New Page 1

I remember when I was in elementary school I wanted to be chosen for everything. For instance, if the teacher needed a dependable student to clean the chalk board erasers before recess, I would hold my chin up, sit up straight, smile, and think to myself, “Please pick me. Pick me!” Playing games on the playground was similar. I wanted to play everything. Have you ever waited to be picked for a team? The team captains taking charge because their fast and loud, would call out their top choices. “ I’ll take Jack. I’ll take Sarah. Hmmm…that leaves Melissa. I guess I get Melissa.” I usually was picked last. It was the same with Junior High dances. I would stand along the wall, trying not to look interested, praying I was cute enough for someone to ask me to dance.

I was just an ordinary girl hoping to be picked. Picked ‘cause I was me. Yet, those were years in my life when I first learned about how life isn’t always fair. There were daily reminders that we live in a world where people are chosen because they look right, or run faster. We live in a world where people are chosen because they have the right gear, speak the right words, attend the right parties, and drive the right cars. And so, we strive to be the exceptional people.

Some of you’ve might have met them. Some of you might be one; those exceptional people who love the public role. They are the superstars. They are the exceptional people who have all the right stuff going for them. In fact, a recent national poll tells us that 75% of the population believe themselves to be above average. We live in a time of exceptional people. We live in a time were there is tremendous pressure to be exceptional in all that we do.

The scribes and Pharisees thought that they were exceptional. They were the religious role models, the spiritual superstars, the paragons of piety. They dressed in the right gear, had the place of honor at banquets, and were respectfully greeted in the marketplace. Nothing made them happier than to be call rabbi by the people.

In their “devoutness” they became arrogant. The halos atop their heads were glued on instead of naturally earned and Jesus wanted to remind them of the importance of humility. “Do whatever they teach you,” he says, “but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach” (vv. 2-3). The scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites. “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others,” Jesus observes; “but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them” (v. 4). As exceptional men, they believe it’s their duty to offer the gift of moral clarity to others. Charity, however, was someone else’s responsibility. My friends, clarity without charity equals hypocrisy. So Jesus recommends that we remember that our one true teacher is the Messiah. “The greatest among you will be your servant,” he predicts. “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (vv. 11-12).  

Jesus has a way of reversing reality; humbling the proud, and lifting the meek. Call it the height of humility. But does this mean that exceptional people have nothing to contribute? Not at all. Jesus knows that superstars tend to trip over their pride, so they aren’t the best role models for those who want to be a disciple of Christ. It’s better for us to be average than exceptional, because ordinary people can move through life with humility and accomplish some truly extraordinary things.  

Let’s face it, being exceptional is not an easy task. Hear this…striving for excellence and being exceptional are two different things. Striving for excellence helps us to live to our full potential. Always trying to be the best at everything can actually cause us to be unhappy.

Lyndon Duke, who studies suicide, has found that when people try to be extraordinary, nearly everyone fails. They end up feeling like losers for not being good enough, special enough, rich enough or happy enough. The result of trying to be exceptional is very often a life of unhappiness. There has to be a better way. And, fortunately, there is — one that involves humility.

Duke himself was moping around feeling unhappy one day, when all of a sudden he began to hear a neighbor singing while he was mowing his lawn. In a moment of clarity, Duke realized what was missing from his life: the simple pleasures of an average day. He realized that he needed to stop trying to exalt himself, and simply accept the ordinary life that he and his family had been given. The very next weekend, he went to visit his son, who was struggling to excel in his first semester at college. Duke spoke very clearly to him, saying, “I expect you to be a straight C student, young man. I want you to complete your unremarkable academic career, meet an ordinary young woman, and, if you choose, get married and live a completely average life!” His son, of course, thought he had flipped. But Duke was advising him to enjoy the height of humility — to be an average student, and enjoy an ordinary life. The result of this advice was quite surprising. No longer feeling any pressure to be exceptional, Duke’s son did an average amount of studying for his final exams. His grades were outstanding: straight A’s. He then called his dad and apologized.  

 This story illustrates the paradoxical promise of an average-life philosophy: If you focus on living an ordinary life, the cumulative effect of many average days is actually quite extraordinary. An hour a day with your children adds up to 90 hours in three months, and then 1,800 hours over the course of five years. You know that such an investment’s going to have an enormous impact. A hundred hours of writing over a three-month period is enough to complete a book, and at that rate you could write two books, some poetry, and a screenplay over the course of a year. If you work in sales and speak to 100 new prospects over the course of a month, you’re definitely going to get some new business. Little steps add up. Serving others produces great results.”[1]

“Those who humble themselves will be exalted,” says Jesus. This, of course, does not mean that we are called to be a doormat to other people, but rather approach the world as a student, open to learn each day of our lives, and thankful for the wisdom that God, our relationships, and our experiences have to offer us. It’s through a life of ordinary service that we’ll accomplish extraordinary things. Whether we are doctors or dog-walkers, CEOs, or high school students, we can choose to live a truly humble life that is anything but average. Wherever we are on the socioeconomic spectrum, the words of Jesus are going to ring true: “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (v. 12).  

A few days after I had learned that I passed my Ordination interviews, to my surprise and delight, a parishioner dropped by the parsonage with a dozen yellow roses. Upon handing the roses to me, he said, "Congratulations on becoming ordinary." It was both a funny and powerful statement…one that comes back to me often. We are all ordinary people, filled with extraordinary grace. We are ordinary people with the potential of living extraordinary lives. God uses our ordinary lives. God enlivens the ordinary, and brings forth the extraordinary. God calls us to offer our gifts and talents, our willingness and openness.

We need to look no further than the elements that sit on the communion table this morning, to know the extraordinary love of God. We have this bread and this juice. And through God's grace and forgiveness, these symbols take on extraordinary meaning in our lives and our worship. They become for us the body and blood of Christ. God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.

God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary, and yet we have the work of maintaining our humble vessels. We have to make sure our practices and our deeds are in line with our words. If we are to be humble servants of Christ to this world, we must stay clear of the hypocrisy trap. This is true at home, where it doesn’t work to say to children, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It’s also true at school and on the job, where people are always going to be watching to see if we are people of integrity, showing consistency between our words and our actions.  

God uses our average day and average lives. God uses our desire for excellence, but we must make sure we are remembering the full extent of our calling. The text tells us, the scribes and Pharisees lay burdens on the shoulders of others, “but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them” (v. 4). When people are in need, it is critical for us to go beyond giving advice we also need to lend a hand. We are called to nurture one another as well as learn from one another.

Finally, the Pharisees were more interested in making an impression on the people than having a relationship with God. This is a trap that is so easy to fall into! We can play a role in good and faithful worship and service, without ever really communing with God. Worship isn’t about us, it is about God. Make sure you develop that strong spiritual core. In order to do that, one must develop humility.

Avoiding these traps will help you to live a humble life, one in which the ordinary becomes truly extraordinary. Practice what you teach. Offer a helping hand. Focus on God. In the end, we don’t get anywhere by exalting ourselves. Strive for excellence, and know that you make an incredible impact in your average everyday lives, because God takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. To that I say, “Thanks be to God!”

[1] Bob Taylor, The Height of Humility, Homiletics Nov-Dec. edition 2008.

Return to Sermons Page