Humility And Courage
Sermon
Object:
Walking home from
work one evening, a young man was attacked by five thugs. Instead of just
handing over his money the young man resisted, whereupon the thugs smashed his
face, kicked him and beat him with clubs, leaving him unconscious and close to
death.
He was taken to hospital, but he no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all his teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull.
The young man spent over a year in hospital. But when he finally left, his face was hideous. He started to look for work again, but was turned down by everyone because of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who Had No Face - which he did for a while. He was rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He thought of suicide. This went on for five years.
Then one day he slipped into a church. The priest was concerned for him and they talked together. The priest promised to do everything possible to help restore the young man's dignity and life, if he would promise to trust in God and to live the best Christian life he could. The young man asked God only to give him peace of mind and the grace to do his best in life.
The priest introduced him to the top plastic surgeon in Australia, who was so impressed by the young man whose outlook on life had become filled with good humour and love, that he gave his services free of charge.
The surgery was an amazing success and the young man blossomed. He became everything he had promised God. He married a beautiful wife and they had lovely children, and the young man found success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind, had it not been for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him.
The young man was Mel Gibson, who publicly acknowledges his debt to God and to the people who believed in him and supported him. His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie "The Man Without A Face." He is admired by all as a man of God, a man of true humility and a man of courage.
Humility and courage go hand-in-hand, but often the sort of courage required for true humility is unseen. It's displayed not so much by feats of great bravery in a specific situation, feats which are admired throughout the world, but more by quiet slogging away against life's inequalities and emerging with strength of character and free of bitterness. This is the sort of courage and humility displayed by Mel Gibson.
A similar courage and humility was displayed by Naaman, commander of the armies of the king of Aram, probably around 850 BCE. Aram was more powerful than Israel, hence the king of Israel tore his clothes in abject fear of what might happen to him if he failed cure this powerful army commander of leprosy. "Leprosy" was a word used for a number of skin diseases, some of which were curable and others not. Sufferers were quarantined, but only in advanced stages of the illness, so Naaman was probably in the early stages of some virulent skin disease which had failed to respond to treatment.
Naaman's lessons in humility start when he's forced to realize that an unimportant slave girl knows the secret which can effect a cure for him. In true humility, Naaman doesn't reject the child but listens to her and so begins his journey to the land of Israel to seek for a cure.
Naaman visits the king of Israel, bringing with him amazing riches and expecting a royal welcome. But since the king is incapable of effecting a cure, he tears his clothes in despair. Elisha rescues the king from his predicament by sending a message suggesting that the king should send Naaman to him.
Then comes Naaman's second lesson in humility, for Elisha doesn't bother to come out to greet Naaman, but simply sends a messenger with an unwelcome message. He tells Naaman to wash seven times in the the river Jordan. But the waters of the Jordan are muddy and probably unhygienic compared with the Damascan rivers which flow down from the mountains. They are clean and fresh and sparkling and hygienic. It seems beyond the bounds of reason that the Jordan could possibly be more effective than the mountains springs of Damascus.
At first Naaman is furious over what he perceives as a slight, but he is humble enough to be able to listen to the wise words of counsel offered by his servants. Naaman swallows his pride and his outrage and follows the prophet's instructions, with the result that he is cured of his skin condition.
We so often ruin our own lives through pride and fear. Relationships can be damaged for ever by those who take offence and then fail to find the courage to embrace humility. Many people prefer to hug their wounded pride rather than face their own vulnerability, but their lives are so much poorer for it. Had Naaman refused to swallow his pride, he would probably have died in pain and misery. How many people today die in pain and misery because they don't have the courage to swallow their pride?
He was taken to hospital, but he no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all his teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull.
The young man spent over a year in hospital. But when he finally left, his face was hideous. He started to look for work again, but was turned down by everyone because of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who Had No Face - which he did for a while. He was rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He thought of suicide. This went on for five years.
Then one day he slipped into a church. The priest was concerned for him and they talked together. The priest promised to do everything possible to help restore the young man's dignity and life, if he would promise to trust in God and to live the best Christian life he could. The young man asked God only to give him peace of mind and the grace to do his best in life.
The priest introduced him to the top plastic surgeon in Australia, who was so impressed by the young man whose outlook on life had become filled with good humour and love, that he gave his services free of charge.
The surgery was an amazing success and the young man blossomed. He became everything he had promised God. He married a beautiful wife and they had lovely children, and the young man found success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind, had it not been for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him.
The young man was Mel Gibson, who publicly acknowledges his debt to God and to the people who believed in him and supported him. His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie "The Man Without A Face." He is admired by all as a man of God, a man of true humility and a man of courage.
Humility and courage go hand-in-hand, but often the sort of courage required for true humility is unseen. It's displayed not so much by feats of great bravery in a specific situation, feats which are admired throughout the world, but more by quiet slogging away against life's inequalities and emerging with strength of character and free of bitterness. This is the sort of courage and humility displayed by Mel Gibson.
A similar courage and humility was displayed by Naaman, commander of the armies of the king of Aram, probably around 850 BCE. Aram was more powerful than Israel, hence the king of Israel tore his clothes in abject fear of what might happen to him if he failed cure this powerful army commander of leprosy. "Leprosy" was a word used for a number of skin diseases, some of which were curable and others not. Sufferers were quarantined, but only in advanced stages of the illness, so Naaman was probably in the early stages of some virulent skin disease which had failed to respond to treatment.
Naaman's lessons in humility start when he's forced to realize that an unimportant slave girl knows the secret which can effect a cure for him. In true humility, Naaman doesn't reject the child but listens to her and so begins his journey to the land of Israel to seek for a cure.
Naaman visits the king of Israel, bringing with him amazing riches and expecting a royal welcome. But since the king is incapable of effecting a cure, he tears his clothes in despair. Elisha rescues the king from his predicament by sending a message suggesting that the king should send Naaman to him.
Then comes Naaman's second lesson in humility, for Elisha doesn't bother to come out to greet Naaman, but simply sends a messenger with an unwelcome message. He tells Naaman to wash seven times in the the river Jordan. But the waters of the Jordan are muddy and probably unhygienic compared with the Damascan rivers which flow down from the mountains. They are clean and fresh and sparkling and hygienic. It seems beyond the bounds of reason that the Jordan could possibly be more effective than the mountains springs of Damascus.
At first Naaman is furious over what he perceives as a slight, but he is humble enough to be able to listen to the wise words of counsel offered by his servants. Naaman swallows his pride and his outrage and follows the prophet's instructions, with the result that he is cured of his skin condition.
We so often ruin our own lives through pride and fear. Relationships can be damaged for ever by those who take offence and then fail to find the courage to embrace humility. Many people prefer to hug their wounded pride rather than face their own vulnerability, but their lives are so much poorer for it. Had Naaman refused to swallow his pride, he would probably have died in pain and misery. How many people today die in pain and misery because they don't have the courage to swallow their pride?
