Lessons In Humility
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. (vv. 11--12)
In Daily Guideposts, 2000, Edward Grinnan recalls the lesson of service and humility that he learned from his mother. The family had an inexpensive set of steak knives when Edward was a child. The handles were made of plastic that was formed to look like wood. One steak knife in the set had a warped handle. The plastic had had a less than pleasant experience with the heating element in the family's dishwasher.
Saturday night was steak night in the Grinnan home. Every Saturday night, the warped steak knife could be found as a part of his mother's place setting. She chose to serve the best to her husband and her children while giving the worst to herself.
Over the years the Grinnan family grew smaller as the children grew up and moved out of the house. But even with extra undamaged steak knives now available, Grinnan's mother still chose the humble warped steak knife for herself. Edward witnessed this as the youngest child. He razzed his mother about it, and she would say she felt sorry for the disfigured knife. She had always had a soft spot for the underdog. She would capture spiders in the home and set them free outside before her husband found them and killed them.
The years passed and all the children left home, including Edward. His mother was all alone now as his father had passed away. He stopped in to visit his mother on a Saturday night. And, yes, even all alone, she was still using the near--antique disfigured steak knife.
Edward thought about the steak knife. Why would his mother continue to use it for decades when there were better knives to use? It had to be something deeper than just habit. He knew his mother was a proud woman. She was not without an ego. She would brag about her family, her children, her independence, and her sharp mind.
As he thought about the steak knife, it occurred to him that it was a symbol of how his mother had worked hard at practicing humility. She saw humility as a spiritual discipline. On Good Friday, she would put a small pebble in her shoe to remind herself of Christ's suffering. In the same way, the old bent--handled steak knife was a weekly reminder of humility. By choosing to use that particular steak knife, she remembered to serve others by placing them ahead of herself. And the imperfect steak knife reminded her of her own imperfections - that she had a reason to be humble.
The promise Jesus gave us is that when we are humble like a servant, he will lift us up with a lasting greatness.
In Daily Guideposts, 2000, Edward Grinnan recalls the lesson of service and humility that he learned from his mother. The family had an inexpensive set of steak knives when Edward was a child. The handles were made of plastic that was formed to look like wood. One steak knife in the set had a warped handle. The plastic had had a less than pleasant experience with the heating element in the family's dishwasher.
Saturday night was steak night in the Grinnan home. Every Saturday night, the warped steak knife could be found as a part of his mother's place setting. She chose to serve the best to her husband and her children while giving the worst to herself.
Over the years the Grinnan family grew smaller as the children grew up and moved out of the house. But even with extra undamaged steak knives now available, Grinnan's mother still chose the humble warped steak knife for herself. Edward witnessed this as the youngest child. He razzed his mother about it, and she would say she felt sorry for the disfigured knife. She had always had a soft spot for the underdog. She would capture spiders in the home and set them free outside before her husband found them and killed them.
The years passed and all the children left home, including Edward. His mother was all alone now as his father had passed away. He stopped in to visit his mother on a Saturday night. And, yes, even all alone, she was still using the near--antique disfigured steak knife.
Edward thought about the steak knife. Why would his mother continue to use it for decades when there were better knives to use? It had to be something deeper than just habit. He knew his mother was a proud woman. She was not without an ego. She would brag about her family, her children, her independence, and her sharp mind.
As he thought about the steak knife, it occurred to him that it was a symbol of how his mother had worked hard at practicing humility. She saw humility as a spiritual discipline. On Good Friday, she would put a small pebble in her shoe to remind herself of Christ's suffering. In the same way, the old bent--handled steak knife was a weekly reminder of humility. By choosing to use that particular steak knife, she remembered to serve others by placing them ahead of herself. And the imperfect steak knife reminded her of her own imperfections - that she had a reason to be humble.
The promise Jesus gave us is that when we are humble like a servant, he will lift us up with a lasting greatness.
