HUMILITY REIGNS

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Suppose you are a musician and I hand you a violin, and then I ask you to play it. There are a lot of things that you would have no control over, regarding this violin. You have no control over how old it is. You have no control over what quality it is. You have no control over what it cost. You have no control over what it looks like - what color it is, what shape it is. There are a lot of things that you would have absolutely no control over. But, there is one thing that you would have control over and that is the sound that you would make, as you played the strings. You would have control over that. You could control the music so it was happy or sad. You could control it, so it was lively or quiet.

There was once a pastor who likened this to your attitude. Here is what that pastor said. "The older I get, the more I realize the impact that attitude has in life. In my mind, attitude is more important than facts. Attitude is more important than money. Attitude is more important than education. Attitude is more important than what people say to you, or think about you, or do to you. Attitude is more important than your appearance. Attitude is more important than your skills. Attitude is more important than your abilities. Attitude can make or break a company. Attitude can make or break a church. Attitude can make or break a home. And the amazing thing is that every day, when we get up, we have the control over the attitude that we will have, as we go through the day. There are many things we have no control over. We can't control the past. We may not be able to control how people treat us that day. But there is one string that we can play on and that is attitude." Then the pastor said, "I am convinced life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with your attitude. You have control over your attitude."

Our scripture reading today says,

"Your attitude,

your attitude should be the same

as that of Christ Jesus:

Who being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself,

and became obedient to death,

even death on a cross!"

The attitude that scripture calls us to is an attitude that can only be found at the cross. It can only be learned from the cross. It can only be seen by the cross of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus, scripture says, humbled Himself. And scripture calls us to a humble attitude.

It was not that people humbled Jesus. It says, "He humbled Himself."

"He humbled Himself."

What does that mean? I don't know if you use your hymnbook, devotionally, but there are some hymns in our hymnbook that just get right to the heart and core, and summarize teachings of scripture, so beautifully. One of my favorite hymns is found in our Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, and is number 377. It was written by Martin Luther, entitled, "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice." This hymn really leads us into what it means that Jesus humbled Himself. It begins by saying that you and I certainly have everything to rejoice about, because of Christ and because of His cross. It says in verse one:

Then, it goes on to explain our predicament. We cannot understand Christ humbling Himself, until we recognize our own predicament of sin. And so, listen to how it describes you and me.

There is our predicament. We are born in sin. We live in sin. We will die in sin. And left to ourselves, our sentence is Hell for eternity. However, in verse four, look at the love and mercy of God.

God's heart towards sinners is a heart of love and mercy. And although we deserve to be condemned, God in His mercy, sought a way to save us. He decided to give His dearest treasure. Now, look at verse five.

So, the Father assigned to His Son a job, and the job was, "Go Son. Go, my Son. You defeat sin for them. You defeat death for them. You defeat their enemies for them."

And then, we see the attitude, the attitude of Jesus, our Savior. This is what our text is all about. It is the attitude of Christ. Look at verses six, seven, and eight.

I love those three verses. Those three verses show to me the humble nature of our dear Savior, Jesus. He obeyed His Father's Will. He came, and although He is God, Himself, He did not come in pomp, power, or might. But, He humbled Himself. He was willing to bear your sin, your shame, your guilt. He was willing to do whatever it took, whatever it took to meet your greatest need. He suffered and He died. And, He has redeemed you from all of your sin.

You are redeemed.

It is the humility of Christ, which is the air that we breathe. It is the love of Christ, displayed on the cross, which is the air that makes us alive in Christ! The fact that Jesus, Jesus, was so lowly, that although He was God, He died for me, to pay for my sins! That is the attitude that we are to model. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Just a few Bible verses before this, it explains what that means. It says, "In humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each one of you should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others."

And so, it does not matter about your money, how much you have or don't have. It does not matter about your education, how much you have or don't have. It does not matter about your past, what may have happened to you. It does not matter about what people say, or think, or do to you. Those things you may have no control over, whatsoever. But, in this life there is one thing that you do have control over, and that is your attitude. No matter where you go in life, no matter what's happening, no matter who you are with, no matter where you are, (whether it is at church, at home, or at work), you can have a Christ-like attitude that says, "I will consider others like my Savior did for me - more important, more important than me. I will look out for their own interests, more importantly than my own."

There is a story that is told about two brothers, in Germany, some years ago. Both of them wanted to be artists. That was their heart's longing. But, neither one could afford to go to art school. And so, they came up with a plan. The plan was that while one brother was going through art school, the other would work and pay the brother's way through art school. And then, they would flip. The other one would work, while his brother was going through art school.

And so, they would pay each other's way through art school. The oldest brother, Franz, said to the younger brother, "You go to art school first, and I will pay your way."

Franz worked hard, while his brother went to art school. It took a number of years for his brother to get through art school. And, his brother became an excellent artist, an excellent artist! He finally came home from art school and said to his brother, "Franz, I have done it. I have completed my art school, and now it is your turn. Now it is your turn to go to art school and I will pay your way."

Well, Franz, who had worked for all of those years in a cabinet making shop, working with heavy tools, sharp tools, and heavy wood held up his hands, when his brother said, "It is your turn to go to art school now." He held up his hands, but did not say anything. His hands had grown huge, rugged, gnarled, and somewhat twisted, by the work with the heavy wood. What he was saying to his brother is, "I can't be an artist. My hands just won't handle that fine work." France had sacrificed, he had sacrificed so that his brother could become an artist.

His brother's name was Albrecht. Albrecht Durer who was the younger brother, was so touched by what his brother Franz had done that he said, "I don't know how to repay you, Franz, but I am going to make a picture that shows your loving hands." And so, he painted a picture called, "Praying Hands." (Maybe you have seen it.) It was to show what his brother's hands had done for him.

There is a picture of humility, of placing the needs of others above our own and being willing to sacrifice to meet those needs. That is what our Savior did for us. Thank God we are forgiven for our shortcomings in humility. And we go to Christ every day, and we feed on His forgiveness. We feed on His humble love for us. That is our life and that is our breath. We breathe it in and then we breathe it out.

Amen.

Top of Page || Church Sermons || Return to Home Page