December, 2008

To the Members and Friends of Millburn Congregational UCC:

We’re approaching Advent – the season of waiting. As we progress through that season and Christmas we’ll be reminded, as we are every year, about Jesus’ humility. We’ll hear about his humble origins, the humble circumstances surrounding his birth, and his humble way of being with his God.
Thinking about humility, and wondering what it means, I remembered the song ‘From a Distance,’ written by Julie Gold and recorded by Bette Midler, among others. Here are a few of the verses:

‘From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream, and the eagle takes to flight.
From a distance, there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace, it’s the voice of every man.
From a distance we are instruments marching in a common band. Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace. They’re the songs of every man. God is watching us. God is watching us. God is watching us from a distance.
From a distance there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. And it’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves, it’s the heart of every man.’

What is humility? I’d say it’s a religious virtue. It’s about seeing the whole big picture, as it were, God’s world, in its entirety, the whole awesome, colossal thing, and how we fit into it, as very small little parts. It’s about seeing our connectedness with others, and our belonging to the whole. Our dependence on everything that is, including our dependence on one another. We’re all precious, and in the eyes of the divine we are all very important.

But so are others.

That’s why it’s a problem that we sometimes think we’re more important than we are. That’s why it’s a problem when our self-pride causes abrasion with others? That’s why it’s a problem when our egos get in the way of healthy relationships. That’s why it’s a problem when excessive self-love and self-preoccupation blinds us to the feelings and needs of others.

It’s not all about us – it’s mainly about the whole of creation, of which we are all members, each of called primarily to the service not of ourselves, but of the greater whole.

That’s humility. It’s a way of seeing life. It’s the way Jesus saw life.

In the Peace of Advent and Christmas,
Rev. Jed Watson, Pastor