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To Know Christ – March 21, The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Philippians 3:4b-14 TNIV
If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Last time we talked about priorities. We talked about holding things so dear to our hearts that they get in the way of truly following God. Well today’s lectionary epistle reading speaks to this very issue again.
We all know Paul’s story. He was a pharisee, he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, converted to Christianity and became a super awesome apostle. Well, the Philippians probably knew his story too, but he tells them again. Only he doesn’t stream-line it – he tells them just how awesome he was (see the first paragraph). He wasn’t just a pharisee, but a pretty good one. He wasn’t just a Jew, but a special one. He didn’t just follow the commandments, he followed them all…perfectly. Paul had it going on and then, then he met Christ and everything changed.
Paul says that he let go of all those things he had going for him. He willingly gave up everything in life to follow Christ. He gave up his social status, his friends, probably his family, his “job,” everything just to follow Christ. Paul says his deepest desire is to “know Christ.”
This, my friends, is the challenge of Lent and indeed, of all of the Christian life. Do we want to know Christ? I mean really know him. Paul met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, so one could say that Paul did know Christ. But Paul isn’t content with that. He wants more. He has seen Christ and desire to know him so much that he’s willing to give everything up to know him more and more.
Lent continually asks us: “Do you want to know Christ? Really know him?” What’s our answer?
Have we experienced Christ? Not just nice fuzzy emotions from Pilgrimage, youth rallies, or Chrysalis but have we met the risen Christ? Because when we truly experience God our lives are ruined just like Paul’s was.
Ruined? Our lives are ruined because we’ll never be content with anything else except for knowing Christ. They’re ruined because nothing will satisfy us except for Christ and we’ll desire nothing more than to know Christ – even, as Paul says, if it means participating in his sufferings.
So Lent asks us again: “Have you met Christ, and if so, do you really want to know him?”
Do you want to know him more than soccer, football, basketball, college, success, anything that gets in the way?
This is the call of Lent. It’s hard and it’s uncomfortable, but remember Lent is a journey to the cross with Jesus and no one ever said crucifixion was fun.
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a Sinner!
Priorities – March 19, The Fifth Friday of Lent
Jesus spends a lot of time talking about priorities throughout the gospels. When asked what the greatest commandment is he says that it is to love God with all of our being and then to love our neighbor as ourselves (paraphrased of course). He constantly calls people to drop what they’re doing and to follow him. As Jesus calls people we see a lot of things get in the way of their ability to follow him. One thing in particular gets in the way in the scripture passage below.
Matthew 19:16-26 NIV
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, ” ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.'”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This young man comes and desires to follow Jesus, but as we see he is unwilling to really follow Jesus. Jesus tells him to do something (sell all of his possessions) but he instead of immediately following this he “goes away sad.” Why does Jesus ask him to do this? Is being rich a sin? Is having possessions evil?
Being rich and having possessions are not evil. But they can quickly lead us to a place where we are unable to fully follow Christ. The problem with these things is that so often as we get “things” we want more and more and more. We become greedy. As we acquire wealth and possession we begin to lose focus and our priorities become messed up.
Jesus told this man to sell everything because he knew that the man had messed up priorities. During Lent we learn to examine our priorities to see what is getting in the way of following Jesus. This is part of the reason we give things up and we try to give to the poor extra during Lent. It helps us re-prioritize. During Lent we have to ask ourselves questions and be willing to allow the Spirit of God lead us to the answers even in if they are hard for us to hear.
What am I unwilling to give up to follow Jesus? I go to church, pray, and do the right things but am I willing to follow Christ in everything? Is Jesus Christ valued above everything in my life – my time, my money, my talents, my will, my friends, my life? What am I holding back from God? What is really coming between me and following Christ – Is it school, sports, friends, or dreams of success?
These are questions we need to ask ourselves. We need to find what is getting in the way of following Christ and get rid of it.
