Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Humility, Forbearance, Faithfulness—3 Virtues of the Christian Flowing from Christ

 

What makes the difference between a good person and a bad person? It is their behaviour, which is good news, because that means that bad people are not always bad and they can become good people at any time. Unfortunately that means that good people can sometimes be bad people when they start to do bad things. That is why it is important for us to learn what bad behaviour is and what good behaviour is, so that we can try to stop doing bad things and start doing good things.

 

Now there are individual actions that come to mind, like don’t hit people and please share the pencil crayons. But we also have a way of talking about good and bad behaviour that acts like an umbrella over all kinds of individual actions. “Be kind” means don’t hit people and whole lot of other things, including sharing the pencil crayons. Kindness is a virtue. It is a goodness in people that envelopes a whole bunch of behaviour.

 

In today’s Scripture readings there are three virtues that stuck out to me. Three characteristics that govern the behaviour and attitude and intentions of people who are good people. Those three virtues that I picked out are: humility, forbearance and faithfulness. And we will see that what makes these virtues truly good, is that they are characteristics of God, and we can see how Jesus displayed these virtues in His life in order to make us truly good people.

 

 

How These Are Lived in the Christian Life

 

Humility

“Now Jesus told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you’” (Luke 14:7-10).

 

The virtue Jesus is illustrating in this parable is humility. And in this case it is seen in not taking the best seat in the house, not presuming that you deserve the best place more than anyone else, but recognizing that there are people who deserve that place more than you do. In fact, you should know your sins well enough (the bad things you have done) to feel that the place you deserve is the lowest place. The wise King Solomon wrote similarly as we heard in today’s Old Testament Reading. “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great” (Proverbs 25:6).

 

We are here today at both a feast and in the presence of the King. We believe that the best meal in the world is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus given to us in the His Supper. And we believe that Jesus Himself, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is present with us in His Word and in the Sacrament. “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am among them” (Matthew 18:20).

 

So how did you choose where to sit when you came into the presence of the King at this feast? Were you glad no one had taken your seat because you think its the best in the house? Did you rush to the front or stay as far back as possible? Which of those is the best? It is not really about the individual seat that you take in church, but what your attitude or intention is in taking that seat. Most of you wouldn’t presume to take a seat up here in the chancel, and those who do ought to do so with the greatest of humility, knowing that they don’t deserve to sit up here as a representative of the King.

 

We want someone to take the seat at the organ or the piano and if you are humbling yourself sitting elsewhere with the talent to accompany the service, by all means, “Friend, move up higher” (Luke 14:10). Humility is one of the virtues that is set before us today. Jesus summarized, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

 

Forbearance

There is a second virtue that comes out in the words of the Old Testament Reading and in the Epistle Reading. I am going to call it “forbearance,” even though I know that is a word that isn’t used very much today. It is used in financial matters, where it means finding a way to delay payment. So, if you are in debt but cannot pay when things are due, there may be an act of Forbearance that will allow you to make the payment later, perhaps after you have been able to sell some property, or have received a promised inheritance.

 

In the Epistle Reading, St. Paul talks about the virtue of forbearance after he mentions humility. “I... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). In other words, don’t react too quickly to people who offend you. Bear with the insult or the offense so that you can work things out gently over time instead of declaring an irreparable division that will never be healed.

 

I am sure you have seen people who quickly take one side of an issue and are so vocal about it that they end up cutting themselves off from others who don’t see the issue the same way. They have no forbearance with others who have a different opinion or belief. They cannot bear anyone who sees things differently. Forbearance does not mean that we do not disagree with others. It means that we can patiently bear with others peacefully with the hope that we will be able to work things out over time. And ultimately Jesus will judge all things at the end.

 

Solomon’s words in the Old Testament reading also go from humility to this virtue of forbearance. “Do not hastily bring things to court... Argue your case with your neighbour himself... A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:8, 9, 11). That is a good sized orb of gold, which made me think of the jewelled eggs that Peter Carl Fabergé made for the Russian emperors to give as Easter gifts to their wives and mothers. Forbearance is an incredibly beautiful thing.

 

Solomon continued, “Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear” (v. 12). Forbearance means that you will be patient in addressing something with your neighbour until they are ready to listen, and you also have been able to hear what is at the heart of the issue for them.

 

Faithfulness

Thirdly, Solomon follows up this idea of forbearance with the virtue of faithfulness. Sometimes we talk about faithfulness in the church as if it means that we only have eyes for God, like it is only a matter of looking adoringly at Jesus because He is just the best. But faithfulness also has to do with carrying out your duties and responsibilities.

 

Not many people are looking forward to the coming of snow at this time of year, but with the unusually hot season of harvest we are having, there may be some workers in the field that wouldn’t mind a sudden (albeit light) snowfall to cool off on a hot day in the sun. That is what the last of Solomon’s mysterious metaphors is getting at where we heard, “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters” (Proverbs 25:13). It is refreshing when a servant delivers his master’s message faithfully and truly.

 

Solomon’s proverbs certainly strive to be such faithful instruction for God’s people that is refreshing in a world which so often confuses vice with virtue and vice versa. Most refreshing is the clear message of God to His people when it is delivered faithfully and completely, which includes extolling virtues like humility, forbearance and faithfulness.

 

Godly Virtues Are Characteristics of God Himself

 

What makes humility, forbearance and faithfulness good virtues is that they are characteristics of God who is above all things good. Things that are truly good are godly. He is the giver of every good gift.

 

Faithfulness

We know that God is faithful. He says a thing and He does it exactly how He said. He keeps His promises. He promised to send us a Saviour from sin, so that we would not be permanently lost as bad people destined to hell. Jesus brought that clear message of God the Father to us in His own person and work. He promises to forgive us and make us holy and good, and He does. Faithfulness is a characteristic of God.

 

Forbearance

So also is forbearance. God bears with bad behaviour and attitudes (our sins) and works through His Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance, so that we are sorry for our sins and eagerly embrace His forgiveness and mercy. The big picture of God’s salvation was played out this way, too. In Romans chapter 3(:23-25) St. Paul explains: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.”

 

All of the Old Testament faithful are forgiven the debt of their sins because God had forbearance, knowing that His own Son would give the full payment. He bore with their sins until the time Jesus became flesh and offered His blood on the cross for full payment of the sins of the whole world—those committed before, and those committed since (that is, our own).

 

Humility

In addition to the virtues of faithfulness and forbearance, God even has the character of humility. It seems awfully strange that a god would be humble. It almost goes against the definition of what a god is. That is because there is only one God who humbled Himself to be born of a virgin.

 

In Philippians chapter 2 we are encouraged: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (:5-8).

 

And so Jesus’ words spoken about the feast: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles Himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11), revealed to us His own nature as God in human flesh. “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). He who humbled Himself for our salvation has been exalted.

 

Humility, forbearance, and faithfulness are characteristics of God, especially evident in the salvation that He has secured for you through the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him your bad behaviour has been forgiven. In Him these virtues are at work in you. In Him you have been made truly good, forgiven, and holy in Christ. In humility you have come into the presence of the King and confessed your sins, and at this feast He exalts you to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). “He who humbles Himself will be exalted.”