“The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.“
Timothy Keller
For more about humility see these posts:
In this book, TJ the squirrel learns an important lesson– prayer is not magic! His friend, Jo, believes that if he prays using this secret phrase–“in Jesus’ Name”–he will receive whatever he asks for. After TJ gives this a try, and finds that it doesn’t work, he is disappointed. A visit from his neighbor, Grace sets him straight. She explains Jesus wants us to pray for the things that really matter –not new toys or more acorns! Our prayers should reflect the things Jesus taught us to value; things like loving our neighbor, sharing, obeying and trusting Him. The decide to pray for Jo and share the true meaning of prayer with him.
Advertised for children ages 2-7, I believe it would be most suitable for the upper age range. Children who are younger will not have a long enough attention span to follow the story and will not understand the concept. The illustrations by Guy Wolek are colorful, but not remarkable. The book closes with this verse:
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14
VERDICT: 4 STARS
For more books for children see these posts:
All Will be Well by Lacy Finn Borgo–Book Review
“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
For more on C. S. Lewis see these posts:
C. S. Lewis on our Union with Christ
There are a number of stories in the gospels which link humility with faith. Here are two:
In the 7th chapter of Luke, he tells us:
“Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death…” Luke 7:2
The centurion was so humble, he did not approach Jesus himself. He sent some of the elders of the Jews to ask Jesus to heal the servant. Then before Jesus entered his home, he sent friends to say:
“Lord do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore, I did not presume to come to you. But say the word and my servant will be healed. “Luke 7:6-7
The 7th chapter of Mark records another example. A Syrophoenician woman asked Jesus to cast unclean spirits from her daughter. At first, since she is a Gentile, Jesus tells her,
“… it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Mark 7:27
She replies:
“Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Mark 7:29
I don’t know that these folks realized that Jesus was the Son of God, but they certainly recognized His stature was something they could not begin to approach. They had faith in His ability to heal, and they came to Him with reverence and a humble spirit. There are other examples — consider the women with the issue of blood, and the thief on the cross. We, too, should be humble. Jesus is not a bubble gum machine, a way for us to push the right buttons in order to get what we want. He is God, and he deserves not only our love, but our humble respect.
For more about faith see these posts:
Peter seems to have been a pretty confident guy, sometimes downright cocky! He doesn’t hesitate to leave his fishing business when Jesus says, “follow Me” (Matthew 4:18); he was first to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ (Mark 8:29); he was even willing to walk on water, if Jesus was there with him (Matthew 14:29)! At the last supper, when Jesus predicts His arrest and crucifixion, Peter declares:
“Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You. “Matthew 26:35
Peter was sure of his beliefs and positive that he could follow through on them. He was relying on himself and his ability to stand firm. Of course, we know what happens. Peter does deny Christ. In fact, he denies Him three times! We read about this in the book of Luke:
“And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So Peter went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:58-62
It’s not hard to imagine how Peter felt — shamed, upset, humiliated. He couldn’t live up to his promises. He wasn’t as brave, as resourceful, as committed as he imagined. He was a sinful man, and sometimes that sin got the better of him.
It happens to all of us. However, we should remember that the glance of Christ was not condemning, but loving. He knows our weakness, and we need to admit it, too. Our confidence should be in Him, not in ourselves. Peter learned to be humble, and so must we.
For more posts about Peter see:
I’ve been reading some stuff on humility to write about it here and, funnily, all the early christians agreed that humility is the first virtue one has to have in order to achieve any other virtue.
“First and foremost, we must lay down a solid foundation of profound humility to serve as the foundation of the tower of virtues that will rise up toward heaven.”
– Saint John Cassian.
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“He who has mastered humility has mastered all virtues.”
– Saint Maximos
“The humbleness of the heart comes ahead of all virtues.”
– Saint Moses the Black
And so goes on. The thing is: that made me remember of our friend St.Augustine. When he talks about the potentialities of the soul, he mentions that the fear of the Lord is the first thing to achieve the other “degrees” of virtues. His foundation is Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. Fear of God (timor Dei), according to Augustine, turns one toward the divine will by quelling one’s impulses of pride (superbiae motus) with thoughts of mortality. He also relates that to conversion. But what does the fear of the Lord has to do with humility? Everything!
Both are being used as the foundation of a virtuous soul and that because the fear of the Lord (Timor Dei) smashes our pride. Fearing the Lord is when you behold His holiness and realize your misery and then you fear cause you know He is, as Karl Barth would say, the wholly Other (otherness of God). How can we not feel humbled by such truth?