Are you willing to ask yourself these questions, even if you don’t like the answer?
We cannot hold anything too closely to our hearts except for Christ, especially not the wealth and possession of this world.
Let us pray this prayer of Mary Fletcher.
Closing Prayer:
Thy will be done! Yes, my adorable Lord, strip me of every penny. Bring me not only to poverty, but what I far more dread, to insolvency [inability to pay debts]. Yes! Strip me even of reputation. Let me be as ‘filth and offscouring [trash] of all things.’ Only let me have thy approval, and all shall be well. Yes, I will praise thee for all, and most for the severe.
– Mary Fletcher *
* Mary Fletcher (1739 – 1815) was a close friend of John Wesley and an early Methodist leader and preacher. She was the beloved wife of Rev. John Fletcher, the man who Wesley chose as his successor (before John Fletcher’s early death). Mary and her husband partnered together in ministry transcending traditional gender roles. After John’s early death in 1785, Mary continued to preach and teach. Throughout her life Mary placed the highest importance on her spiritual communion with God as is evidenced by the frequent mention of dreams and other mystical practices in her journal.
“I Never Had Any” – March 18, Fifth Thursday in Lent
Matthew 5:43-48 NRSV
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6:14-15 NRSV
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
I was speaking with an old monk in Ohio about a year and a half ago and I asked him why he decided to enter the monastery he started to tell me about a woman who was like a mother to him. He said that on her death-bed a priest came to hear her final confession. He went through everything as normal and then asked her “Do you forgive all of your enemies and those who have sinned against you.” She replied “no.” The priest was taken aback by this answer because this lady was not only very holy, but she was also on her death-bed. He asked her again “Do you forgive your enemies?” to which she again replied “No.”
After a few moments the priest began to ask her how she expected to enter into heaven if she was so unwilling to forgive her enemies since Jesus clearly calls us to forgives us our enemies. She looked at the priest and simply said “I never had any.”
The monk looked at me and smiled. He said “that’s why I decided to become a monk, I wanted to learn how not to have any enemies.”
Forgiving enemies is really hard. If people wrong me I have a hard time letting go, forgiving them, and moving on. This gets even more complicated when we put faces to the term “enemies.” When I think of person X or Y and think of their actions forgiveness becomes even harder. Who are your enemies? Who are those individuals that society tells you it’s alright to hate. Who is the person who mistreated you, embarrassed you, physically harmed you. We could continue to life up situation after situation where society tells you that it’s completely justifiable to hate that person or group of people. But this is not the way of Jesus.
Jesus was wronged, and yet he loved. Jesus was harmed, and yet he forgave. Jesus was the subject of abuse and scorn, and yet he prayed for them. This is the way of Christians and the call of the Gospel.
The story the monk told me is a hard one to hear, but I think this what Jesus is intending. She said she had no enemies but I can almost guarantee that she had been wronged in her life. She had no enemies but I’m sure that she was mocked and mistreated. The difference is that she allowed the love of Christ to transform her so much that she thought of these people in love and not hate.
Our calling as followers of Jesus is to love so much that forgiveness becomes second nature. For when forgiveness becomes so deeply rooted as part of our being we can begin to truly say that we don’t have any. We won’t have any enemies not because we won’t be mistreated and wronged, but because the love of Christ will lead us to forgiveness even while we are being wronged.
During this Lenten season let us focus on forgiveness. Let us allow the love of Christ to pierce every part of our soul so that forgiveness becomes part of our being.
Closing Prayer:
O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always. Amen
– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem
Salt and St. Patrick – March 17, The Fifth Wednesday of Lent
Matthew 5:11-16 NIV
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Living the Gospel is hard. Being conformed to Christ is difficult because it involves change on our part. As we change and become more Christ-like we will become more and more different from the rest of the world. Jesus doesn’t promise that things will always go well for us if we follow him, in fact he sets forth in this passage that persecution is a very real possibility. We will be different, so different, in fact, that Jesus calls us salt in the midst and light implying that we will stand out from the rest of the world.
