have to experience. He was tempted, mocked, beaten, bruised, whipped, slapped, murdered. And yet Jesus, our true God, did not retaliate, he did not demonstrate his almighty power, he did not display the fullness of his glory to those who tortured him. Rather, he humbled himself. The Author of Life even became obedient to death. That is true humility: being humble when you have every reason not to be.
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9). Jesus was exalted - he was lifted up and honored - because of his humility. We will be exalted because of Jesus’ humility. Because of his sacrifice and his love for us we will be exalted in heaven forever.
What a glorious gift! How incredible! How undeserved! We who are suffused with sin will receive a reward as if we were perfect. We who have solidified our spots in hell by our sins will in reality enjoy a spot in heaven. We who fail to truly humble ourselves in this life will be exalted with our Savior in eternity. I am almost embarrassed at how much he has given me! I can’t even comprehend the magnitude of his forgiveness and love. I am overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness at the sure promise of eternal life he has given to me and to you and to all Christians. I can’t help but join in the words of 2 Corinthians chapter 9, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)!
And so I am not only motivated to be humble because of my awful sinfulness, I am also motivated by God’s wonderful gift. The undeserved quality of that gift prompts me to praise him. And it is natural for Christians to live their lives out of thanks, in humble appreciation, for what he has done for them. It is natural for Christians not to only humble themselves before their Lord, but before others - not to raise themselves above others but rather to lift others up - because that is what Christ did for us. Humility is the mark of a Christian because humility is an outward sign of faith within.
Humility should and does come naturally to a Christian, but it is also something to work on - just like any other Christian attitude or action. And the amazing thing is, by God’s grace, although our attempts at humility will be filled with sin, because of faith in Jesus, our Father will accept those actions as pleasing to him. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that a testament to God’s grace towards us! He accepts those sin-filled actions as pleasing to him because of our Savior! And so let us work at humility. Let us strive to be as humble as we possibly can remembering from where we have come and what the Lord has done. How do we do that? Well, humility means that we admit that God knows better than we do - all the time. Humility means that you don’t always have to be right. Humility means that even if you are right, that doesn’t mean you have to make sure the other person knows it. Humility means that you remember you are just as sinful as the person you have problems with. Humility means that you don’t always have to have your way. It means you don’t always have to say what you want to say. It means patience. It means submission. It means forgiveness. Humility means that God is first, others are second, and you are a distant fourth. That’s humility. And that’s definitely something we all need to work on.
Because humility is a mark of a Christian, but it is not a mark easy to come by. It is difficult to forget yourself, to give all the credit to somebody else, to live your life for the life of another. But that is exactly what Jesus has done for us. And that is why you will be exalted. Because of his humility. Because of his degradation. Because of his sacrifice. Model your life after the humility of Christ. Not so that you will be exalted, but because you already know you will be.
Amen.

“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” - 2 Thessalonians 1:12