Monday, September 17, 2012

Looking Forward to September 23, 2012 -- Proper 20B, 17th After Pentecost

THe Scripture Reading this week is James 4.

The Sermon Title is Humble Yourself

Early Thoughts:  Verse 10 reads: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you"  What does that mean?  When I was in High School our youth group's default song (one we could easily sing at the drop of a hat when needed) was a two part song based on this verse.  But I don't remember us actually talking about what it meant.

That verse comes after a bit of a diatribe about how worldly and unholy people are/can be.  And it suggests that the real problem is one that is brought up often in religious discourse.  DO you trust in wisdom from above or from below?  And while that is a very common question, it is most certainly not an easy one to answer is it.

What does it mean to be humble?  Here is the first definition of humble found at dictionary.com:
hum·ble
   [huhm-buhl, uhm-] Show IPA adjective, hum·bler, hum·blest, verb, hum·bled, hum·bling.
adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.
4. courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.
 James calls us to be modest, to lower ourselves, to be respectful.  James challenges us to get out our egos out of the way.  James suggests that if we can do that then we will be less prone to doing things against the flow of God.

I think James is right.  But can we do that reliably?  What would it look like on the ground???
--Gord

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