I have a confession to make. I'm not a humble person. Surprising, I know. I'm not particularly patience or quiet either, but that is for another time.

I'm not a humble person and I am uncomfortable with talk of humility in the Christian Church. I have seen the way it has been used to oppress people, particularly women. I have seen the way some people have understood humility to mean being a doormat or having low self-esteem and so I resist even using the word. But here is it, bold as bold could be in today's gospel lesson.

At first glance, this passage looks like it is primarily about hypocrisy, but upon closer investigation the real meaning of this passage lies in the final two verses. "The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Oh, sure, Jesus lambastes the Pharisees - who love to wield their authority and flaunt their piety for all to see. But mostly, he's just setting them up as a negative example. The real emphasis here is: what makes for appropriate behaviour for a disciple.

Jesus anticipates the time when his disciples will be in a situation similar to that of the Pharisees now, where the disciples will have authority and be the ones to instruct the people. And so Jesus warns them - don't let it go to your heads...

"Remember this," he says in effect. "Whatever else you may become, you are still just students of the one true rabbi. You are not instructors, rather you have an instructor, who is the Messiah.

You are not 'Father' to these people, but rather children of the one true parent God."

"Moreover, " Jesus continues, "This lowly status is your salvation, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." This message shows up elsewhere as the familiar phrase, the last shall be first and the first shall be last and also, those who give up their lives for God shall gain it, and those who seek to save their life shall lose it.''

Our salvation is in lowly status. Our salvation is in humility.

Now, there is a lot of talk in the Bible and in the church about being humble. What do we mean when we talk about humility? People say that Jesus was humble. Let's look at that.

Jesus called himself the Son of Man. When others called him the Son of God he did not correct them and say, "Please, please, just call me Jesus." Jesus challenged the powerful and the elite. He boldly challenged the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes - those with authority in the community and the synagogues and the temple. He taught people as one who had authority from God. He forgave people their sins and healed people, again, claiming his authority from God. Jesus did all these things, things that do not sound particularly humble, and yet he did lead a humble existence.

Jesus didn't own anything and he didn't ask for donations. (He didn't have his disciples asking for money at the airport.) Jesus didn't travel more than 300 miles from the place of his birth. He washed his friends' feet. He asked to be baptized by John. He hung out with criminals and low-lifes. Jesus was open to learning as is evident from his conversation with the Canaanite woman who challenged him when he called her a dog and refused to help her.

Humility does not mean that we are doormats that we just lay down and take it. Jesus wasn't passive, he stood up against injustice, and against the hypocrisy he saw in the Pharisees and the Scribes. Who do we help when we lie down and take injustice? When we become doormats to things that are wrong? Who does it benefit for us to be passive? No one.

Jesus must have been a most unusual man. He must have been striking. He did things that no one else had ever done before. He talked in ways that no one else had ever talked before. No wonder people flocked to hear him speak- he would have been different from anyone else.

And so what does this passage say to us today? "The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." This passage tells us to serve others. This passage calls us to humble service - this is where our salvation lies. This is where true happiness, meaning and fulfillment lies. Humility here means service.

This passage tells us not to aim for earthly status, earthy power and earthy riches. These things will not bring us happiness, peace of mind, or fulfillment. We know that money can't buy happiness. It's such a cliche but its true.

I just saw a biography on Christine Onasis the other day on A&E. She was miserable. The richest woman in the world was completely miserable with her life. It wasn't until she had her daughter, someone she could love and care and serve that her life began to have direction, focus and purpose.

Whoever dies with the most toys doesn't win -that's a lie. God's way is not shown by pretense and power, money or status but by service, care and love - that's God's way.

Marion Mill was born in a fairy tale royal palace in Hungary. Her first spoon was solid gold. They sent her to school in Vienna where she became an actress, and there she met and fell in love with a young medical student named Otto.

Otto and Marion married and went to live in Hollywood, CA. There, Otto began to dabble in movies. He became so interested in movies that he gave up his medical practice, and went on to become the internationally famed movie director Otto Preminger. Marion's beauty, wit, irresistible charm brought her everything a woman desires. In Europe, New York and Hollywood she became a famous international hostess.

But princess Marion could not handle the fast life of Hollywood. She went into alcohol, drugs and numerous affairs. Her life and lifestyle became so sordid, even for Hollywood, that Otto Preminger divorced Marion. She tried to take her own life three times, unsuccessfully, and eventually moved back to Vienna. There at a party she met another doctor, named Albert Schweitzer, the well-known medical doctor, musician, philosopher, theologian and missionary. Schweitzer was home on leave from his hospital in Africa.

Marion was so fascinated by Schweitzer, that she asked him if she could talk to him alone, and he permitted that. For almost six months, every week, she met with Dr. Albert Schweitzer. At the end of that time he was going to go back to Africa, and she begged him to let her go with him. Schweitzer surprised everyone by agreeing.

Marion, the young princess, who was born in a palace went to a little village in Africa, and spent the rest of her life emptying bedpans and tearing up sheets to make bandages for sores on these poverty-stricken people.

In her autobiography called, All I Want is Everything Marion wrote: "Albert Schweitzer says there are two kinds of people. There are the helpers, and the non-helpers. I thank God He allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything."

Humbly serving God most often has the consequence of helping others. In helping others, it can seem to us that we are sacrificing ourselves, our lives. We sometimes think that by giving up that money or time we will be less happy for it, for that sacrifice, even though we may have this sense that we are doing the right thing. When we sacrifice our own interests to help others, a funny thing happens, it turns out that we are actually helping ourselves. This is because we are rewarded with fulfillment, peace, and happiness. It is those that pay attention most to their own needs, those who aim for wealth and power and status, that end up miserable. Not aiming for those things is what humility is.

