Episode 27: 2/27/09

Readings:

Psalm 35
Deuteronomy 7:12-16
Titus 2:1-15
John 1:35-42

Sermon:

Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Psalm 35:1-4

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

For those who humble themselves…

For those who humble themselves before the Lord God Almighty with a pure heart there is strength, and protection that, for those who believe on His name, offers the power of salvation.

On Ash Wednesday we heard the story of the Pharisee and the Publican, the story of two men who would go to the temple to pray, one with his chest puffed out, his good works first and foremost in his mind, the other with his heart filled with shame and sorrow, his sins weighing heavily on his soul. (Luke 18:9-14) There the Pharisee would brag to the Lord of his righteousness, while the other would confess of his iniquities, and though the Lord would hear both prayers, it would not be the man who had dedicated himself to the law who would go home justified, but rather the one who would humble himself before the Lord, the one who would stand before him, unable to even lift his eyes from his own breast, staring down at his feet, as he, with contrite heart, with a submissive spirit, with an honesty about his nature, would cry out to God for salvation.

But how does this humility come to us? Is it only in our confession of sins? Or, in the wider scope, in the grander view of things, does it mean in every aspect of our life?

In the Psalm of David, we find another case of the humble heart turned once more to the Lord. Here though, it is not in the acknowledgement of sin, but rather in the admission that were we are weak, God… God is strong.... Though we may waver against the struggles of this world, though we may find that we stumble when the challenges arise before us, though we may wonder if we have the power to stand up for truth and righteousness when our faith is put to the test, through all things and in all things, the lesson of David, the lesson of the Psalm is that God, who is always faithful to us, will heal the broken places of our soul, will guide us and protect in the moments of darkness that seem to overtake us, if we come to Him and lay it at His feet, with no sense of self righteousness, or pride, when our hearts are unassuming and humbled not by the power of this world, but by the realization of God’s great love for us.

After all, as we are taught in the words of St. Paul, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

It is the same lesson taught over and over again throughout the word of God.

Joshua, that great leader of the children of Israel, filled with awe as to the immense weight that was cast upon him as he picked up the staff of leadership to guide his people after the passage of Moses. He would realize his authority, his strength, it would not come from the admiration of men but from the God of his fathers, and there he would not be so proud as to fail to give glory to the Lord, as to fail to humble himself before the Lord in search of His guidance.

Job, as he filled with anguish and pain, as he was filled with the sorrow of this world as all he had and all he loved was ripped away from him, could not be turned from the Lord God Almighty. In a deep sense of humility he would bow before the Lord, in good times and in bad, understanding that all that he was and all that he had, it did not come from a sense of entitlement because of the works of his hands or the righteousness of his deeds, rather, it came from the power of God, who gives and takes according to His divine will. There he would never be as bold or as foolish as to curse the name of the Lord, instead looking to His overwhelming power as a fount of strength in his time of need.

And then, of course, there was David, that mighty and powerful king of Israel. Through his words in the Psalms we hear a man who looks not to worldly armies or earthly power as his means of strength, who looks not to those that he can and does command as the source of authority, but instead to the might of the Lord. There, come what may, come what must, the Lord will justify and sanctify him in the face of his enemies, those who would seek to drag him down, to destroy him those who would, in a moment of weakness, would seek to break him. David knew that, as he bowed by the Lord, he was given the strength to stand.

There, it was not the works of the hand, nor the self righteousness of the heart, but the grace of God, that provided.

And so it is in our lives…

Humility… humility comes in many forms and in many ways, and yet it is marked by one unchangeable, unalterable truth, that it, not our works, draws us closer to God. After all, as we are reminded in the Gospel, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

Even now, as we face the challenges and the trials of this world, as we face the tribulations, confronting those that would seek to rob us of our peace that springs forth from the love of God, we come to the same truth that those saints before us dwelt in. Christ’s great sacrifice, that sacrifice that shed his precious blood on the cross, not our own works, is what offers to us salvation, strength and guidance. There though our works must shine his love in our life in testimony to his life, death and resurrection, to his teachings, it is only when we humble ourselves, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to the Cross, to the Lord, that we find the grace that will offer to us salvation through redemption and sanctification.

Humility does not just mean in our confession of sins, or in the realization that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, we all miss the mark, it means to turn our lives over to God in the understanding that He will provide for us all that is needed, all that is necessary for us and our salvation. We are His and He is ours, to those who trust in His name, those who place their faith in Him, those who humble themselves before Him, handing their life to Him He gives the power to become His children. There, a loving and caring Father, He would never give His Children like lambs to be devoured by wolves.

Therefore humble yourselves, dear brothers and sisters… humble yourselves to the Lord and the power of His might, humble yourselves to the works and the will of the Holy Spirit and its divine hand in your life, humble yourselves before the cross and that great sacrifice of Christ, knowing that, through all and in all, it is the power of your salvation, a salvation that cannot be robbed of you if, in faith, your eyes remain focused on God and your soul bowed before His righteousness, not your own.

Lord grant this unto us.

Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.