“A Counter-Cultural Virtue”

Scripture – John 1:6-8 and 19-28

Sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Knox Jones

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Football is dominating the airwaves these days. As the College Football Playoffs are leading to a National Championship and the NFL is on the verge of beginning their playoffs, fans are revved up and roaring for the favorite teams. But regardless of which game you watch, there is something you will observe in every single game: chest beating, fist pumping, and self-promoting victory dances. Players will go to great lengths to scream: “Look at me!”

Of course, this self-promotion is not limited to professional athletes. Many spend hours on the Internet fishing for “likes” and “tweets” or posting their glamour shots on Facebook. Self-promotion is in vogue while humility has been relegated to the sidelines. But I wonder. Might humility be a powerful virtue we need to recover and bring back to the headlines?

Today’s scripture reading focuses on that fiery orator John the Baptist. Like the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos before him, his message was not easy-to-swallow maple syrup. His words were spiked with tabasco and habanero. His scorching sermons should have sent people fleeing, except for the fact that his words rang true. His pronouncements were unsettling, but they resonated with people’s souls.

Further, he had the unique combination of a powerful persona and a humble spirit. One of the reasons John the Baptist drew crowds was because he wasn’t self-promoting. He was humble. He surely was not timid or shy, but he was unpretentious. Though he possessed a commanding presence, he was not arrogant. Did you catch the verdict he pronounced on himself in today’s scripture reading? He declared, “One is coming after me” – meaning Jesus – “and I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.” That was always the job of a servant.

It is difficult to imagine a more sobering assessment of one’s importance. John was saying, “I am not the center of attention. I am merely a sign pointing you toward the one you must follow.” I suspect people listened to John because he was not seeking attention for himself. Trumpeting his own significance was the last thing on his mind.

You may have heard about the invitation-only, black tie dinner being held in the ballroom of an exclusive hotel. The person at the microphone was introducing the speaker with a lengthy and glowing recitation of the man’s achievements. A bit enamored with his own importance, the person being introduced leaned toward his wife and said, “I wonder how many truly great men there are in this room tonight?” She replied succinctly, “One less than you’re thinking.”¹

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, humility is named not simply as a valuable personality trait, but as an essential virtue. There is the often-quoted verse from the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.”

In the Book of Proverbs, we read: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble.”

In the gospels, Jesus says, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

In his Letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.”

In both the Letter of James and the First Letter of Peter, we read: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Over Christmas, I had a chance meeting with well-known writer Anne Lamott. There was no mention of her numerous books or the column she writes for the New York Times. She introduced herself as a Sunday School teacher.

To be clear, humility is NOT thinking poorly of yourself. If you take away nothing else today, make it that. Humility is not thinking poorly of yourself. Some people go through life following a script that reads, “You can’t do anything right. You’re destined to screw up.” Humility has nothing to do with belittling or maligning or denigrating yourself. As someone once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

In fact, to become genuinely humble requires a positive self-image. People with a weak mental-image usually spend energy trying to tout themselves at the expense of others, saying things such as: “Only I can fix it.” A person who is humble has no problem admitting shortcomings because she knows that failure does not define her.

Fourth century theologian Augustine – a Berber from North Africa – wrote, “If you ask me what is the most essential element in the teaching and morality of Jesus Christ, I would answer you: the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility.”

When my friend Ted Wardlaw was the President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, he launched a curriculum review to determine what improvements they could make in preparing seminary students to become pastors. One of their first steps was to send teams of faculty throughout the country to interview pastors and lay people by asking them a series of open-ended questions. One of the questions was: What personal virtue does a pastor in the 21st century most need in order to be effective? When the study was concluded and the answers tallied, the overwhelming majority of lay people answered that question with one word: humility. Person after person chose the word that describes the opposite of those who have distorted their importance by magnifying their own egos.

The results did not surprise Ted because he remembers one particular pastor whose ego was so enormous that people would say his ego entered the room three minutes before he did! It was difficult even to be in the same room with this man because he took up most of the oxygen. He was always sweeping around the room so that his importance could rub off on everyone else. On one of those occasions when that pastor was making a spectacle of himself, someone leaned over to Ted and remarked, “There but for the grace of God, goes God.”

One dictionary defines humility as “possessing a modest opinion of one’s importance.” Another defines it as “not haughty or arrogant.” My working definition of humility is this: I may be wrong.

If only this had been obvious to me between the ages of 16 and 22 when I imagined I knew a great deal more than I actually did. I apologize to my parents for having to endure my know-it-all years. God rest their souls.

