A Homily by Deacon Wayne Walker
These first weeks of Lent we’ve been talking about adjusting our attitude, a particular attitude adjustment that all of us need to make. If you think you don’t need any attitude adjustment you’re probably a prime candidate.
The attitude I’m talking about is actually one of the most important virtues of all. Throughout this season of Lent, we're looking at its application when it comes to more successfully living the Christian faith. It stands before and lies beneath the practice of all the other virtues. We're talking, of course, about humility.
Humility is not weakness, low self-esteem or a low opinion of yourself. That's not humility. That type of thinking is not virtuous but a mark of insecurity. And if we find ourselves thinking that way, we have to work to overcome it. True humility is different. It’s not a low opinion of yourself but a clear opinion of yourself, knowledge of yourself as you really are.
Virtuous humility can be surprisingly powerful. If you can be truly humble, you can learn and grow. If you can be humble, you can bring peace to your relationships. If you can be humble, you can be patient with the world around you. Humility is grounded in the reality that everything we have comes from God, all of it, our talents and abilities, our opportunities, in fact, who we are, our very life. It's all a gift from God.
We can grow if we listen. Humble people listen, first and foremost, to God. He knows us better than we do. We’ve mentioned what we called “the comparison trap”, it kills our humility. We can be tempted over and over to compare ourselves to others, especially when it comes to other people's faults and failures so that we can feel better about ourselves. It's understandable but it doesn’t help.
It only distracts us, gets us off course, and can inflame our pride. There's only one good comparison to make. Who are we in relation to who God wants us to be?
Jesus shows us how we can be humble in the face of our faults and failures. Tax collectors and sinners were listening to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So, people who had nothing to do with religion or at least weren’t too concerned about it are attracted to Jesus.
People who were nothing like Him, liked Him. But religious people thought that they remained holy by separating themselves from sinners. Jesus came to save sinners and the
religious people just didn't get it. So they grumbled and complained against Jesus. We hear it throughout the Gospels.
In response to their complaint, Jesus tells a story. "A man had two sons. And the younger son said to the father, "Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me." The Parable of the Prodigal Son might be so familiar that you overlook its outrageous premise. The son is telling his father, essentially, I don't want to be around you anymore. Let's just proceed as if you were already dead. And by the way, give me my share of your estate." It's shocking, but even more shocking is what the father does in response.
He accepts his son's proposal and splits the property between his two sons. The younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. He leaves the father and farm behind and he's off to Vegas to party like a rock star, which predictably ends badly. He runs out of cash just as the recession hits. His foolishness is matched by misfortune, making a bad situation worse.
It seems like life delivers that up all the time. You make a poor decision and then something beyond your control aggravates the situation. You find yourself deep in debt. It's your own fault. But then you get slammed by an unexpected expense that was not your fault. You wait until the very last
minute to study for the exam. And then at the very last minute, you get another assignment handed to you. It's just the way life seems to work sometimes.
Anyway, in what was apparently his only option, this unfortunate young man does something truly unthinkable in that culture. He hired himself out to tend the pigs. No occupation could have been more disgraceful for a Jewish man because swine were considered unclean. The son is so desperate he's willing to do it anyway, so impoverished that he’s willing to eat what the pigs ate. He's gone as low as he can go. It's at that point that the story turns on a single phrase.
We're told, "Coming to his senses" a phrase in Hebrew for taking responsibility for your actions, it dawns on him that he has a problem, and he caused of it. When we have a problem, it can take quite a lot for us to even acknowledge it. It’s even more difficult for us to take responsibility for it.
Everything in us wants to blame somebody else. It started with Adam, “the woman gave it to me”. We find an excuse. Take the easy way out. "My marriage is in trouble because my wife doesn't understand what I need." "My grades aren't any good because my teachers are out to get me.""My career is going nowhere because my boss is an idiot."
That's certainly one way to approach our problems. But another route is offered to us. We can be humble and takeresponsibility for why we are where we are. "My marriage is in trouble because I haven't made it a priority." "My grades aren't what they should be because I don't study." "My career is goingnowhere because I haven't developed my skills and put in the extra effort."
The prodigal son chooses to humbly accept responsibility for his actions, and it turns his situation around. It's a fairly simple formula, and it works exactly the same for us as it did for him. It's a biblical principle. And Jesus is teaching us that it works. Think about it. Weakness plus humility equals strength. Disappointment plus humility equals success. Failure plus humility equals victory. The list could go on and on. Ultimately, it's the attitude adjustment, the attitude of humility that allows us to take any situation in life and turn it around.
