Humbled
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
No one likes to be humbled. And certainly no one like to humble
himself. Humbling yourself before anyone is hard. Who wants to admit that he is
nothing? Aren’t we trained to be self-sufficient? Don’t we feel ashamed when we
have to beg? Haven’t we been taught that God helps those who help themselves? Shouldn’t
we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to make ourselves better? Such nonsense
goes against true Christian faith because true Christian faith begins and lives
in true humility: the humility that puts others before self; the humility that
lives first for spouse and children, for neighbor, and even for enemy; the
humility that lives to God with all you are and all you have; the humility that
firmly trusts that you can do for others and don’t have to do for yourself
because the Lord has done all for you, and gives you all you need to support
your body and life. But most of all, true humility drives you to your knees,
where you strike your chest and say, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
That is what we see in the story our Lord tells us. There, in
the tax collector hiding in the back corner of the temple, in the man who will
not lift up his eyes to heaven, in the man who knows he really should not be in
God’s presence, before God’s altar, near God’s priest and holy things—there is
true humility, the humility which demonstrates true faith: faith in God’s
mercy, in the mercy that the Father has for us through His Son. This man is the
picture of true faith, not because of what he does and how he acts and what he
prays; but because of what he believes about himself, and what he hopes for
from God.
This man, our Lord says, goes to his home justified rather
than the proud, self-confident, self-believing Pharisee. The tax collector lays
it all before God and says nothing about himself except that he is a sinner. He
offers no excuses, no qualifying words, no blame for others. He throws himself
on the infinite mercy of God.
And so he is justified, precisely because he depends solely
on God’s mercy and kindness. He goes home justified because he came to God
knowing that, whatever he gave, whatever he said, whatever he offered, none of
it would be enough. He received in thanksgiving the chalice of salvation that
the Lord offered, forgiveness in the blood of the Lamb who was slain from the
foundation of the world.
This tax collector, who goes home justified, is worthy of our
imitation. But you mock him if you only imitate his words or actions. Imitate
his humility by refusing to trust in yourself. Imitate him by clinging solely
to Christ. Imitate his humility by learning and understanding the fearsomeness
of God’s holy law. Quench the thirst of your desires in the cup of mercy that our
Lord so generously provides at this holy altar.
And then, you will not only be imitating a fictitious man in
one of our Lord’s parables. You will find that you also are imitating the
Virgin Mary, who was at the same time humbled and yet exalted the highest. Like
her, you will be able to sing, “He has
cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.” You
will be imitating all the saints and martyrs who have gone before, who trusted
the Savior even unto death. You will be imitating your Lord, who humbled
himself to be born of a virgin in a stable, to be crucified like a common
criminal. In His great mercy, our Lord has lifted you up. He has given you
life. And, just as he did with the humble tax collector, He will bring you home
justified, to dwell with Him in eternal life. In the name of the Father and of
the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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