God's Upside-Down Math - October 17

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); PM Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117; Ecclus. 3:17-31; Acts 28:17-31; Luke 9:37-50

Today’s Reflection

“The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself…. by the humble he is glorified.”

–Sirach 3: 18-20

The word “great” is used often in our cultural context. Personally, I think it is overused, as it is not a terribly specific or descriptive word. We say, “I had a great time,” or “That was a great meal,” or “I read a great book.” But what do we really mean by great? Oftentimes, it is used as a point of comparison. This meal was more delicious than any other meal I have had in a while. Or I learned more from reading this book than I have any other book I have read recently. Usually there is a better, more nuanced word that we could say to describe something’s quality, but great ends up being the default word for many of us. (Now that I have written this, I will need to be hypervigilant about how often I use this word—probably more often than I would like to admit.)

Or, on the societal level, we hear the word “great” used in reference to policies, people, and even whole nations. One dictionary says that great refers to largeness, predominance, or eminence—great refers to something “remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness” (Merriam-Webster). Likewise, greatness is defined there as “the quality or state of being great (as in size, skill, achievement, or power).” When we say a nation or a person is great, we often mean it in comparison with others. When a nation, a generation, or a person is considered a great one, is it meant that it is the greatest compared with all the others—or perhaps in comparison with its own history.

In Luke 9 (as well as in Mark 9), we hear of how Jesus’ disciples, when they were walking along the road to Capernaum, were arguing amongst themselves “as to which one of the them was the greatest.” In Mark’s account, when they arrive in Capernaum and Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” the disciples “kept silent” because they were embarrassed—they did not want Jesus to know that they had been discussing their relative greatness. However, in Luke’s account, we learn that “Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among you is the greatest.’”

Similarly, in our reading today from the wisdom book of Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), we read this admonition: “My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord. For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified.”

In the kingdom of God, calculations of relative greatness and value are turned upside-down. In God’s way of doing the math, first will be last and last will be first. Those who think themselves greatest are least, and those who think of themselves as (or are thought of as) least are in fact greatest. In God’s way of calculating things, leadership comes not from wielding one’s great power or sense of self over others. Greatness is, instead, making oneself less.

By God’s measure, true greatness flows from living into a posture of humility and servanthood in relationship to those for whom one has been entrusted with responsibility or authority. As Jesus illustrated to his disciples that day, when we become as humble and vulnerable as a child—as someone who knows that they are still growing, developing, and learning—it is then that we are best able to glorify God.

—Becky+

Questions for Self-Reflection

When do you notice that it is most difficult to practice humility? When does it seem easiest?

Daily Challenge

Look for an opportunity to do something you do not feel confident doing—an activity you have little (or no) experience doing, or a reading about a subject about which you know very little (or nothing at all). How does this experience of being a novice at something help you to reconnect with a sense of humility?