Sunday went well

 

This Sunday I preached about 'The Gift of Humility'.

Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee brags about what a good man he is and compares himself to lesser folks--like the tax collector.

The tax collector bows his head, beats his breast and prays, "God have mercy on me a sinner."

Jesus tells the crowd that the tax collector is exalted because he humbled himself and the Pharisee is humbled because he exalted himself.

I tried to think of how I have been humble.

No luck there.

And bragging about being 'humble' isn't humility at all.

My thinking is that Humility is a gift from God when we confess our sins. Which in the Episcopal Eucharist we do before receiving communion.

I even talked about the Jesus Prayer.

It goes like this: (inhale) 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God...'

(exhale) 'Have mercy on me a sinner.'

You pray it in your head and heart, not out loud, and keep repeating it with each breath.

A visitor came up and told me he'd learned that prayer when he was in college and has used it for 40+ years.

That made my day....