Humility or humiliation?
by Faye Schmidt
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For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11).
Read Luke 14:7–11
In our text, Jesus mentions a man who was invited to a wedding and sat in ‘a place of honour’ (verse 8). He was not told to sit there, but simply assumed that was where he belonged. By doing so, he conveyed to everyone at the wedding that he was one of the most important people there.
However, having exalted himself, he was humiliated when the host came and said, ‘Give this person your seat’ (verse 9), because another guest was considered more deserving of that place. The proud man was humiliated as he moved to a lower seat. Consider Proverbs 11:2: ‘When pride comes, then comes disgrace.’
What does Jesus require of us? He says, ‘When you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, Friend, move up to a better place.’
When the person sits in the lowest place, he shows everyone that he does not consider himself any better than anyone else. In this parable, the host comes and moves him to a higher seat and honours him before others. It is the host who determines honour.
How do we practise humility? A saying often attributed to CS Lewis is, ‘True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.’ One way to foster humility in your life is to stop thinking of yourself so much. Sadly, so much in our society today emphasises the individual, their wants and desires, and the importance of self.
God does not call us into his kingdom to set us up as kings and queens but servants. The amazing thing is that once you stop thinking of yourself all the time, your mind will begin to think more about others. It is the humble person who does not focus on what they do not have, but considers what others lack. Pride says, ‘I want!’ and humility says, ‘You need!’ True humility thinks about others more often than about oneself.
Jesus is our example: ‘And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!’ (Philippians 2:8).
Send your Holy Spirit, Lord, that I may consider others more and be more selfless so that I may serve you as I serve my neighbour. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
How great is God
by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all’ (Mark 9:35).
ReadMark 9:33–37
There are many in our society who have authority within the context of their role, and they exercise this authority when seated: the king from his throne, the judge from their chair, the Speaker in Parliament from the Speaker’s chair.
Wae know that Jesus has been given all authority on earth and in heaven by his Father, and he is seated at the right hand of God.
Therefore, when we read that Jesus ‘sits down’ to speak to the 12 disciples – that is, to people in the church – we recognise that he speaks from a position of authority. What he says bears all the strength of that authority, and we should take heed.
The contrast between the disciples’ question and Jesus’ response could not be starker. The disciples had not yet grasped the nature of Jesus’ kingdom about which he spoke. They were still thinking of an earthly kingdom and, therefore, looking for where they fit in and who would take over when Jesus died – and Jesus had spoken of his death.
The disciples were measuring themselves against each other – greatness was relative to one another. Their greatness was a product of themselves.
But Jesus embraces a child, holds that child close, and demonstrates that the prime relationship is with him. For this child has nothing to offer in a contest for greatness. Jesus reminds us that we are all created in God’s image. In seeing the child through Jesus’ eyes, we see the Creator of all.
Each of us is great in Jesus’ eyes, as we are part of God’s creation. We, therefore, should welcome each other as equals under God and co-heirs of his kingdom through his grace.
Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit to help me to see you in others and serve you as I serve them with love, dignity and grace. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
The tree of life
by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it (Ezekiel 17:22a).
Read Ezekiel 17:22–24
Ezekiel 17 was written in beautiful poetry, as a message for a people who have had their lives upended and homes destroyed, a people who have been taken into captivity in Babylon. A people who have seen their young, 18-year-old king – Jehoiachin – taken as a prisoner of war to a foreign city. A people who have had their God-given place of worship, sacrifice and renewal of God’s promises and covenant, torn down and left in ruins.
In Scripture, various images are applied to God to help us understand who God is and his nature – shepherd, landowner, father (prodigal son), vine, etc. Here Ezekiel uses the imagery of a tree. The tree is fundamental to life. It provides shelter, safety, promise of fulfilment and fruit. This is our God.
The text also tells of God’s promises to the people of Israel – and to us. That the ways of the world are not God’s ways. That though we may be oppressed and feel small, he will make us tall. If we are weak, he will give us strength. And if we are weary and worn down, he will give us life.
The message is also one of inclusion. Birds of every kind and every tree in the forest are included in God’s promise. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, through whom we receive the gift of eternal life in the sanctuary of the Tree.
Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit to be my guide so that I may be a fruitful branch of your tree and serve you and my neighbour to your glory. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
Vanity vs humility
by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Matthew 23:12).
