Do you take Jesus?

DAILY BYTE

The biblical scholar, R. Alan Culpepper says that “Humility is not to be feigned as a strategy for recognition.” In other words – do not abuse humility. “On the contrary, humility is a quality of life open to persons who know that their worth is not measured by recognition from their peers but by the certainty that God has accepted them.”

We’ve been talking this week about living humbly – living in the certainty that God has accepted us – no matter what. This is what Jesus can teach us, as he walks with us, and as we sometimes stumble alongside him.

But even if we stumble, Jesus says that if we live this way, humbly loving others and humbly receiving God’s love for us, we will be blessed! Another word for blessed is – happy! We’re on a constant search for “happiness” in this world, and we usually try to get it by wielding our power over others... But in the story from Luke we’ve read this week, we see that we can find happiness not by pompously pushing our own agendas but by realizing where our wounds and failings are, working together, sitting around the table, and helping one another find the best seat in our lives.

Imagine how different the world would look if people gave each other the best seats in the house at theatres. What would it be like, if we let others go first in the queue at the grocery store? If instead of moaning about the crazy things people do and how we could do them better, what would happen to us and to the world, if we took time to listen to the reasons for why people do the things they do?

That path might not lead us to a life with a lot of money where we make all the “right” connections. It might not lead us to traditional marriage, and it might not fix all of the things in our lives that are difficult, but it will lead to a path of true happiness. Humble happiness, whether that’s in marriage, or as a church community – living as the bride of Christ.

So, do you take Jesus in marriage today, in a human vow that borders on the miraculous?

FOCUS READING

Revelation 21:2-3 (NRSV)

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them...”

PRAY AS YOU GO

Loving God, you came to earth as a humble baby, and you grew to become a humble man. Allow the way that you lived to shine through us in lives of humility and trust in your presence with and within us. Teach us to accept the faithful vows you have made to us, and help us to walk the journey of making our vows to you in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.