Humility
It has been a long weekend full of many things to think about. I was at a conference for Mennonite women. The theme was 'Daring to Let Our Spirits Soar'. We heard and talked a lot about women's spirituality, what holds women back, what heals them, what allows them to become the fullest expression of God's grace. It was good and healing discussion. The ideas swirl in my mind and I want to mull them over some more before writing about them.
A serendipitous timing was that the final session this morning ended early enough that I could get back to church in time for second worship. Five of my kids and their spouses were involved in planning and leading the worship and my nephew preached the sermon. It was a good sermon. It was based on the passage that begins with Jesus' teaching that when you go to a banquet you should sit in the lowest seats rather than seeking a high place for yourself. Then if you have to move, it will be a positive move rather than an embarrassing move. He goes on to say that the humble will be exalted and the powerful will be brought low. The next section takes things a step farther, requiring his followers to invite those who cannot return the favor. No more inviting only the same social class, but inviting those who no one will invite.
Daniel (my nephew) suggested that this instruction to invite those without status or wealth is the way that the humble are exalted while the rich are brought low. He implied that this is the job of the church. We exalt the humble by including them and we bring low the rich by humbling ourselves. I'm sure that if we did this inviting and serving, we would be humbled far more than we anticipate. We would begin to learn about our assumptions that are based on our privilege. We would learn about the things we do that we don't even realize we are doing.
That is part of what raising my kids has done for me many times. It has revealed the shallowness of my character and forced me to humility. It continues to sharpen me, to refine, to make obvious the things I need to change, the attitudes that set me back. I would not give this up, even though it is hard. It has made me into more than I would have been. It has revealed God's grace to me.
This weekend several women affirmed me, affirmed the way I related to them and the things I have done with my life. I feel undeserving of that. I'm pretty aware of the things I have not done with my life and the ways I have not related well to people. I think that I have the gift of being a good friend, of listening well, of encouragement. I think that gift has been strengthened through the ways I have been humbled by the events of my life. I think I still have more to learn.
A serendipitous timing was that the final session this morning ended early enough that I could get back to church in time for second worship. Five of my kids and their spouses were involved in planning and leading the worship and my nephew preached the sermon. It was a good sermon. It was based on the passage that begins with Jesus' teaching that when you go to a banquet you should sit in the lowest seats rather than seeking a high place for yourself. Then if you have to move, it will be a positive move rather than an embarrassing move. He goes on to say that the humble will be exalted and the powerful will be brought low. The next section takes things a step farther, requiring his followers to invite those who cannot return the favor. No more inviting only the same social class, but inviting those who no one will invite.
Daniel (my nephew) suggested that this instruction to invite those without status or wealth is the way that the humble are exalted while the rich are brought low. He implied that this is the job of the church. We exalt the humble by including them and we bring low the rich by humbling ourselves. I'm sure that if we did this inviting and serving, we would be humbled far more than we anticipate. We would begin to learn about our assumptions that are based on our privilege. We would learn about the things we do that we don't even realize we are doing.
That is part of what raising my kids has done for me many times. It has revealed the shallowness of my character and forced me to humility. It continues to sharpen me, to refine, to make obvious the things I need to change, the attitudes that set me back. I would not give this up, even though it is hard. It has made me into more than I would have been. It has revealed God's grace to me.
This weekend several women affirmed me, affirmed the way I related to them and the things I have done with my life. I feel undeserving of that. I'm pretty aware of the things I have not done with my life and the ways I have not related well to people. I think that I have the gift of being a good friend, of listening well, of encouragement. I think that gift has been strengthened through the ways I have been humbled by the events of my life. I think I still have more to learn.
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