Saint Basilius the Great says that humility is achieved when man thinks that all mankind is superior to him. That happened to Paul. And we can smell his virtues throughout the entire history. That happened to the holiest of the saints. You want to achieve a virtuous life so you get united to Christ day by day? Start by knowing your place.
In Sharon Garlough Brown’s latest novel, she continues the story of Wren, a young woman suffering from anxiety and depression, and her Aunt Kit, a retreat leader who takes her in as she works to regain her bearings. If you’re a fan of the Sensible Shoes series, you will encounter some of the same characters and get a glimpse of what’s been going on in their lives.
The primary theme of the novel is transitions. Kit is retiring from her position as the director of New Hope Retreat Center; Wren is feeling ready to launch into life again, applying for a job as volunteer coordinator at the nursing home where she’s worked as a cleaner. Wren also reconnects with an old art teacher, who is undergoing a difficult adjustment to life in that same nursing home after leading an active, independent life.
These and other characters deal with grief, difficult relationships, forgiveness, racial justice, reconciliation and more, all from a Christian and hopeful perspective.
There is a list of additional resources at the end, covering the topics of Mental Illness, Grief, Spiritual Formation, Vincent Van Gogh and racial justice.
VERDICT: 5 STARS. An easy, but challenging read.
For more books by the same author see these posts:
Remember Me by Sharon Garlough Brown–Book Review
Based on the true story of Father Stuart Long, this film should have been inspiring, but somehow, for me, it fell flat. Stuart (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg) is stubborn and single-minded. When injuries end his boxing career, he decides to go to L.A., determined to become an actor. There he meets a devout Roman Catholic girl, who rejects his advances because he is not a baptized believer. Resolved to win her love, he attends catechism classes and is baptized into the church. Following a serious motorcycle accident and a near-death spiritual experience, he feels called to the priesthood. His girlfriend and parents are dumbfounded and unsupportive. He is admitted to the seminary only to discover that he has a rare degenerative disease that will cause him a host of physical problems and shorten his life. In spite of this, he becomes a priest and is able to minister to others, even when confined to an assisted living facility. His story is almost unbelievable!
However, very little time is spent on Stuart’s beliefs, spiritual development, or ministry. Most of the movie covered the life he led before his conversion. There were many unanswered questions — for example, how did he make it through the academic requirements of seminary? (I later found out the real Stuart had attended college — this wasn’t part of the movie and it led me to wonder what other things were omitted or inaccurate). His desire to be a priest seemed to be just one more example of his dogged persistence in pursuing a personal goal once he had set his mind upon it.
I’m pretty sure the real Stuart Long was an inspirational figure. He overcame many obstacles in order to serve God in a difficult calling. Unfortunately, the film spent too much time focusing on external events, instead of spiritual growth. None of the characters were well-developed. Possibly there was simply too much ground to cover in two hours.
VERDICT: 2 STARS. Disappointing.
For more film reviews see:
The Black Church–This is Our Story This is Our Song–Film Review
The church I have been attending used this service on Good Friday. It is adapted from an ancient order of worship appointed for Holy Week and used in the church to impress on Christian minds and hearts the awful consequences of sin and the magnitude of the Savior’s suffering and death. The service is marked by quiet and ends in darkness. The word “Tenebrae” comes from the Latin word for “shadows” and reminds us of the darkness that overshadowed Calvary.
The gradual extinguishing of the candles as the Passion History is read signifies the growing bitterness of the world against the Son of Man, the flight of His disciples, the increasing darkness without, and the agony within. The central candle on the altar signifies Jesus Himself, the Light of the World. The removal of the candle from the altar at the end of the service symbolizes the death of Jesus, and its return (on Easter) the remembrance of His resurrection.
The noise of the closing book, the loud sound called the “strepitus” at the end of the service, signifies the door of the tomb is shut and acknowledges that the meaning of the cross if fulfilled.
After the “strepitus”, the congregation rises and leaves in silence, taking the mood of the service home, returning on Sunday to celebrate the Easter victory.
Tenebrae is meant to be a humbling experience, as we each recognize and accept our part in the crucifixion of our Lord.
For more about the crucifixion see these posts:
Recently I served on a Lutheran Via de Cristo retreat team. Via de Cristo is a lay movement designed to encourage leadership in the local congregation through attendance at a three-day retreat. On the retreat there are 15 talks and group discussions about what it means to be a Christian in the church and in the world. New attendees are called pilgrims. At our first team meeting, we received the following information about what it means to be part of the team. This could apply to many other Christian ministries, and if you take the instructions seriously, it is quite humbling. Remember, we’re here on earth for one purpose — to glorify and serve God and others. Is that evident in your life?
Why am I here Lord?
For more about Lutheran Via de Cristo see:
Lutheran Ladies Connection 