“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Read Matthew 5:1-11

Lately I find myself reflecting with fondness and regret on my earliest days as a youth worker. It was so much fun playing silly games, hiking in the woods and experience deep worship together. I loved caring for teenagers through their moments of crisis and discovery. What I don’t miss were the many times I felt overworked and alone, resentful as I stayed to clean and lock up or waited for the last student to leave. The epitome of this was the Saturday I woke up at 4:45 a.m. to pick up a rental van in time to meet young people at 6 a.m. to drive four hours to an all day event, which ended at 10 p.m. After we finally arrived back at the church at 2 a.m. I had to clean the borrowed van before returning it. Exhausted, my head finally hit the pillow at 3:30 a.m. Three hours later my alarm rang so I could wake up to preach, (sleep deprived) in two Sunday morning services.

“What a servant!” is what I’m sure I told myself, “Always ready to be present for students and willing to do the humble jobs.”

Thankfully, since that time I’ve grown in self-awareness. Looking back I can see that much of what I thought was humility may actually have been pride. I spent many hours with teenagers, not just because I cared, but also because it gave me an elevated sense of power and importance. I was the indespensible helper and I needed to be needed. And maybe I was left alone cleaning the van and locking up the building because I was too proud and independent to ask for help.

There are a lot of misconceptions about humility. Some people think meekness means letting other people take advantage of you, always saying “yes” or taking the serving position. What we see in the life of Jesus is a flexibility that comes from true humility. Jesus did come as a servant and poured his life for others, but he also let others serve and care for him. He asked for a drink from the woman at the well. He dependend on friends for funds, food and shelter as he travelled. He even let a woman of questionable reputation wash and pour perfume over his feet. He invited people into a community of interdependence, where everyone had something to give and receive.

We often see the well known account of Jesus washing his disciples feet as an incredible act of humility— The great rabbi taking up the towel and basin to do the lowest work of a slave. But what the story actually reveals is how the disciples were stuck in rigid, false hierarchical thinking. They resisted having him wash their feet because they divided the world into greater than and less than, the helpers and the helpless. Jesus easily and naturally chose to ask for help AND to wash their feet because he saw the equal dignity and worth of all. He affirmed that we are all beloved beings made in the divine image. We all need help and we all have something to give.

I’m still learning to shift from the inflexible posture of the indespensible helper to being part of the beloved, interdependent community that will inherit the earth.