The call to us as Christians in this short passage is to truly live our faith no matter what the cost. We need to live our faith so much that it is seen by everyone around us. We you look at a lit candle you can’t help but notice the light and when you taste salt you know it without a doubt. This is the way it should be with us, people who spend time with us should be able to say that they can’t help but to see Jesus when they’re around us. This is the call for our lives.
Much is made today of a man named Saint Patrick. But what is a saint? Sure there may be some variation to the different definitions but at the very root of it all a Christian saint is a person who when you talk about them or think about them you can’t help but think about and talk about Jesus. A saint is a person who so much looks, acts, and lives like Christ that to merely speak their name brings thoughts of Jesus to your mind. And so it is with St. Patrick.
Saint Patrick was born around 385 near what is modern-day Britain. When he was sixteen years old marauders raided his village and he was taken to Ireland as a captive and made a slave. During his captivity Patrick spent much time in prayer despite the cruelty of those whom held him as a slave. After six years he escaped from captivity and traveled nearly 200 miles on foot in order to board a ship to take him back to Britain.
Some time later Patrick was ordained and had dreams about going back to Ireland to become a missionary. Patrick’s mission was a great success (in part because he had learned the language during his years in slavery). Patrick worked greatly for the Lord, founding numerous churches and monasteries all across Ireland. His works, however wasn’t always so easy. He faced great persecution from the Druidic tribes but persevered in his work, shining the light of Christ to all he encountered.
Patrick had a deep love God and for the people of Ireland and wanted nothing more than to show Christ to everyone he encountered. Here are some of his words:
I pray God that he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my passing.
And if at any time I managed anything of good for the sake of my God whom I love, I beg of him that he grant it to me to shed my blood for his name with proselytes and captives, even should I be left unburied, or even were my wretched body to be torn limb from limb by dogs or savage beasts, or were it to be devoured by the birds of the air, I think, most surely, were this to have happened to me, I had saved both my soul and my body. For beyond any doubt on that day we shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and co-heirs of Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign through him and for him and in him.
For the sun we see rises each day for us at [his] command, but it will never reign, neither will its splendour last, but all who worship it will come wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall not die, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will never die, no more shall he die who has done Christ’s will, but will abide for ever just as Christ abides for ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time and now and for ever and ever. Amen.
It is because of his great love for God and spreading the Gospel that St. Patrick is remembered. Patrick was a person who was both God’s Salt and Light to the people of Ireland even though he was greatly persecuted. Patrick was a person that causes us to think about God and desire to the salt and light of God.
Let us draw closer to God this Lenten season that we might truly be the salt and light of God all year-round.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Speech – March 16, The Fourth Tuesday of Lent
Usually I don’t even think about my ability to talk. I take it for granted and am seldom truly thankful for God for this ability. Sometime I use my speech for good and godly conversations and sometimes I use it for evil. Sometimes my words are encouraging and loving and other times I speak too quickly or out of anger or without restraint and my words are not uplifting, not loving, and not holy.
Our speech and our words are truly a tricky thing. They can build others up or they can tear others down. As something I read the other day said; “[our] words can be prideful or humble, judgmental or forgiving.” We have to guard our words. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew that we will be held accountable for “every careless word” we speak (Matthew 12:36).
The book of James spends a great deal of time talking about our speech:
James 3:2-12 TNIV
We all stumble in many ways. Those who are never at fault in what they say are perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by human beings, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
James talks about “the tongue” and by this he means the word we speak. It is important for us to watch our speech. We need to constantly be aware of the type of words we are speaking.
“Are my words prideful? Do I spread rumors about others? Do I gossip about people? Am I mean and cutting with what I say? Do I build other up or tear them down? Are my words directed by God?” These are the sorts of questions that we need to ask ourselves.