Read Matthew 23:1–12
This passage describes how a skin-deep religiosity exists to give its bearer standing in the community, generating authority, respect and awe. It is there to feed their vanity – ‘Look at me!’
It is important to note here who Jesus is speaking to when he raises this issue. ‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples …’ Yes, Jesus speaks to the crowds so they are aware of this matter, but the message’s strength is directed at his disciples (us, the church). Jesus is speaking about the behaviour of the Pharisees, the religious leaders.
Their actions include expecting others to do what they themselves are unwilling to do; doing things only so others will observe and take note of them; assuming the place of honour at events, even in the synagogue; being acknowledged as leaders and desiring to be called ‘Rabbi’.
The greatest danger to God’s kingdom here on earth is the way we, as his followers, represent him. Do we take on the mantle of the Pharisee? Do we puff ourselves up and consider ourselves more worthy than others? Do we seek recognition or praise? Is it all about me?
Or do we, through acknowledging our sin and with praise and gratitude to God for his saving grace through Jesus, live lives of humility and service? Do I look to others and see their need?
The lesson to take from this passage is: How can I be a better servant? How can I love God more deeply and my neighbour more genuinely?
Heavenly Father, help us serve in humility and show the love of Jesus through our actions. This is how the world can see God on earth. Amen!
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
Vindicated for love
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me (Psalm 43:3a).
Read Psalm 43
Psalm 43 begins with a prayer we cannot finally answer for ourselves: ‘Vindicate me, my God.’ That is a brave prayer. It asks God to judge, defend, rescue and bring the truth out into the open. It is also a risky prayer, because if God judges us by our own righteousness, what hope do we have?
That is why Psalm 43 fits Reformation Day so well. Martin Luther knew what it was to long for a gracious verdict from God. He loved the psalm’s movement from accusation and darkness toward God’s light, truth, altar, joy and praise. ‘Vindicate me’ is not the cry of someone polishing their spiritual résumé. It is the cry of someone who needs God himself to act.
And in Christ, God has acted. The Reformation did not uncover a new trick for becoming impressive Christians. It recovered the old, bright gospel: sinners are justified by grace, through faith, because of Christ. God vindicates the ungodly by joining them to the crucified and risen Jesus. Our hope is not that we have loved enough, given enough, purified ourselves enough or repaired enough walls. Our hope is Christ for us.
But that verdict does not leave us unchanged. Psalm 43 asks God to send light and truth to lead us to worship. Vindication leads somewhere: to the altar, to joy, to praise and then back into the world as people being reshaped by mercy. God’s declaration creates a new people. Freed from self-justification, we can stop using others as props in our own holiness project. We can love them instead.
Vindicated by Christ, God’s people are freed and formed to love. That is Reformation comfort and Reformation calling. God has judged in favour of sinners in Jesus. So you are freed to put your hope in God. You can now praise him. And, by his Spirit, you are being formed into someone who loves.
God, our Saviour, vindicate us in Christ, send us your light and truth, and form us by your gospel into people who praise you and love our neighbours. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
Holiness in the ordinary
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other (1 Thessalonians 4:9).
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:7–12
Paul’s picture of Christian holiness is surprisingly ordinary. Live a holy life. Love one another. Do so more and more. Lead a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Win the respect of outsiders. It sounds less like a spiritual fireworks display and more like faithful Tuesday-afternoon discipleship.
That is encouraging. Holiness is not only found in dramatic moments, public platforms or heroic sacrifices. It is also found in paying attention to your family, doing your work well, refusing gossip, keeping promises, showing up, forgiving again and loving the people God has actually placed near you.
Paul says the Thessalonians have been ‘taught by God to love each other’. That is a beautiful phrase. Christian love is not self-invented. God teaches it. The Holy Spirit keeps tutoring us through the word, repentance, the needs of others, the patience of the church and Christ’s steady mercy.
Because holiness is God’s work in us, we do not need to turn it into a performance. A quiet life can be deeply Christian. Honest work can be an act of love. Dependability can be a gift to your neighbour. The Spirit forms Christlike people in the small, repeated places where life is actually lived.
Vindicated by Christ, God’s people are freed and formed to love. Freed from chasing religious sparkle. Formed for holy, quiet, useful lives. So today, do the next faithful thing. Love the next person. Speak the next true word. God is at work in that too.
