Humility and greatness

I was thinking about humility all last week.

The word didn't directly appear in the lectionary, but came twice near the passage from James. Now I'm not really the kind of girl who quotes James, but I am interested in this idea of humility. Here's what James says in 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble," verse 10 continues: "humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.”

The rest of the James passage in the lectionary asks the question of true wisdom verses the wisdom of the world. I keep thinking about what it means to really be humble. Am I humble? Do I know someone who is? Do you?

I don't think God asks us to be a doormat. But I also don't think we ought to work so hard on our humility that we're proud of it.

I read someone else's blog last week that said humility means you have enough self-worth that you don't have to put others down. I like that.

It seems we're lacking this virture in the public realm lately: Joe Wilson's outburst at a joint session of congress, Serena Williams cussing out a line judge and Kanye West grabbing the mic way from another award winner at an MTV awards show. I used these examples in my sermon last Sunday and then added: I can't believe I just said "Kanye West" from the pulpit.

Anyway, I feel like we're losing something as a culture, whether it be humility or just simple human decency. Why is it so hard to be kind?

I tied this talk of humility into Jesus message in last week's gospel (Mark 9:30-37) about the question of who is the greatest. The disicples argue about it, then get emabarrased when Jesus asks about thier conversation.

Jesus doesn't reprimand them, just grabs a little child (a person of no status in Jesus' time) places it on his lap and says, "welcome this one and you welcome me." And of course the reverse is true. Jesus words are about radical hospitality, not some pastoral image of Jesus loving the little children.

I was thinking of all the people Jesus would put on his lap today to make us see what it means to welcome people of low status. Anyone we think beneath us sits securely in Jesus' arms.

The good news, of course, is that we rest there too.