Lent teaches us to watch our words. Just as we watch what we put into our bodies through fasting we also need to watch what comes out of our bodies in the form of words.
May God help us to speak words of truth and love instead of words of pride, judgement, gossip, and anger.
Closing Prayer:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.– Psalm 19:14 NIV
New Creations – March 15 – The Fourth Monday of Lent
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is one of the lectionary readings from yesterday. In this scripture Paul reminds us that if we are in Christ we are new creations. Think about that for a second: a new creation. Not just new in part, but totally new; Paul is clear in saying that “the old is gone, the new has come.”
As new creations we are being continually formed into the image of God that was messed up in the Garden of Eden. We journey as new creations seeking God and striving to me molded more and more into Christ-likeness so that in Christ we might as Paul says “become the righteousness of God.” We journey, but sometimes along the road we hit some bumps. Sometimes we sin, sometimes we fall, and sometimes we don’t act like new creations. Usually when this happens we get up, brush ourselves off, and get back on our way following Christ knowing that in his grace he hears our repentance and forgives us our sins. But sometimes, something else happens.
Sometimes we don’t realize the sin we’re allowing in our lives or sometimes we don’t think it’s a big deal. Sometimes some things like the pride we talked about the other day, or lust, or anger creep in and they begin to eat us away. Sometimes these things get into our lives and they slowly begin to spiritually kill us. This is what we see in yesterday’s reading from the Psalms.
Psalm 32 TNIV
Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.Blessed are those
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds those who trust in him.Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
David describes himself as “wasting away” and he says that God’s hand was “heavy” upon him. David was in agony because he had allowed sin to creep into his life so much that it was destroying him. This is how it is with us as well. Because we are new creations we cannot continue to live as everyone around us does. Everywhere you look people in society are feeding off of pride, power, lust, anger, and the list could continue. We are different. These things cannot be our way of life – they cannot be what we put into ourselves. We cannot be dominated by these things because we are new creations. We must say “no” to them and not let sin creep in and destroy us.
We are called to become the righteousness of God and one step in that is remember that as new creations everything about us is different. Not just our identity, but the way we live and the things on which we focus. Lent reminds us of this. It reminds us to discipline ourselves ad focus on Christ. It reminds us to sustain ourselves on the things of God so that sin cannot subtly creep in and cause us to waste away.
May God continually remind us all that we are new creations and let this spur us onward to saying “no” to every kind of sin which so easily entangles.
Closing Prayer:
O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always. Amen
– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem
Is It Over Yet? – March 13, The Fourth Saturday of Lent
Lent is long. I’m sure we’ve all looked at the calendar during the Lenten season and asked ourselves “is it over yet?” Forty days (plus Sundays) doesn’t really seem like much when you look at it from the outside but once we get in the middle of Lent it seems to get longer.
It always seems that about this time in the Lenten season that I start to feel worn out. I forget the call of ash wednesday (to remember my mortality) and Easter seems so far away that I have trouble seeing the goal. It always seems that I lose some of my initial zeal for fasting and increased spiritual devotion and I get weary. At times I think to myself “it won’t hurt anyone if I break the fast for just one day” or “no one will know” (two of the dangers with individual fasting). But we must persevere.
We must persevere because the Church calls us and because in our weakness we learn discipline the most. Remember that through Lent we learn spiritual discipline. We learn that saying “no” to our self-will is truly the better way and the way to say “Yes!” to Christ.
Though we are weary, and though Lent seems so long, let us continue to focus on Christ. In this regard Lent is just like the whole of our spiritual lives. It is, as Paul says in the passage below, a race. Not a sprint, but a marathon, which we must run to completion. By continuing our Lenten journey we will be more equipped to run the race of our faith.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
So let us run, let us focus on the Prize – Christ “the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Lent may be long, but Christ will see us through. Pray for strength and pray that Jesus will help us to run the race, not just of Lent, but of the Christian life.