Father, teach us to love in ordinary ways. Shape our daily work, words and habits into quiet gifts for our neighbours. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
The grace that gives
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1–9
Paul describes something wonderfully strange: churches in severe trial and extreme poverty overflowing in joy and rich generosity. That is not normal accounting. Poverty plus hardship should equal anxiety, self-protection and closed hands. But grace has changed the maths.
The Macedonian Christians do not give because Paul twists their arm. They plead for the privilege of sharing. Their generosity is not a fundraising strategy or a guilt campaign. It is the generous pouring out of people who know Christ has given himself for them. They know they belong to Christ, and that changes what their money is for.
Then Paul brings everything back to Jesus: ‘Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.’ That is the heart of Christian giving. Christ does not donate from a safe distance. He gives himself. He enters our poverty, carries our sin, bears our death and gives us the riches of forgiveness, life and fellowship with God.
Once that gets under our skin, generosity becomes less about ‘How much do I have to give?’ and more about ‘What has Christ made possible here?’ Sometimes love gives money. Sometimes time. Sometimes attention. Sometimes hospitality. Sometimes practical help that nobody else notices. But it all begins in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Vindicated by Christ, God’s people are freed and formed to love. Freed from clutching our lives in fear. Formed by the generous poverty of Jesus. Sent to give in ways that are cheerful, honest and human. Not to buy grace, but because grace has already made us rich.
Generous Lord Jesus, you became poor to make us rich in grace. Loosen our grip on fear, and make our giving cheerful, truthful and loving. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
Love without pretence
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet (Acts 5:2).
Read Acts 5:1–11
This is one of those readings that can make the room go quiet. Ananias and Sapphira sell property, give some of the money and keep some back. The problem is not that they kept some money. Peter is clear: it was theirs to use. The problem is the lie. They wanted the reputation of radical generosity without the truth of an undivided heart.
It is tempting to keep this story at a safe distance. ‘Well, I would never do that.’ But false righteousness is sneaky. We can perform holiness. We can curate generosity. We can want people to think we are more prayerful, more sacrificial, more loving or more impressive than we really are. We can even use good works to hide from God.
Acts 5 tells us that God takes the truth seriously because he takes his church seriously. Love cannot grow well in the dark. Community cannot thrive on religious pretending. The Holy Spirit forms a people who can tell the truth: about our sin, our fear, our mixed motives and our need for mercy.
The good news is that Christ does not justify our false self; he kills it and raises us new. We do not need to fake righteousness, because Jesus gives us his. We do not need to exaggerate our love, because he has loved us truthfully and completely. That kind of grace is both frightening and freeing. It exposes us, yes, but only to heal us.
Vindicated by Christ, God’s people are freed and formed to love. Freed from performance, freed from image management and freed to be honest before God and one another. And in that honest place, the Spirit starts forming something beautiful: truthful generosity, humble repentance and love without theatre.
Holy Spirit, bring us into the truth. Strip away our pretending, forgive us in Christ and grow in us honest generosity and humble love. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
Chosen, loved, sent
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last (John 15:16a).
Read John 15:9–17
Jesus does not begin with, ‘Try harder to love me.’ He begins with, ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.’ That is the order of Christian life. Before there is command, there is gift. Before there is fruit, there is vine. Before we love, we are loved.
That makes all the difference. Jesus does command us to love one another. He is not vague about it. But his command comes wrapped in friendship: ‘I no longer call you servants … Instead, I have called you friends.’ We are not hired hands nervously waiting for the boss’ approval. We are friends of Christ because Christ has chosen us, drawn us close and shared the Father’s heart with us.
And what does his love look like? ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Jesus is already pointing us to the cross. He does not simply define love. He becomes love in action. He gives himself for people who are slow, proud, fearful, confused and sinful. People like us.
So when Jesus says, ‘Remain in my love’, he is not saying, ‘Stay worthy.’ He is saying, ‘Stay where I have put you. Live from my love. Abide in the mercy that has already claimed you.’ Christian love grows as we keep returning to the place where Christ first meets us: his word, his promises, his forgiveness, his table, his body given and blood shed for us.
Vindicated by Christ, God’s people are freed and formed to love. You are not loved because you are fruitful. You bear fruit because you are loved. Relax into that today. Christ has chosen you, called you friend and sent you to love with the love you have already received.
Jesus, keep us resting in your love. Make your joy complete in us, and send us to love others with the love we have received from you. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.