Passion Sunday 2013

Today is Passion Sunday in the Church calendar. It is the day when we move a little closer to the thoughts of the cross – the day when we think even more about what we have achieved in our Lenten journey, and what we still hope to achieve.

And one of the characteristics we seek to emulate is that of humility. Winston Churchill was a man not particularly well known for his humility, but he was once asked, ‘Doesn't it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."

It was a wonderful way of remembering that however high a position a person may have attained, a fall can come just as quickly – this is something we’ve seen in the last week with the jailing of Chris Huhne and his former wife.

Humility is a great quality, but not an easy one to honestly achieve – the Christian writer John Ortberg wrote, ‘We’d like to be humble… but what if no one notices…’

In our New Testament reading this evening (2 Cor. 11:16-end) we learn a little about humility from St Paul. At first sight it doesn’t appear to be much about humility at all. Through the passage, Paul defends his ministry by boasting of all the things he has accomplished. He readily admits that he is talking as a fool, not as God would speak, but he is boasting in order for him to defend himself against his critics.

He was comparing himself with his critics in order to stand up to them. For example he (in v.22) asks, ‘Are they Hebrews, so am I… Are they Israelites, so am I… Are they Abraham’s descendants, so am I…’ These critics had it seems suggested Paul was not as Jewish as them as he was born in Tarsus in modern day Turkey. Paul dismisses these suggestions.

And he also uses the section to make clear distinctions between him and his opponents. His critics use comparisons to try and put Paul down and elevate themselves. Rather than seeing him as being on the same team they sought to take people away from him, but Paul says he’s not interested in building his own kingdom, but in seeing the kingdom of God grow and grow.

In Paul’s boasting in this passage it is clear that he is not trying to impress people – he knew his true worth… he had been a persecutor of Christ, but had been saved on the Damascus road. He summed this up himself in his letter to Timothy (1:15), ‘Here is a trustworthy saying: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.’ With Paul it was no false humility – he meant those words and dedicated his life to sharing them. He truly lived with the passion that said, ‘If God can save me, he can save everyone.’

When we think of humility we often think of terms such as quiet, passive, unobtrusive and nice – perhaps even weakness, but Paul’s humility, true humility, is something totally different – it is bold, assertive, courageous, confident and fearless.

In recognising his true worth, Paul recognised and lived out a bold and fearless gospel proclamation – there was nothing and nobody that was more important than sharing the message of Jesus who lived, died and rose again to live forever. It was that message that if God could save even Paul, God could save anyone.

No longer would Paul live for himself, he would live for Christ. In fact he puts it even better than that as he says in his letter to the Galatians (2:20), ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’

As we move towards the commemoration of Jesus’ death on the cross, and the celebration of his resurrection, Paul challenges us to be humble and to live recognising that our lives are dependent on God – given by him, directed by him, governed by him. As he boasted of his pain as a follower of Christ he did so not to seek approval from others, but to remind them that he knew that God’s work was worth any pain – I think it was Martin Luther King who said something like, ‘If you haven’t found a cause worth dying for, then you haven’t found a cause worth living for…’

Paul spoke of his imprisonments, his beatings, the tortures he’d received, the shipwrecks he’d been involved in, the dangers he’d faced – the sleepless nights, the hunger and the lack of material possessions and the pressures of knowing how many people depended on him. It was a life truly transformed – and it was transformed by and for Christ and his service.

When we speak may we seek the power of Christ for our words. When we think may we seek to think his thoughts. And when we act may we act as he acts – with a heart full of love and compassion for all, and with a passion for sharing that message with all.

And when we boast, may we boast only in the fact that God loves us…

David Lloyd George told of a time he met a lady after a speech. She said she’d expected him to be much taller than he actually was – he replied, ‘Madam, in Wales we measure a man from his neck up, not from the neck down !’

People are measured on all kinds of different things in life – but a Christian will always be measured, not on our clothes or possessions, but on our whole lives – the way we speak, the things we do, how we treat other people…

God wants his people to shine in the world today, in a world with too much darkness….; we need to let him work in and through us… AMEN