Readings for today: Matthew 23-24, Psalms 92
Humility is an “essential” in the Christian life. Literally, one cannot follow Jesus without developing this character trait. Frankly, it’s Jesus’ main beef with the Pharisees and scribes and other religious leaders of his day. He didn’t criticize their theology so much as their focus on the minutiae of the Law rather than the purpose the Law was designed to serve. The religious authorities majored in the minors. They specialized in regulating all kinds of behavior. They had the best of intentions. They had honest concerns about ritual purity and that’s no small thing. Especially in the ancient world. But over time they became prideful. Their goal was to serve the Law rather than allow the Law to serve humanity. Remember their attacks on Jesus over Sabbath-keeping? The religious leaders had all kinds of regulations governing how many steps one could take on the Sabbath or how much effort a person could put in before something became “work” and they forgot the purpose Sabbath-keeping was to serve which was blessing. By keeping the Sabbath, humanity would be blessed. They would experience more joy and more peace and more life and more love but the strict regulations robbed the people of these blessings. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath - bringing joy and peace and life and love to the person on the receiving end - the religious leaders went crazy. And that’s when Jesus reminds them that “Sabbath is made for man not man for the Sabbath.”
Matthew 23 is a series of discourses where Jesus contrasts the pride and arrogance of the religious leaders with the humility of the ordinary, everyday Israelite. He clearly demonstrates the difference between serving the Law and serving humanity. He calls the religious leaders, in no uncertain terms, to repent and humble themselves. Sadly, there is little evidence any of them ever did in Jesus’ lifetime. In fact, they redouble their efforts to have him arrested, tried, tortured, and killed. This chapter is worth reflecting on especially if you’ve been a Christian for a long time. It seems the longer we follow Jesus, the more tempted we are to major on the minors ourselves. Focus on the non-essentials instead of the essentials. It’s why so many believers switch churches over small things or finer points of theology while neglecting the higher call to unity and community. We seem so quick to give up on each other, especially if we don’t agree on everything or feel let down or get disappointed. We don’t put each other first. We don’t assume the best of each other. We don’t seek the mind and heart of Christ. It’s heartbreaking.
Humility is defined by Jesus who was by His very nature God and yet didn’t consider His status as God something to be held onto. He didn’t consider His perfection more important than relating to us in our imperfection. He didn’t consider His purity more important than meeting us in the midst of our impurity. He didn’t consider His power and authority and rights as the Son of God worth holding onto if it created a barrier between us and Him. No, Jesus let all of those things go. He emptied Himself in order to become our servant. He humbled Himself to death on a cross. He deliberately and intentionally chose to decrease so that we might increase. And if we truly want to follow Jesus, we must do the same for each other and the world around us. We must serve rather than be served. We must proclaim a gospel that is truly good news not bad news. We must seek to call people to life and light and love and joy and blessing rather than curse them or shame them or condemn them for not measuring up. I don’t know about you but when my time comes and I stand before the Lord, I do not want to hear “Woe to you” but instead “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 25-26, Psalms 93