THE STRENGTH OF VULNERABILITY PART 1 - RADICAL HUMILITY

(this is my sermon THE STRENGTH OF VULNERABILITY in 2 parts... this first part lays down a Biblical mandate for a radical humility)

 

One of the major traits of Jesus revolutionary way to life is a Radical Humility. It is not the way the world works but the Kingdom is upside down to the world.

There’s a pragmatic paradox here. Jesus is born, dies, is resurrected and ascends to heaven in order to restore all the relationships that were broken as a result of the human Fall. Relationships between God and humanity, human and human and humanity and creation were all fractured when humanity reached to be more than human and ended up less than God’s intentional design.

As we reflect on God’s creation and the work of Jesus’ redemption humans are reminded of our preciousness. Humans are made in the image of God. Jesus gives his life, revealing God’s love for this humans. Paul describes followers of Jesus as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus.

However, the posturing of a follower of Jesus is not to be haughty or arrogant or self righteous. 

The book of Proverbs (25:6-7) advises: 

 

6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great; 7 for it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

 

Jesus himself spoke about the first being last and the last being first. He showed us the posture of God incarnate by washing his disciples feet. As Paul put it in his letter to the Philippians (2: 6-8)

 

Who, being in very nature[a] God,

    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

 

rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

 

And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

 

Now that is Radical Humility… and Jesus asks us to follow him.

I am not sure that this is the posture that the Church has shown to the world around us. Too often we have been self righteous and arrogant, strutting ourselves as better than everyone else.

It is not the Jesus way of Radical Humility. We are the people of the manger, the donkey and the cross. This is the discipleship that we are called to.

Read Part 2 of this series HERE