The prodigal son comes to his senses and decides to go back to the Father admitting his folly. He resolves, "I'll get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me as you would treat one of your workers."" He doesn't make any excuse for his behavior. He doesn't say, "Father, you should have known that that was a bad idea and talked me out of it. He doesn't say, "Father, if you didn't love my brother more than me, none of this would have happened." Instead, he says, "Father, I sinned."
He begins the long journey home, rehearsing what he's going to say. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son,embraced him and kissed him. When he begins "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son", the father cuts him off. The guy didn't get to finish his well-rehearsed speech because the father is so filled with joy at his return.
Interestingly, the power of humility not only works, but it works quickly sometimes, instantly. The fastest way to bring peace to conflict is to simply say, "It's my fault. I'm wrong. I made a mistake.
"We've looked at the humility of the prodigal son. It’s true that he acted out of desperation. He only acknowledges his sin when he had no other choice, not exactly a shining example for us. Eventually, he acts sensibly but not until he has reached rock bottom. And yet while the father knows all that, he just doesn't care, ordering the servants, to “Take the fatted calf and slaughter it. Let's celebrate because this son of mine was dead and he's come back to life. He was lost and now he's been found.
"The father's willing to take the son's contrition on any terms the son wants to extend it. And in that sense, it is actually the action of the father, not the son that reveals the meaning of the story and the real heart of humility. Humility is really all about selfless love. The father in this story represents God the Father. And the story is teaching us about the incredibly humble heart of God himself. We don't often think about it that way. But the heart of God is humble. We know that because it's given expression on the cross.
So let me ask you. How are you doing with all of this? Do you have...are you cultivating a habit of admitting your faults and failures or do you have a knee-jerk reaction of deflecting responsibility? Do you own your mistakes? Or are you just looking for others to blame? Do you willingly, honestly, regularly say you're sorry because when you do, it has this incredible ability to change and transform you more into the person that you want to be, and the person that God wants you to be.
The amazing irony at the heart of this whole homily series is that as we aspire to be more humble, we actually become more like God. So here’s what I want you to know: Humility has the incredible ability to change and transform us into the person that we want to be, the person that is more attractive to the people around us and the person God wants us to be. And here’s what I want you to do: Cultivate a habit of admitting your faults and failures. Be humble; admit your faults and own your mistakes, honestly and regularly say you’re sorry.
Listen to audio version here:
The attitude I’m talking about is actually one of the most important virtues of all. Throughout this season of Lent, we're looking at its application when it comes to more successfully living the Christian faith. It stands before and lies beneath the practice of all the other virtues. We're talking, of course, about humility.
Humility is not weakness, low self-esteem or a low opinion of yourself. That's not humility. That type of thinking is not virtuous but a mark of insecurity. And if we find ourselves thinking that way, we have to work to overcome it. True humility is different. It’s not a low opinion of yourself but a clear opinion of yourself, knowledge of yourself as you really are.
Virtuous humility can be surprisingly powerful. If you can be truly humble, you can learn and grow. If you can be humble, you can bring peace to your relationships. If you can be humble, you can be patient with the world around you. Humility is grounded in the reality that everything we have comes from God, all of it, our talents and abilities, our opportunities, in fact, who we are, our very life. It's all a gift from God.
We can grow if we listen. Humble people listen, first and foremost, to God. He knows us better than we do. We’ve mentioned what we called “the comparison trap”, it kills our humility. We can be tempted over and over to compare ourselves to others, especially when it comes to other people's faults and failures so that we can feel better about ourselves. It's understandable but it doesn’t help.
It only distracts us, gets us off course, and can inflame our pride. There's only one good comparison to make. Who are we in relation to who God wants us to be?
Jesus shows us how we can be humble in the face of our faults and failures. Tax collectors and sinners were listening to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So, people who had nothing to do with religion or at least weren’t too concerned about it are attracted to Jesus.
People who were nothing like Him, liked Him. But religious people thought that they remained holy by separating themselves from sinners. Jesus came to save sinners and the
religious people just didn't get it. So they grumbled and complained against Jesus. We hear it throughout the Gospels.
In response to their complaint, Jesus tells a story. "A man had two sons. And the younger son said to the father, "Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me." The Parable of the Prodigal Son might be so familiar that you overlook its outrageous premise. The son is telling his father, essentially, I don't want to be around you anymore. Let's just proceed as if you were already dead. And by the way, give me my share of your estate." It's shocking, but even more shocking is what the father does in response.
