Humility – Luke 9:46-56

I doubt he would say this about his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, that it is a book about humility.  But if you think of humility as a recognition that you are just as subject to sin and selfishness as the other person is, then Jonathan Haidt’s book is helping us be humble when it comes to how we evaluate each others’ politics and religion and how we talk to each other about them.  Humility is the path to eliminating the divide we are experiencing about these subjects.

An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

   John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

   When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.  (Luke 9:46-56 ESV)

We have a hard time learning the priorities of our Lord, Jesus the Messiah.  Jesus had just told his disciples that he was going to die at the hand of man and they are more concerned about who is greatest among them.  They’re thinking about the kingdom but only in self-serving terms.  Jesus points to a child who does not assert himself above others and makes him the example of what it means to receive Jesus.  It means being the least among all.

This makes John wonder about someone who seemed “least” among them, a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name but who did not follow with them.  Jesus has to point out that if the man is not against them he is for them.  Tribes are great, but they’re not to be condemning of those who are not “us.”

Then, once more, the disciples take offense at the Samaritans for not letting them have access to food and shelter.  The denial of hospitality is a huge taboo, but the antipathy between Samaritans and Jews is even greater.  The disciples, to their credit, recognize their empowerment from God, but want to exercise their perceived greatness to call down destruction on this village.  Jesus rebukes them.

The path to “greatness” in God’s kingdom is humility.