A Lesson in Humility

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
September 20th 2009

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“A Lesson in Humility”
Psalm 1; Mark 9:30-37

It always happens while they are on the way. The best teaching moments seem to come while the disciples move with Jesus from place to place. And the best educators know to take advantage of every opportunity. Apparently, being on the road was not the best environment for the disciples to hear that Jesus was going to suffer, die, and rise again. I am not sure there is ever a good time to hear this sort of news. After all, the disciples do not grasp what Jesus is saying until after the resurrection. Unable to grasp Jesus’ teaching the disciples do what the followers of Jesus always do when they are anxious or do not understand something. They decide to start a fight about something completely unrelated to the issue at hand.
Jesus understands this inclination but since the road seems to be less than an ideal setting for teaching he waits till they are in a house. “What were you arguing about?” It was an argument about who was the greatest. It was a competition, which is something we know well. It is the life-blood of our society. Competition is how we know our value. And it is this inclination that Jesus seeks to challenge.
Knowing the answer to his question, Jesus uses a visual image. Notice that he does not say: “Friends, you are all gifted in your own special way. You should appreciate the diversity of gifts.” He does not turn to the disciples and say: “Andrew, you are good with one-on-one relationships, or Matthew, you are good with numbers and money, or to James and John, no one has more enthusiasm and zeal than you two, and Judas you, well Judas we should talk later.” Jesus seems less than interested in the particular gifts of each disciple, at least on this day.
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” If the disciples wanted a blunt answer to the question of greatness they just got it. Being on the road with Jesus, seeing the miracles and catching a glimpse of the way God intended things has actually clouded their vision. Instead of grasping the role of serving the disciples had tasted power and privilege and wanted more. After all, if they even remotely understood that Jesus wouldn’t be around forever someone was going to have to take over. The trappings of privilege are strong, even on the road with Jesus.
Last February Emma came home and told us about the most amazing story. She wondered if we knew that in the old days that dark skinned people had to sit in the back of the bus. She went on to tell us about Rosa Parks and how light skinned people got to sit at the front of the bus. But what will always stick with me is what she shared about another student. After hearing this story another boy in her class said he thought that sounded like a good idea. When we asked Emma why she thought he would like it she said: “He only said that because he is a light skinned person and not thinking about other people.” Out of the mouth of kindergarteners came wisdom that basically boils things down to their essence. This very honest kindergarten “light-skinned” boy understood what privilege was all about. And focusing on the privilege he lost sight of what his privilege might mean for other people.
The lesson Jesus teaches about humility is not that we all ought to walk around being self-effacing. Unfortunately, for far too long, followers of Jesus take this as what it means to be humble. So, if Jesus is not teaching us to be doormats, what is he saying? First we have to recognize that he is speaking to the male disciples who are still captured by the belief that leadership is about establishing dominance. So Jesus says if you want to be great, serve others. And to bring this point home he takes a child and says they, not someone else, must welcome children.
It is important to know on this point that children were not seen in the same light as we do today. Childhood was not about innocence or trusting everything that is told to you. In fact, you really just need to spend time with toddlers to figure that one out. Instead, children in the ancient world had no real value. So the disciples are being taught to welcome and offer hospitality to those who society sees as having no value.
Christine Pohl in her book on hospitality called: Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, she gets at the essence of this passage. To offer hospitality means to give of our whole selves. She writes: “To give someone else our full attention means that we view the person as a human being rather than as an embodied need or interruption.” That is not something that comes easy for everyone. But it will never come as long as the disciples are busy trying to figure out who is in charge and who is the greatest. When we take the focus off of ourselves, the limitations or gifts and skills we might have, we can learn like the disciples in every age that following Jesus can be as simple as offering the gift of our presence and full attention to anyone who crosses our path. It really is that simple.
Standing on the platform waiting for the Marta train I could see interacting with various people. He was asking for spare change. He was hunched over and looked beat down by years on the street. Secretly I hoped that the train would arrive before he got to me. But the train did not come. However, when he came close I realized I had met this man before. Before I could call him by name he had already launched into his story of need. When I called him by name he looked at me, really looked at me and remembered my name as well. In that moment we both broke from the script where he I saw him as homeless guy asking for change and he saw me as a human atm. We caught up with each other and the time we had spent in the homeless ministry. And when the train came I did offer to give him the money I had in my pocket and he said no thanks, I’m good. And he walked away a little taller and I walked away realizing that while he did have real financial needs that being treated as a human being, a beloved child of God is something that we all need and are called to offer to all people. Amen? Amen.