Daily Bread

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father — the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

At a junior school in the 1980s, when it came to picking teams for football during recess, all the boys (for it was always boys back then) would stand in a row, and the two team captains would take turns to choose their players. The best players always got selected first, and it was shameful to be the last player standing, and worse if neither captain wanted you on their team! Tony was always last to be picked, and he would stand forlornly, as everyone else was chosen before him. Tony's nickname was 'scarecrow' for he was tall and gangly, his shirt always hanging out of his shorts, and he sort of loped when he ran.

One day, a new kid called Alex turned up at the school, bringing with him a brand new football. Because it was his ball and everyone wanted to play with it, he was allowed to be one of the captains. The rest of the boys all lined up, and Alex had first dibs on a player. He scanned the row, looking carefully at each boy, and selected Tony as his first player! The other boys all sniggered and laughed. Tony looked up, and could hardly believe he had been selected, but he obediently went to stand behind his captain.

Once all the players had been picked, Alex approached Tony and asked him if he had ever played in goal. Tony shook his head, then Alex produced from his school bag a pair of goalkeeping gloves and gave them to Tony. He said, "Put these on. It's simple — don't let any balls hit the back of that net. You've got this!"

Well, for the whole of that game not one goal was conceded by Alex's team! Tony, with his height, long arms, and long legs seemed to reach effortlessly every ball heading for the net, and you can guess who was the first player to be picked from that day forward.

...

Today's Bible reading is about humility, and it's a staunch warning, especially to us pastors and ministers. If I'm honest, I find it a bit 'triggering' as I have just come out of an Anglican parish role in a diocese and culture where priests are often venerated, dress in fine robes, and take seats of honour at gatherings — aspects of church leadership with which I very much struggled. Anyway, enough of my stuff!

Jesus teaches that both humility and our focus are connected. If our focus is on ourselves — our needs, our status, our income, our importance, and so on — then this leads to pride and the abuse of others for personal gain, however, if our focus is on God — for teaching, for parenthood, and for instruction — then this will lead to humility and the encouragement of others. Or, as John the Baptiser put it, "For him (Jesus) to increase, I must decrease." (John 3.30).

The very act of taking our focus off ourselves is to act with humility, and Jesus closes this discourse with the phrase, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." It is not that those who exalt themselves will be forced into humility, but when God's kingdom fully comes, they will stand out like a sore thumb, and their puffing up of themselves will be humiliating.

Today, make God your focus and recenter your orbit around Jesus — for God's benefit, your own benefit, and for the benefit of others.

Holy God
Help me gain
a right perspective.
May my life —
all that I have
and all that I am —
be centred around you.
And may I decrease
that you may increase.
Now and always.