A Homily given by Fr. Ben Jones; Curate,
St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;
on The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity; A.D. 2009.
“Humiliation”
+ In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Ghost, Amen.
The Gospel according to st. Luke 14:11.
“for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
This verse from our Gospel lesson is a play on words. Let’s look at it in its two parts. “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased.”1 If we present ourselves as superior; above our fellow man or even above or equal with God, then we will be abased, or humbled through a disciplinary type action. This is illustrated in the Gospel lesson in the following manner. “And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.”2 One guest took the higher seat of recognition and was removed to a lower seat which resulted in a feeling of dishonour. So how can we prevent this discipline or lesson in humility?? Let’s consider the second half of our verse from the Gospel lesson. “And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”3 We see this illustrated in the Gospel lesson in the following manner. “But when thou art bidden, so go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have presence of them that sit at meat with thee.”4 We learn from this verse that we are to humble ourselves before God and He will assign us to our position of proper dignity before Him. We are exalted by God. We do not exalt ourselves to God.
We approach God in humility, being little in our own eyes before we can be large in His eyes. What is humility?? What do we feel in our hearts and minds when we think of humility?? And Who sets the example of humility for us??
Humility works hand in hand with Faith, the foundation of our spiritual life, because it subjects our reason and will to God. Humility is that means which brings us to be a part of the greater power which is above our strength and ability; that of God. We completely resign ourselves to an unconditional dependence on God. Humility is the virtue which is opposed to pride and vainglory and suppresses and removes the temptations or the obstacles that attempt to interfere with or to block our faith. In the state of humility, we find ourselves being formed to be that fit recipient of Grace. St. James tells us, “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”5 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”6 What St. James is saying is that the Grace of God is a free gift of His supernatural assistance which is entirely unmerited, which He pours abundantly and continuously on us. This gives us the assurance that there is no offense, absolutely NO OFFENSE, or number of offenses, that would be too great for God’s forgiveness. The Greek for the word submit, (hypotasso), is a combination of two words which literally means “to place under,” or to be subjected to or to be submissive to God’s never ending grace. We submit rather than to be enslaved to the temptations of the world. St. Paul explains this submission in the following manner. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”7 So what does this mean for us??
Here is what we feel on our hearts and in our minds when we humble ourselves. We feel our hearts and our minds at peace because we have removed the temptations or the obstacles that have been interfering with or blocking our faith What we are talking about is our Spiritual Relationship with God. We should humble ourselves and evaluate our relationship with God on a daily basis. Being filled with that “Peace of God” through our humility strengthens this relationship.
We have now conformed ourselves to the Will of God and have enabled the means for the “Grace of God” to be received and to work. When we submit ourselves to God, we will be exalted or elevated in ways which we could never imagine or accomplish by human means.
Who sets that example for us; teaching us to humble ourselves before our Heavenly Father?? Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour is that perfect example. “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.”8 Jesus has opened the way for us by carrying out and finishing His Father’s work. And you know what?? He carried out His Father’s work for each and every one of us. When we approach the Altar rail to receive the body and blood of Christ, He wants us to approach in humility and for us to bring all of our distractions, and all of our temptations, and all of our obstacles that inhibit His love to work in us and to leave them right there, right there at the Altar rail. This will enable the grace that we receive from the sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus Christ to work in us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to receive that glimpse, that brief peace of our Sanctification. We now have the understanding that humility is a virtue which is necessary for our salvation. Humility exalted Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to the right hand of His Heavenly Father. We take the example of Jesus Christ humbling Himself to His Father, and “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”9 Know in your heart that each and every time we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in humility; we are receiving our call to be Christlike and to some day be with Christ.
AMEN.
+
“And now unto God the Dather,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost;
Be ascribed all Might,
Majesty, Power, and Dominion,
most justly due this day,
both now, and forever,
World without end,
AMEN.”
1 The Gospel according to St. Luke 14:11a.
2 The Gospel according to St. Luke 14:9.
3 The Gospel according to St. Luke 14:11b.
4 The Gospel according to St. Luke 14:10.
5 The Epistle General of James 4:6-7.
6 The Epistle General of James 4:10.
7 The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans 12:1-2.
8 The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians 2:8-11.
9The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians 3:14.