Friday, March 2, 2012

I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven  

  Matthew 5:20 

     When learning to bake, the first thing we are taught is to follow the recipe.  Recipes are printed with the ingredients listed in order of use, then the mixing and cooking instructions.  It's important to follow the recipe precisely to achieve the intended results.  For instance, in baking a chocolate cake, one should not substitute Swiss Miss Instant Cocoa for Baking Cocoa - the composition of the two are too different.  Nor should one leave out the baking soda because they ran out and didn't want to go to the store to get more - the cake won't have what it needs to rise.  The recipe is a tested guide to help the baker make that chocolate cake. 

     The scribes and the Pharisees were the keepers, teachers, and leaders of the recipe for the spiritual life.  They were men who had been given the gift of education, the freedom to discern, and the responsibility of leadership of God's people to righteousness.  Yet, Jesus had more than a few harsh words for these gentlemen.  He was less than impressed with their recipe for living.  Sure, they were following the rules,  but they left out one key ingredient - humility. 

     Humility often gets a bad rap.  Sometimes its equated with humiliation.  This could not be farther from the truth.  Humility is not a sign of weakness.  It is not self-defacing nor degrading.  It is not living in our failures.  Rather, humility is a sign of strength.  It is the ultimate form of self-respect that leads to respect of all of God's creation.  When we have true humility, we see our mistakes and are willing to make amends for them.  We also see our strengths and are willing to give thanks to our Creator for giving them to us.  We achieve humility through our relationship with God.  It is a private coming to awareness, supported and sustained by a patient and loving God who wants nothing but to live in a relationship with us that will honor all creation.  Humility is a key ingredient to our recipe in living as God wants us to live.  It is the catalyst which will bring the love and respect that God has for each and everyone of us into our world.  

     Today, let us seek true humility.  Let us seek to love and respect ourselves and others just as God would.

Prayer:  Loving God, your patience with us is such a gift.  Thank you.  Today we seek to be fully aware of our strengths and our weaknesses.  Help us to embrace both aspects of ourselves so that we may learn true humility, receive the gifts that come from it, and share them with the world.