Sermon by the Rev. Sandy Montgomerie

Live humbly with your God, I’m sure we’ve heard those words before! How easy is that?

Even if you could, there would always be the possibility that you might be proud of having done it. Humility is not a state at which you can aim at directly; we cannot manufacture it or put it on. The lectionary doesn’t use this verse but James chapter 4 verse 6 has these words

‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6) NRSV

So how about this idea of James, to humble yourself, and that is I believe what he means in the words that are spoken in his letter and it also it is alluded to in the gospel today.

Some folk have particular bible readings they find inspirational or creates for them peacefulness.

But you don’t often hear people say that the letter from James is their favorite. Maybe it’s not used often enough, or maybe it makes us uncomfortable, but we must admit that James is nothing if not practical.

James’s very practical outline of behavior and guidance on what it means to live a Christian life carries with it a lot of sense. James really spoke out to his readers back then, but today’s piece from James should still give us a lot to think about. In fact, although written for its time, I would suggest to you that it carries within those words a petition on Human Rights

Listen again to what James says: “For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.”

It hurts to read out loud because it’s so true. Look at the world we live in. Many of us continue to ask why, in this day and age, the only way we seem to be able to deal with problems among the countries of the world is to arm mostly the poor and kill until someone gives up or one side has no one left standing. Where are the human rights of people in these situations?

This all sounds pretty negative – maybe even bordering on the desperate. So where’s the good news? Is there good news?

I think so. There are many good things being done by people in our country, in our church – there are good things that each of us do. When James says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom” – that says to us that he knows there are those who are wise and understanding among his hearers.

We know the same thing about ourselves.

I was reading an article by the retired Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt. Revd James Jones who retired in 2013. During his time he had been asked to chair the Hillsborough Independent Panel on the circumstances that led to the disaster on 15th April 1989, when 96 people were crushed to death at the football stadium in Sheffield.

The game was between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

His part in the proceedings was not just as a chairman but also as a pastor to all the people who live in the diocese of Liverpool. “Like a vicar, bishops are not just there for those who come to church. Our understanding of the Kingdom is that we are pastors of all, whether or not they believe in God.

This also placed the church at the heart of the community and the aspirations of the people to live in a society that is true and just”.

He tells us that when the panel first met they decided to meet the various family groups on the same day, the dignified determination to seek the truth was the main desire of families and they in turn gained the trust of the panel whose action of meeting with them was confirmed when the families told them this was the first time they had been taken seriously and listened to.

Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral was chosen to be the sacred space disclosing the documents that the panel had observed to the families. This also was to protect their dignity and not dishonour the 96 memories of those who had lost their lives.

The Dean of the cathedral whispered to James Jones “This is like a window onto the Kingdom of Heaven”. In that sacred space truth was calling out for justice.

Human rights of men women and children had been recognised.

Bishop Jones finishes with these words, “whatever our theological convictions, we have to recognise with humility that although we need institutions to order our common life, at moments in our history such as the struggle for racial or environmental or economic justice it is the people beyond the walls of the institutions, sometimes including the church who have prevailed in the name of justice”. Amen to that!

Currently the Archbishop of Canterbury and our own Primus engage with the refugee crisis by speaking out to government and to each of us as responsible Christians the need for action.

The word "humility" means literally a low estimate of self. Someone has said, "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your full height before some higher nature that will show you how small your greatness is." "Walk humbly with your God." Here is where we learn true humility. Walking with God, seeing ourselves by the side of God’s greatness, we are reassured of our purpose.

And seeing how small we are is the first step toward becoming what we can be.

“This is what the LORD requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God”. (Micah 6:8)

In the gospel we find that Jesus’ challenge to help his disciples understand the journey ahead of them is serious and their need to be focussed. Humility is needed rather than being fraught with jealousy and ambition.

Their rights are not being affected they are Jesus’ followers of their own free will and yet they want more, it’s almost as if they need more, his topics of death and resurrection don’t inspire them at all.

They just don’t see it, that bigger picture of why, where and when. It needs a child to be a kind of visual aid for Jesus, offering an alternative vision, to bring them back on board.

A father, who had been working hard all day, came home wanting peace: and quiet.

But his young daughter kept pestering him. To keep her quiet, he cut out a map of the world from a newspaper and cut it into pieces of different sizes and gave her some tape to hold it in place.

He then told her that he would give her a bar of chocolate when she had 'put the world together'.

He hoped that this would give him at least an hour of peace. Five minutes later she came back telling him that the map was finished and was laid out on the floor.

The father was surprised and asked, 'How did you get it together so quickly?'

'That was easy,' she said, 'I just turned the pieces over, and on the other side, I saw the picture of a man. When the man was put together right, the world was right.' Profound words!

These readings give us a lot to think about.

Because they give us a window into God and Jesus as to how the world should be and give us glimpses of the Kingdom. There is always hope no matter how bleak we think life might appear and even when we’re brought up short and challenged about how we’re living, even when we’re at our most unlovable, there’s always the promise of God’s love for us.

Part of our ministry is to make sure that we welcome all our brothers and sisters on the journey with us.

We are not here just for ourselves but to be the light of Christ in the world around us and

helping the helpless is helping Christ himself.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father,

you are the source of all goodness, generosity and love.

We thank you for opening the hearts of many

to those who are fleeing for their lives.

Help us now to open our arms in welcome,

and reach out our hands in support.

That the desperate may find new hope,

and lives torn apart be restored.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, Our Lord,

who fled persecution at His birth

and at His last triumphed over death.

Amen