Humility

Each of the Gospel writers has their own particular interests, which are brought out in the way they tell the story of Jesus. One of the themes of Luke’s Gospel is humility. Right from the start, on learning that she is to become the mother of Jesus, Mary tells of how God has put down the mighty from their seat: and has exalted the humble and meek. Luke’s Gospel is the only one which depicts the humble conditions of Jesus’ birth which we remember at Christmas. And yesterday, by coincidence, the Luke Gospel readings at both the 8.00am and 10.00am services were about humility.

Throughout the ages people of faith who have come to be seen as saints have lived out lives of humility. The great sea farer, Sir Francis Drake, may not jump into our minds as a humble man. For all that, he understood the role of humility in living out a life of faith. Here is his prayer which we heard yesterday at our 10.00 communion service:

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Amen