Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It’s Not All Up To Me

Luke 18:9-14
One of my earliest sermons–written for my intro to preaching and worship class in seminary–was based on today’s passage from Luke. It was one of the more wretched sermons I’ve ever preached. At the time, of course, I was actually proud of the effort but I had a great deal to learn and fortunately my preaching has improved over the years.

Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14). Jesus was condemning the self-righteousness of the Pharisee and offering assurance to those who, like the tax collector, come to God with humility. This is a powerful reminder of God’s concern for the least and the lost, but it points as well to the fact that we don’t always know what we are capable of. As a preacher I am often amazed at the response I get from folks following worship. It seems that when I’ve preached what I thought to be a solid–if not profound–sermon there is little comment. But when I’ve preached a sermon that I did not feel particularly good about, one that could have been so much better in my opinion, I’ve gotten sincere thanks from people who found meaning and hope in my words. Go figure.

The truth is that it’s not all up to me. I have a role to play in the life of the church but it is only by the grace of God that my words or actions make a difference. Like all of us I should do my best to God’s glory but beyond that I can only trust God to accomplish the divine purpose. It may be that my “wretched sermons” are the ones that touch lives while the ones that I feel proudest of are far less meaningful for community of faith. If that is true, so be it. The last thing any of us need to do is to exalt ourselves before the Creator. We need to leave our egos out of the equation and pray that the Holy Spirit will work through us. Humility really is far more pleasing to the Lord.

Prayer: O Lord, help us to serve you with humility and to put our faith in you alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOTE: Beginning on February 25, I will be including blog posts each Saturday written by "guest bloggers" who will offer their insights on the readings for that particular day. I deeply appreciate the willingness of these folks to share their time and talents with us. Be sure to stop by on upcoming Saturdays to see what they have to say.

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