Closing Prayer:
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
– Psalm 86: 11-13
Humility – March 12, The Fourth Friday in Lent
Just as there are some serious sins that seem to creep in and hurt our spiritual life in significant ways (like pride) there are also some virtues that help to combat these sins. Yesterday we talked about how pride can hinder our spiritual life in all sorts of ways. Pride is truly devastating and something that we all probably struggle with but there is hope. The hope we have in overcoming our pride is allowing the Holy Spirit to bring about a spirit of humility within us. Let’s look at the Gospel of Luke again.
Luke 18:9-14 NIV
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
As we highlighted yesterday, Jesus talks about how pride has no room in the heart of one who truly desire to follow God. After making this clear through the example of the Pharisee (one who is suppose to be truly following God) Jesus talks about a humble tax collector.
We probably don’t have any strong thoughts about tax collectors, but to Jesus’ audience the mere mention of a tax collector would fill them with angry thoughts. Just as the pharisee was the typical “righteous” person, the tax collector is the typical “unrighteous person.” Tax collectors were known for treating people unfairly, taking unfair amounts of money, and abusing their power. They were not well liked, and they certainly weren’t considered righteousness but in this story something is different.
Jesus sets the person who many would consider despicable up as the example to follow in this story and says that the person they usually think about emulating is the person who they should not follow. Why are things reversed? Pride and Humility.
The reason Jesus sets the tax collector up on a pedestal is because he was humble. Humility is mentioned all throughout the scriptures as a trait of holy people and this is what God desire from us. To love God and to love other so deeply and purely that we are humble in every way. Humility is the way of Christ and is the call of the Christian life.
Pride has no place in our lives and the only way to cast it out is to seek humility. We need ask God to make us humble and give us a deep love for him and for others. Humility may not sound like something that you desire, especially when the world is constantly telling us we need to assert ourselves as “#1” or “the best,” but we must realize our need for it. This is, afterall, the mind of Christ as Paul tells us in the Philippians passage we’ve so often referenced this Lenten season:
Philippians 2:3-4 NIV
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…
Let us strive to be humble, loving others and considering their interests above our own. Society tells us this is not the way to success, but the scriptures tell us that this is the way to true success – holiness!
Closing Prayer:
O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always. Amen
– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem
Pride – March 11, The Fourth Thursday of Lent
Luke 18:9-14 NIV
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Pride is probably one of the deadliest sins. It creeps into our life subtly and often unnoticed and before we know it we are consumed by thoughts that we are better than everyone else and that we deserve the best of everything. Pride is a killer for the person who longs to truly follow God. It hinders our prayers, it fills our hearts, and it makes us deaf and blind to things of God. Needless to say…Pride is bad.
Jesus clearly illustrates the issue with pride in this Gospel lesson. In talking to people who are “confident in their own righteousness and look down on everybody else” he tells them of the pharisee (the image of righteousness for the day) who was filled with pride before God. The pharisee puffs himself up and is full of himself, he even demeans others in his prayer and sets himself on a pedestal. Jesus is clear in asserting that this is not the way of the kingdom of God. This is not the way to be “exalted” in God’s eyes.
Pride is dangerous for the Christian, and often goes hand in hand with legalism (the issue we talked about yesterday). Just as we need to watch out for legalism this Lenten season we also need to examine our hearts for any trace of pride. Pride is a cancer to our walk with God and will only cause us to stumble as we seek to follow him.
Are you allowing pride to creep into your life? Is it dominating you? Are you seeking to raise yourself up like the pharisee? Ask yourself these questions and listen to the words of St. Symeon the New Theologian:
And if you want to learn what condition your life is in, inquire of your soul and ask it: “Soul, have you kept all of God’s commandments, or not?” And, opening the mouth of its conscience, it will tell the whole truth. For it will not seek to please you, rather it will reprove you, and whatever you have stored up and keep in yourself, whether good or ill, it will show you. For within the soul’s conscience you will discover whether you have loved the world; whether you have preferred the world to God; whether you have sought the glory of men, or whether you have longed for the glory, which is God’s gift alone.
