Hosanna!

Our Palm Sunday service was special, and led by four of our young pastors.  It dealt with five scenes of Jesus' humility on his way to the cross.

They included:

• a humble entrance on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11)
• the anointing (Mark 14:3-9 & John 12:1-8)
• the washing of feet (John 13)
• submission in the garden (Luke 22:39-44)
• carrying the cross (Mark 8:34)

I added the noted scripture passages in case you're interested in reading more about those points.

I think the point that spoke to me the most was the idea that one pastor shared of Jesus' humility versus our humility.  Oh, you and I have surely faced humility -- but how so?  He shared about the 2011 downsizing of our church staff.  When the remaining staff was called into the "survivors" meeting, he realized that he had been "demoted," and that his name was much further down the list than it used to be.  He was humbled.  BIG TIME.

But.. that humility was THRUST upon him.  He didn't choose it.

The same is probably true of you and I in many of the situations in which we experience humility.

Besides that, our human nature tends to lead us to use humility to "get ahead."  For sure THAT's not humility in it's purest form!

Jesus' humility was different in that HE CHOSE to be humble.

Philippians 2:5b-8

"...have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death -- even death on a cross!"

I am sobered by his humble obedience

-- even to death on a cross...

for me.