He accepts his son's proposal and splits the property between his two sons. The younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. He leaves the father and farm behind and he's off to Vegas to party like a rock star, which predictably ends badly. He runs out of cash just as the recession hits. His foolishness is matched by misfortune, making a bad situation worse.
It seems like life delivers that up all the time. You make a poor decision and then something beyond your control aggravates the situation. You find yourself deep in debt. It's your own fault. But then you get slammed by an unexpected expense that was not your fault. You wait until the very last
minute to study for the exam. And then at the very last minute, you get another assignment handed to you. It's just the way life seems to work sometimes.
Anyway, in what was apparently his only option, this unfortunate young man does something truly unthinkable in that culture. He hired himself out to tend the pigs. No occupation could have been more disgraceful for a Jewish man because swine were considered unclean. The son is so desperate he's willing to do it anyway, so impoverished that he’s willing to eat what the pigs ate. He's gone as low as he can go. It's at that point that the story turns on a single phrase.
We're told, "Coming to his senses" a phrase in Hebrew for taking responsibility for your actions, it dawns on him that he has a problem, and he caused of it. When we have a problem, it can take quite a lot for us to even acknowledge it. It’s even more difficult for us to take responsibility for it.
Everything in us wants to blame somebody else. It started with Adam, “the woman gave it to me”. We find an excuse. Take the easy way out. "My marriage is in trouble because my wife doesn't understand what I need." "My grades aren't any good because my teachers are out to get me.""My career is going nowhere because my boss is an idiot."
That's certainly one way to approach our problems. But another route is offered to us. We can be humble and takeresponsibility for why we are where we are. "My marriage is in trouble because I haven't made it a priority." "My grades aren't what they should be because I don't study." "My career is goingnowhere because I haven't developed my skills and put in the extra effort."
The prodigal son chooses to humbly accept responsibility for his actions, and it turns his situation around. It's a fairly simple formula, and it works exactly the same for us as it did for him. It's a biblical principle. And Jesus is teaching us that it works. Think about it. Weakness plus humility equals strength. Disappointment plus humility equals success. Failure plus humility equals victory. The list could go on and on. Ultimately, it's the attitude adjustment, the attitude of humility that allows us to take any situation in life and turn it around.
The prodigal son comes to his senses and decides to go back to the Father admitting his folly. He resolves, "I'll get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me as you would treat one of your workers."" He doesn't make any excuse for his behavior. He doesn't say, "Father, you should have known that that was a bad idea and talked me out of it. He doesn't say, "Father, if you didn't love my brother more than me, none of this would have happened." Instead, he says, "Father, I sinned."
He begins the long journey home, rehearsing what he's going to say. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son,embraced him and kissed him. When he begins "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son", the father cuts him off. The guy didn't get to finish his well-rehearsed speech because the father is so filled with joy at his return.
Interestingly, the power of humility not only works, but it works quickly sometimes, instantly. The fastest way to bring peace to conflict is to simply say, "It's my fault. I'm wrong. I made a mistake.
"We've looked at the humility of the prodigal son. It’s true that he acted out of desperation. He only acknowledges his sin when he had no other choice, not exactly a shining example for us. Eventually, he acts sensibly but not until he has reached rock bottom. And yet while the father knows all that, he just doesn't care, ordering the servants, to “Take the fatted calf and slaughter it. Let's celebrate because this son of mine was dead and he's come back to life. He was lost and now he's been found.
"The father's willing to take the son's contrition on any terms the son wants to extend it. And in that sense, it is actually the action of the father, not the son that reveals the meaning of the story and the real heart of humility. Humility is really all about selfless love. The father in this story represents God the Father. And the story is teaching us about the incredibly humble heart of God himself. We don't often think about it that way. But the heart of God is humble. We know that because it's given expression on the cross.
So let me ask you. How are you doing with all of this? Do you have...are you cultivating a habit of admitting your faults and failures or do you have a knee-jerk reaction of deflecting responsibility? Do you own your mistakes? Or are you just looking for others to blame? Do you willingly, honestly, regularly say you're sorry because when you do, it has this incredible ability to change and transform you more into the person that you want to be, and the person that God wants you to be.
The amazing irony at the heart of this whole homily series is that as we aspire to be more humble, we actually become more like God. So here’s what I want you to know: Humility has the incredible ability to change and transform us into the person that we want to be, the person that is more attractive to the people around us and the person God wants us to be. And here’s what I want you to do: Cultivate a habit of admitting your faults and failures. Be humble; admit your faults and own your mistakes, honestly and regularly say you’re sorry.
Listen to audio version here:
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