– St. Symeon the New Theologian, “First Ethical Discourse,” On the Mystical Life *
Let us look deeply into our souls this Lenten season that we may rid ourselves of pride so we can truly follow Christ.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
* St. Symeon the New Theologian (949 – 1022) was a monk who entered the monastery at the age of 27. As St. Symeon followed this path he began to experience encounter God in many great ways. Through his life and in his writings Symeon greatly emphasized prayer and spiritual experience for the believer. He is called the “New Theologian” for his deep theological writings that defended Christian experience with solid Christian teaching.
Inside and Out – March 10, The Fourth Wednesday of Lent
A few days ago we talked about the busyness that surrounds this season and taking the time for rest (here). There is also another danger inherent in this busy season for which we constantly need to be on the ‘look-out.’ This second danger is legalism.
Legalism happens when we focus so much on the action that we forget the heart of the matter. During our Lenten fasting this can happen in a variety of ways. One way this happens is when we keep every minute part of our fast (though this isn’t bad in itself) and then we start judging others for not being as concerned with the tiny parts as we are. Another way is when we are so mindful to keep the fast that we neglect our actions to others and we become unloving, uncaring, and prideful in everything we do.
Legalism doesn’t just happen when we’re fasting. We can become legalistic with all sorts of things. Maybe we emphasize theology at the expense of love, tithing at the expense of charity, or going to church at the expense of true devotion. When we become legalistic we take things which are truly good and holy (theology, tithing, church attendance, or anything else) and turn them into laws that are contrary to the gospel.
In his reactions with the Pharisees Jesus dealt with some issues of legalism. One such interaction is in our scripture reading for today:
Luke 11:37-45 TNIV
When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
Jesus’ statement “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness” explains very clearly the issue he took with their legalistic hypocrisy. He calls them out for focusing so much on the “outside” or the part of their religion that everyone can see while they ignore the “inside” which he says is filled with evil.
The desire to avoid legalism has led some people throughout history to avoid any action that may lead to legalism. These people have sworn off fasting, tithing, and other such devotional practices because they view them all as empty and legalistic. Notice, however, that Jesus doesn’t call out the Pharisees for “cleaning the outside” but for neglecting the inside. These practices like fasting, tithing, and the rest are truly good and edifying for our souls if they are put in the proper perspective. They can and do indeed help us to clean the inside as long as we guard our hearts and do not allow legalism to creep into our lives.
As we continue on our Lenten Journey let us keep the fast, but watch our hearts carefully that we would not fall into legalism during this season. Let us pray to God so that pride would fall away and humility and love would fill us up.
Here is a small reading from a great saint of the church on this topic. The words may be a bit heavy, but if you have the time and understanding it will be a very good read:
Holiness of body is the abstention from all shameful things and from all lawless deeds, while holiness of soul is to keep the faith in God whole, neither adding nor subtracting from it… for what use is it to know the truth in words, only to defile the body and perform evil deeds? Or what profit indeed can come from holiness of body, if truth is not in the soul? For these rejoice together and join forces to lead man to the presence of God….Therefore, lest we suffer any such thing, we must keep the rule of faith unswervingly, and perform the commandments of God, believing in God and fearing Him, for He is Lord, and loving Him, for He is Father. Action, then, comes by faith, as ‘if you do not believe’, Isaias says, ‘you will not understand’; and the truth brings about faith, for faith is established upon things truly real, that we may believe what really is, as it is, and believing what really is, as it is, we may always keep our conviction of it firm. Since, then, the conserver of our salvation is faith, it is necessary to take great care of it, that we may have a true comprehension of what is.
– St. Irenaeus of Lyons, On the Apostolic Preaching, 2,3 *
Closing Prayer:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
– Psalm 19:14
St. Luke UMYF Lenten Readings 