I also included a shoutout to Mister Rogers in my sermon. Here's the video I referenced in my talk:
And here's my sermon. It's meant to be read aloud so the grammar isn't perfect. Sorry Karyn!
Humble Yourself
What does it mean to "humble yourself"? As I was preparing for today's theme, I began thinking about times that I've been humbled. My first thought was about some of my most embarrassing moments . . . like the time I threw up all over the kid in front of me in our second grade musical performance . . . or the night before my first marathon when I became nervous and a little overzealous in my attempts to carbo-load and ate way too much spaghetti. It's clear that a nervous stomach and too much pasta can only lead to something bad and my friend's parent’s front yard took the brunt of that mistake. As I thought about these humbling moments, I realized that most of my embarrassing moments centered around throwing up. As I reflected further I was pretty sure that today's theme was not asking us to all to embarrass ourselves . . . So I went in a different direction and looked up the definition of humble to help me in my preparation . . . but didn't get much further so instead I think we should look at today's scripture for some further clues. Today's scripture comes from 2 Kings 5:1-14 and as is often true when I preach, the scripture centers around healing. It's also a story where many of the characters are humbled either by choice or because of life circumstances.
The story begins with Naaman, one of King Aram's top commanders in the Syrian Army. He had led King Aram's army to victory in numerous battles and with his success had come great power and riches in his own right. Naaman was living well. He had his own land. He had a beautiful wife and many slaves and servants. But he had one problem. He had begun noticing some changes in his skin. I'm sure like many of us, he initially ignored them. It's nothing . . . maybe I brushed up against a tree branch . . . or was in the sun too long. It'll go away. But It didn't go away and as his affliction spread . . . he realized that he had contracted leprosy, one of the most socially ostracizing and physically disfiguring diseases of his time. It's clear what an impact leprosy had on people of ancient times as it keeps showing up over and over in many stories from the Bible. Here's a man at the top of his power, who has contracted an illness that could push him to the margins of society in many cultures. Fortunately, in Syria this was not the custom, still it obviously affected him greatly. If there's one thing in this world that is the great equalizer, it is disease and illness. Contrary to what some people think . . . there are diseases that will devastate the body no matter how much money, resources, or connections a person has. All of us are susceptible to illness and unlike what we see on TV . . . we don't always find the cure.
But this story is not just about Naaman. It's also the story of a servant girl from Israel. She had been abducted in one of Naaman's raids and was now forced to live a life of slave labor as the servant of Naaman's wife. She had been hearing the story of how her master was struggling with Leprosy. She saw this as an opportunity to share the story of the God of Israel and God's power to heal. She knew of a prophet who had the ability to heal leprosy and she shared this information with her master. Naaman, hearing the chance to possibly be cured, told king Aram. But Aram and Naaman didn't fully listen to the story and assumed that the power to heal rested in the hands of the King of Israel. Since King Aram wanted to help his most trusted military commander, he wrote a letter to the king of Israel. He also sent lots of silver, gold and fine clothes as surely the task of healing requires some monetary compensation as well.
So Naaman and his entourage visited the King of Israel with a letter that said "when this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” You can imagine the king's surprise upon receiving this letter. I’m guessing he freaked out because though he was the king, he didn’t have the power to heal. He acknowledged his limits by saying “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” The King of Israel's first thought was that Aram, a rival leader who had clashed with Israel before, was trying to pick a fight with him and was asking him to do something impossible so that when he failed he would have an excuse to go to war. He was so dismayed that he tore his clothes.
Elisha, the prophet the girl was talking about, heard about this clothes tearing business and let the king know that he shouldn't be worried. Elisha could heal this man and this would help Namaan learn about the power of the God of Israel.
The king sends Naaman to Elisha's house. Naaman with his huge entourage and his gold and silver, showed up at Elisha's simple dwelling. Who knows what was running through Naaman's mind at this point. He probably felt that he was being led on a wild goose chase and how could this simple man possibly heal him? He never should have listened to that slave girl.
As he waited outside, a messenger arrived. He brought a message from Elisha that said “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” Now you can imagine someone of Naaman's stature being a little annoyed that he wasn't properly greeted by this Elisha character. Here he had travelled many miles to come see this man to be healed and he didn't even have the decency to come out to greet him. He also thought that he would give him some complicated ritual to cleanse his body, and all he was asked to do was bathe in the Joran river. He knew of far better rivers in his home country that would be more suitable to clean a person of his importance. Yet here he was, being told to go to the Jordan river. He was so mad that he left Elisha's house in disgust.