One of the best experiences we can have in life is to discover that we are absolutely wrong about something. Comprehending that we could be wrong helps to smooth some of our brittle edges. Such an attitude will also attract more friends because people will feel comfortable around us. Just think about people you know who act like know-it-alls. Their persona prompts you to start looking for an exit.

Believing that we could be wrong pries open our mind a bit wider and enables us to see that issues are often more complex than we first realize. Humility makes it possible to gain a greater depth of understanding. An arrogant person is either not very wise or working mightily to cover up a poor self-image. You can be intelligent and arrogant, but wisdom derives from an honest self-assessment which includes: I do not know everything; I still have much to learn.

Some of you know the name, Henri Nouwen. Nouwen was a Dutch born Roman Catholic priest who wrote dozens of books on spirituality. He connected psychology and theology in ways that spoke to millions of people. He taught at prestigious schools in Europe and the United States. A friend of mine had him as a professor at Yale Divinity school.

After years of writing and speaking and teaching at illustrious schools, Nouwen went to a school in Toronto to a community called Daybreak. He became the priest to developmentally disabled adults.

In his book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, he wrote, “The first thing that struck me when I came to live in a house with mentally handicapped people was that their liking or disliking me had nothing to do with my accomplishments. Nobody could read my books, so my books did not impress anyone. Most of them had never gone to school, so my educational credentials failed to wow them. My considerable experience working with different denominations, and explaining their differences and similarities was not called for in this setting. When one evening, I passed the platter of roast beef down the table to one of the assistants, one of the residents called out loudly, “Don’t give him meat, Henry! He doesn’t eat meat. He’s a Presbyterian.”

Nouwen says, “I was suddenly faced with my naked self – affirmed, rejected, hugged, punched – all depended upon how I was perceived at that moment. It seemed as if I was starting my life all over again. This experience forced me to discover my true identity. These wounded and completely unpretentious people forced me to let go of the self that I could take pride in for the things that I could do, the things that I could prove, the things that I had accomplished. It forced me to reclaim the unadorned self in which I am completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments.”²

I’ve heard people who are retired describe a similar experience. When they were working, they had a job and a title and much of their identity was wrapped up in their position. But when they retired, they realized that their identity was predominantly what Nouwen called his “unadorned self.” People shaped their opinions based on how they came across in the moment – kind or cold, sympathetic or self-serving, interested in others or wrestling to gain the spotlight.

Left unchecked, self-centeredness will poison your relationships. Humility is a portal to a rich life. Once you admit that you are incomplete you are ripe for growth. Humility releases the pressure of needing to act as if you are morally and psychologically superior. Humility gives rise to a mindset that you are still a work in progress. You are open to discovery and rejuvenation. Arrogance repels, humility invites.

In 21st century North America, being humble is counter-cultural. Many athletes, celebrities, politicians, and yes, clergy, act as if arrogance is a virtue. How much better our world would be if leaders could admit mistakes, laugh at themselves, think of themselves as still learning, and take delight in the success of others. Followers of Jesus are expected to set the example.

NOTES

1. John Lee Taylor, com, August 24, 2022.
2. Alyce McKenzie, “Finders Weepers, Losers Keepers.”

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

Randall T. Clayton

It is good to give you thanks, O God, for you are the source of abundant life. In Jesus is your eternal Word, and he is the reflection of your glory. In him you have become one with us that we might become one with you. Thank you for Jesus, who proclaimed your dream of peace. He gave himself for our weary world, accepting death to that we might fully live and be set free for love.

In these still short and frigid winter days, we lift up to you those who need an extra measure of your care and hope and peace: For those whose journey on earth is nearing an end, provide comfort, peace and the assurance of your love and presence both now and in the world that awaits them beyond time and space; for those who are caring for the sick, bring energy, wisdom, and compassion; for those who are grieving the death of a loved one, we ask for a powerful sense of your embrace even in the valley of the shadow of death itself. And especially this day do we pray for those who mourn an unexpected death, a death that is far too soon, a death at what feels like the wrong time; even when understanding fails us in these situations, provide your peace and comfort and let the care and concern of the communities that surround them be a source of hope in the midst of tragic circumstances. For those who are tired, offer rest; for the hungry, food; the unhoused, shelter. And O God, we pray for peace. Bring peace to a warring world, and hope where it is in short supply.

Remembering your love in Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection, we offer gifts of bread and cup as well as our lives in thanks and praise. Pour out your Spirit upon these gifts, that they may be the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Pour out your Spirit upon us, that we might be a people of grace and truth, bearing good news of joy in every season. Through Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray saying, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.