Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "The Humility of Christmas"

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This Sunday
Dec. 13, 2015



Sermon Title:
"From Humble Beginnings to Glorious End"



Scripture:
Philippians 2:5-11  
Picture of Pastor Tim
December 10, 2015
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
In many sectors of American culture, we continue to value the virtue of humility. We appreciate the accomplished man who nonetheless does not feel the need to vaunt his achievements. We applaud the woman who can shift the spotlight from herself to others who assisted in her success. We like stories of people in high positions who nevertheless can roll up their sleeves and work side-by-side with common folk as equals in humanity. Many parents still teach their children that valuing themselves also means giving value to other children, too. Humility makes room for others, we tell our kids.
 
Did you know that humility is a particularly Christian virtue? Christianity was born in the midst of Greek and Roman culture, and the Greeks and Romans did not elevate humility in any positive sense. They held it in low regard. To the contrary, pride was praised and pursued. One was taught to guard and defend one's pride against others who would attack or offend it. Or as Jane Austen in the early 1800s would later write of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, pride when well regulated is always in order. Apparently we are to be proud, even if not too proud of it.
 
Christianity, however, since its inception has elevated humility as a great virtue and pride as a severe vice. Consider the following Bible passages:
  • "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble" (Luke 1:52).
  • "Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).
  • "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
  • "Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time" (1 Peter 5:6).

To these passages, we could add many others that highlight humility, while at the same time condemning a proud spirit. The early Christians were called to humility. We are called to humility. And the overarching reason why humility continues to receive positive regard in American culture is derived from its Christian roots.

 
So just why did humility rise out of disgrace in the Greco-Roman world to an expression of grace among Christians? Surely, the answer is found in Jesus Christ Himself. His entire mission was one of willing humility. As the Second Person of the Trinity, He had enjoyed the perfect fellowship of the Father and Spirit from before there was time and space. As the Word of God, He participated in the creation of the cosmos. As the ongoing Word, He is the power that holds all things together. And yet on the first Christmas Eve, Jesus humbled Himself in becoming a human being, a helpless baby born in a backwater village of the great Roman Empire. As the Apostle Paul would put it when writing to the church in Philippi: 
"[Jesus] who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself.. " (Philippians 2:6-8a). 
There it is--the humility of Christmas. God humbles Himself by becoming one of us in Jesus Christ when born to Mary that night in the little town of Bethlehem. Because the Son of God came with great humility, His followers emulated humility as no longer a vice but a great virtue. Because Christianity rose to prominence in Western culture, humility rode the tide of values that we still uphold.
 
But the tide is turning in Western culture. The humility of Christmas grows dimmer with each passing generation. The door is ajar for the old Roman way of pride to re-enter. What shall we do? As Jesus' people, we continue to recognize the humility of Christmas in our annual celebration, and we continue to practice it in our everyday lives.
 
Pastor Tim
 
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