Sermon - Palm/Passion Sunday - Philippians 2:5–11

 

Paul writes to the Philippians that they should have the same mind or attitude as Christ.  And that attitude or mindset is:  humility.

On this Palm and Passion Sunday, let us consider that Christian value and quality of humility.  It is a characteristic we see most prominently in Christ our Lord, and most especially in his obedience unto death on the cross.  But it is also a quality that is reflected in his people by the power of His Spirit.

Like so many things with the Christian faith, we see in the concept of humility a deep and subtle mystery, a paradox, and are constantly led away from ourselves and again to the foot of the cross.  But especially as this Holy Week begins, there really is no better place to be, than at the cross, with Jesus.

Paul begins, “let this mind be among you, which is yours in Christ”.  It’s a bit of a strange statement.  He’s telling them to be something, but in the same breath admitting they already are, telling them to have something they already have.

Be humble, as you already are.  We are humble, ah, but the problem is, we are not.

What, in fact, is the opposite of humility, but pride?  Sinful pride.  In many ways pride is the root of all sin.  What tempted Adam and Eve, but pride?  “You will be like God.  Don’t you want to be like God?  Be all that you can be.  Who is he to tell you what not to do?  Go on, you’re worth it.  You know best.  Be your own boss. Run your own life.  Be true to yourself.  Look out for number one.”  And so they ate.  And so we sin.

Our pride is so easily offended.  Don’t you know who I am?  We become indignant so easily.  Oh, does she think she’s better than I am?  Pride is like a suit of glass armor we build around ourselves, the first pebble of offense someone casts at us, and the whole thing can shatter like a windshield.  It can even lead us to other sins, rage, violence, slander.  Nothing good comes of it.

Pride, sinful pride, really, is based on a lie.  And the lie is this: that I am good.  But our sinful reaction to even the slightest of slights should demonstrate otherwise.  Perhaps it’s the insecurity we feel deep down that sparks such a reaction – that no, I’m not that great.  No, I’m not so special.  No, I really don’t deserve anything but temporal and eternal punishment.

An honest encounter with God’s law should disabuse us of all pride.  There is no escape.  We can’t even push back against God, like we can against a human accuser, “Well you’re no better than I am!”  God’s perfect law always, always accuses us.  And if we are honest, it demolishes our pride.  It cuts us down and brings us low.  It crushes us with its weight.  Truly the letter kills.

This is our experience of spiritual humility.  An honest rendering of our spiritual state before God. 

But take Christ’s humility.  It’s different.  Though he was in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God worth grasping or clinging onto.  But rather, he gave up his rightful place on the throne of heaven, and condescended to us.  He emptied himself.  He took on the form of a servant, not a master.  He lowered himself to be creature, not exercising his rights as Creator.  He humbled himself.  He entered a state humility.  Putting aside, for the most part at least, his divine rights and privileges, his power and glory, to walk the dusty roads of Galilee as a humble human man, in poverty and obscurity, nothing special about that life he lived. 

Except that it was without sin.  When we are humiliated or brought low, it’s just showing forth the truth of our lowliness.  When he is humiliated, it is of his own will.  He who remained spotless and without blemish is the only one among us humans with the right to have pride.  But he put even that aside, and continually humbled himself for us. 

Paul shows the extent of it.  Not only did he humble himself in the incarnation, and in a life lived under the law, he was perfectly obedient to God under that law.  But even more, he was obedient even unto death (though, of course, unlike us he didn’t deserve death).  And not just any death mind you, but he even died on a cross. 

And we might add:  not just any cross, but his death on the cross, taking the entirety of our sin upon himself, yes, even our false and sinful pride – Jesus destroys sin and death and wins us the victory.

Paul reasons, rightly, of course, “therefore…”  Therefore God exalted him.  Because of his great humility even unto death.  Because of he made himself the lowest of the low to save lowly us….  God raised him up.  He exalted him.  He exalted him to life again in a glorious resurrection.  He exalted his human nature into a glorious exalted state.  And he even raised Jesus up again to heaven, to the very right hand of the Father, to his rightful throne on high.  Therefore every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But that Christ was and is and remains ever exalted is good news for you and me.  For we are in Christ.  And in Christ, we, too, are exalted.  In Christ, we too will have a resurrection.  In Christ, by our baptism, we are already dead and buried and raised.  In Christ we are, already, a new creation.  And in Christ, we already have that attitude of humility and service that we see most perfectly in him.

Here’s the great paradox and mystery.  Though we are prideful sinners, in Christ, we are humble saints.  The mind of Christ is ours – we have it – the humility of Christ, so says the Holy Spirit through St. Paul.  Now, of course we don’t always show it.  And we pray with the same desire as St. Paul, that God would prompt us ever more to the mindset of Christ.  We pray that we would be, and remain humble.

I’m coming up on 25 years as a pastor this summer.  And nothing in those years has impressed me more than when I see the humility of Christians.  What great humility God creates in us when our faith is nurtured and grows.  The true mark of Christian maturity is not intellectual understanding, or even outward good works of great love and service.  It is humility.  It is an attitude that is formed in us over and over again by God’s Spirit working through his word.

Consider the repetition of our confession of sins.  I am a poor miserable sinner.  We say it, over and over, and we learn to believe it more and more.  We can never really know how true it is, how deep and low the fissures of our sinful nature.  But we confess what God says about us.  And that is enough. 

But the more we believe it, as we grow in the humble recognition of our sins, the more God forms the mind of Christ in us.  And the more we appreciate how much he has forgiven us, and how great is his mercy in Christ, the more and more we grow in humility and faith.

It’s an old joke among us when someone says, “see how humble I am!”  By claiming to be humble you prove that you are not.  But not so for Jesus, who also says this, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

It is precisely Jesus’ humble service that gives us rest and hope and peace.  It is his humble suffering and obedient death on the cross that empties us of sin and fills us with his righteousness, and forms in us the mind of Christ himself.  May we ever grow in such humility, and learn true humility from him.