Then one of his servants came up to him and told him that he was being ridiculous and letting his pride get the best of him. He pointed out that before they had traveled to Israel, Naaman had been willing to try exotic treatments for his leprosy. So why was he refusing the simple command to wash and be clean? Naaman thought about this for awhile and then he had a change of heart. The scripture ends by saying "So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean."
The story continues on, however, and Naaman, being completely transformed by this healing experience, returns to Elisha and confesses his belief in the power and grace of God. He wants to give Elisha some token of his appreciation but Elisha refuses, telling him to go in peace.
In this brief story, we can learn a lot about what it means to humble oneself. Each of these characters struggled with humility. Obviously the main character Naaman was humbled by his disease. The illness was not his choice . . . however, as sometimes happens in the ups and downs of life . . .when we are humbled by life circumstances . . . we open ourselves up to be humble to others and to become more aware of God’s presence in our lives. It must have taken a lot of pride swallowing and desperation for self-important Naaman to listen to the advice of a lowly female servant. Part of humbling yourself is being open to the perspectives and views of others, even if they don't seem to have as much importance or "value" as you do. It is truly believing that the spirit of God dwells in all of us and that we need to be open to that spirit through our own humility. There was healing and restoration to be had, but Namaan first needed to give up his pride and listen to a young servant woman. Admitting we don't have all the answers can be painful . . . but if we humbly admit our shortcomings . . . we will become much more aware of God's nudgings in our life.
We learn more about humility through the intriguing young servant girl. She is similar to many characters in the Old Testament who keep their faith despite the tremendous hardship they experience through being exiled from their homeland. This young girl is away from her family, working for the wife of her captor. A tremendously humbling situation, again not of her choosing. But she's very important to this lesson on humility. You see . . . being humble doesn't always mean being meek and passive. This is something I need to remind myself of often. Just because we are humble and open to different perspectives and God’s presence in our lives and the lives of others, doesn't mean that we should sit idly be and watch injustice occur.
For this young girl had a strong belief in the one true God of Israel. She believed that the healing, restorative power that comes from faith in God was so powerful that she couldn't be quiet when she saw an opportunity for this healing. I'm sure she took many risks by speaking up . . . as she was in no position of power and could be cast aside for no good reason whatsoever. Yet she did speak up . . . as did Namaan's other servants at the end of the story. . .and in so doing Namaan was healed and God's blessings flowed. This story gives me hope that no matter how humbling our circumstances may be, God can use each of us to help bring God’s healing love, reconciliation and restorative justice to a world in desperate need of it.
As I thought about different humble people that I know, I couldn't help but think of one of my personal heroes Mr. Rogers. I can't remember if I've shared my admiration . . . or what some may call obsession . . . of Fred Rogers with this congregation before, but I'm going to do it again. As most of you know, I went to medical school in Pittsburgh which was the home of Mr. Rogers. I actually lived in Mister Rogers' neighborhood! I had always been amazed at the wisdom of Fred Rogers and his focus on making children feel special. I was in Pittsburgh when Fred Rogers was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died shortly thereafter.
After his death, there were numerous TV specials and tributes were I learned more about the man behind the puppets. Fred Rogers was a man who worked tirelessly as an advocate for children and to make television more educational and less mind numbing for kids. He had attended theology school and his Christian faith led him to live a life of humility. Here he was. . . a famous TV personality who could have used that fame for his own good fortune. Yet he chose not to. He turned down multiple lucrative offers to take his show to broadcast TV and make lots more money. He chose not to make any endorsements. He could be seen at the community swimming pool doing laps every morning . . . or driving around town in his well worn car. He always flew coach and always . . . always had time for children. His humility was even evidenced as he sought treatment for his cancer. . . Always the teacher, he did what many celebrities would not even think of doing . . . he allowed physicians in training to participate in his care by allowing medical students and residents to see him while he was in the hospital and at his most vulnerable.
Yet, Mister Rogers was not meek . . . nor did he stand by passively when he felt the need to speak out for something. There is a wonderful video of his testimony at a congressional hearing in the late 60s, when PBS funding was going to be cut. Here he was, a relatively unknown TV show host for children speaking, in front of many self-important politicians asking for money for PBS. In this video (you should watch it on youtube) he calmly but firmly explained the need for thoughtful programming for children that taught them the importance of understanding their feelings and that each child is special by just being themselves. In his unnassuming voice, mister rogers had the congressmen eating out of the palm of his hand by the end of his testimony . . . and the funding was renewed. His humility and respectful approach to an issue he felt passionate about . . . was way more powerful than what often happens in today's politics. I wonder what would happen if some of our current leaders and tv and radio personalities exhibited just a little bit of humility.
So humbling ourselves means that we put aside the prideful notion that we as individuals have all the answers and be open to the spirit moving in all of us. But it doesn't mean that we need to be passive and meek. Instead we need to speak up when we see injustice or have an opportunity to share God's love and grace with others.
As the story ends, Namaan is a changed person. It took him awhile to cast aside his pride as he fought hard against being humble and listening to this random prophet in a foreign land. But when he did, his life was transformed. When we truly humble ourselves, our lives are stripped of the protective barriers that pride puts up. We become vulnerable and we become open to the transformative change that comes from being in the presence of God.
The most humbling experience of my life came during my fourth year in medical school when i spent a month working in the capital city of Malawi. Prior to medschool, I had spent two months living in Malawi as a World Service Corps volunteer. I was so excited to go back to Malawi both to see some of the friends that I made and to use some of the skills that I had spent the last 4 years working hard to hone. Despite the warnings from my faculty sponsor (and my own previous experience), I was sure that there was something I could offer the patients in the hospital and that by being there I would make a significant difference. You see I was trained in one of the best medical schools in the United States that is home to some of the best medical care in the world. Certainly I'd be able to teach some of the hospital staff a few things.
That perspective changed the first day I set foot on the pediatric ward. The 300 sick children in one large room was hard enough to see. There were three to four children to a crib, with their mothers huddled over them. Most of the kids were malnourished, many afflicted with AIDS, malaria or both. As we were getting ready to start rounds, I heard the nurse say that there was supposed to be five nurses on duty the night before, but two had just moved to the UK for better jobs and the other two were sick, so she was the only nurse that night to care for 300 children. There had been 8 deaths overnight because of the short staffing. There wasn't a chance for this to sink in before we were off to rounds.
We started on the new admissions and the first child I saw was 2 but looked the size of a 9 month old. She was breathing fast and using every muscle in her chest to try to breath. I felt her pulse and it was 190. I listened to her lungs and they were full of wheezes. I began urgently talking to the medical assistant who was with me. I rattled off a dozen orders that this baby needed right now. I asked about oxygen . . . about nebulized albuterol . . . about powerful antibiotics . . . about IV fluids . . . and about what this child needed most -a ventilator, life support. The medical assistant gave me a knowing look and showed me the orders written on this little girl's chart. This medical assistant with only one year of training knew exactly what the girl needed and had ordered all the things I mentioned last night. . . but none of these things were available and with only one nurse for 300 children, only 3 oxygen stations that were already in use and only penicillin and chloramphenicol for antibiotics - this child would not survive. We wrote a few notes in the chart and moved on to the next child in the same crib.
Two minutes later, I heard a shriek and then sobbing. I turned to look in the direction of the shriek and the mother of the child we just examined was bent over her daughter. I looked down and the little girl was no longer breathing. I remember feeling a flood of emotion at that moment. Tremendous sadness at the loss of life . . . tremendous helplessness that there was nothing I could do about it . . . tremendous anger at a system that allowed such horrible injustice. Here i was equipped with tremendous education . . . and there was nothing I could do to save that child. This was the first and only time I've examined a child that was deathly ill and was unable to do anything at all because there were no resources. I felt powerless . . . I was humbled. . . and it changed me. Like Namaan, my humbling experience changed my outlook on the world and my relationship with God. I now want to understand all the factors that contributed to the death of that child and countless others like her in the developing world. I now support organizations and people that are working tirelessly to get to the root of the problems facing the developing world and how to help support sustainable solutions to those problems. I support the church's mission to abolish poverty and end suffering. And I also remain humble enough to admit that I'm definitely not perfect and that I often fall short in working to accomplish that mission. There's so much more that I could be doing to fight against injustice and I often come up with excuses. . . some more worthy than others. Yet . . . Despite my shortcomings . . . despite all of our shortcomings . . .God continues to use us and calls us to bring about God's blessings to the world. What a powerful and humbling promise!
We have an opportunity today to humble ourselves as we participate in the sacrament of communion. In communion we all come to the Lord's Table . . . stripped of our status and privilege . . . checking our pride at the door . . . because all of us are invited to share in the love, healing and reconciliation that comes through Christ no matter where we’ve come from, or what we've done or haven't done. We all come to the table as equals in the eye's of God and by coming to the table, it is my hope and prayer that we are transformed and out of us God's blessings flow. Let us share together at the table.
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