Lord God, keep us so awake in the duties of our calling that we may sleep in your peace and wake in your glory. Amen.

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This morning's gospel lesson is another parable told by Jesus. Jesus often taught in story. Now and then he would even explain the meaning of the parable to his disciples. Most of his parables are very challenging - both to his original listeners and to us. Often, even parables that we have heard all our lives are still challenging to us when we listen and think about them carefully. Many of Jesus' parables convey messages that are contrary to our values, or our culture. But this parable of the ten bridesmaids, this parable is different, it doesn't seem to be difficult at all.

The bridesmaids who are prepared, who bring extra oil for their lamps, are rewarded, and those who don't are locked out of the party. Isn't the motto of the boy scouts, "Be prepared?" Who could argue this?

Someone broke into a church and the congregation had to do something. One man said, "Let's camp out in the church over night. Let's stay up and be ready." Of course the better solution was to get an alarm system and be ready all the time. It 's a lot less hassle, worry, inconvenience, and organization. To be ready all the time would really be a lot less effort than one massive assault.

"Be prepared." You can't argue with that. It is similar to the protestant work ethic. Work hard, take proper responsibility, and be an upstanding citizen and you will be rewarded. Is this what Jesus is telling us? Something everyone already values?

This parable is similar to another. "A wise man built his house upon the rock, and when the storm came his house did not fall. But the foolish man built his house on sand and when the storm came it fell - and a great fall it was."

Notice in both parables it is the wise ones who prepare properly. It is the foolish who do not prepare and pay the price. Notice, also, that the wise did not work any harder, or take any extra responsibility. The foolish are not presented as lazy, or irresponsible. Both the wise and the foolish fall asleep in the parable. So what actions convey wisdom, and what actions convey foolishness?

Before we tackle these questions, let us take the point of view of the different bridesmaids. The bridesmaids who do not bring extra oil go out to buy some, and are locked out of the wedding. If I was one of those bridesmaids I would say, "Why didn't you tell us we needed extra oil? It hardly seems fair, for if I had known I would be locked out I certainly would have brought some. I have my present. I've done my hair. I've got the gown. How was I supposed to know that the oil was so darn important?"

So the question is, how did the wise bridesmaids know to bring extra oil? Well, did they? I know many people like this. People who bring an umbrella, without hearing the weather report. People who carry a bit of cash on them, just in case. People who keep an extra house key hidden. People who keep candles and blankets in the car. The wise bridesmaids have a habit of being prepared, rather than having some foreknowledge of events. Jesus is using our familiarity with these kind of prepared people to make a point about the Kingdom of God, not praising them literally. Let me say that again. Jesus is using our familiarity with these kind of prepared people to make a point about the Kingdom of God, not praising them literally.

I'll give you an example of what this might look like at a spiritual level. A woman was a member of a church. She was scared of not getting to heaven. She attended church every Sunday so she could be reminded of what would get her to heaven. She knew she should give money to the church so she contributed 5% of her income. She paid attention when the minister preached that because of Christ's death and resurrection that her sins were forgiven and she was saved by her faith. She felt secure that when she died she would go to heaven because she had paid careful attention to the things that were required. However, she didn't build a relationship with God through prayer and bible reading. She didn't build relationships with other people in the church by being helpful and getting to know them. She did the minimum she knew was required for salvation.

But when she got to the gates of the Heaven she believed so strongly in, she was told, ``You have hatred in your heart, you held grudges for your entire life, how can I forgive you when you could not forgive others?'' Being a foolish person she cried out, ``How was I supposed to know forgiveness was so darn important? If I had known that was important while I was alive, I would certainly have forgiven others.'' The people, who filed past her through the gates said, ''I didn't know that was critical either.'' But they were wise because they had lived their lives lovingly with the spirit of God to guide them, and so had naturally had a tendency to forgive others.

What would a wise person look like? First of all let us say what a wise person is NOT. A wise person is NOT someone who studies all the rules. No matter what that person tries to learn about what will get them to heaven, there will always be one little thing that trips them up, that was overlooked if there is indeed a set of rules. We cannot get to heaven because of our knowledge, because we know what is required to get there. Rather, the wisdom is in how we live our lives. The wise person forgives others, because he tries to love them, and to hold a grudge is to hold on to hatred. He is not worried about how to get to heaven, but rather worried about how to help others. The wise are concerned with what's in their hearts, what's in their souls. The foolish are concerned with the doctrine of the church, the rules, and proper behavior. As Jesus says to us, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Two men from the church arrived at the small hovel of a home to inspect it. They were in charge of outreach projects and were to determine if this house was in need of what the church could give. The two men didn't want to be there because they were grieving the death of a little girl. The girl was from the congregation and had been killed in a car accident. The whole congregation was devastated but life must go on. And so they went to inspect the house.

The house was scary - a combination of rotten wood and peeling paint. Boards came together in the most bizarre angles, probably patched together with an assortment of mid-sized, rusty nails.

"Won't you come in and look at my house?" Miss Parnell asked the two. They had seen enough. They tried to explain their tight schedule. They tried to assure her that they could easily tell her home was in deep need of repair. They promised her that they would be back. Yet, she insisted.

"Won't you come in, won't you come in?" They didn't really want to, but, in the end, we did go in. What else could they do?

As they entered her rear door, they were almost overwhelmed by the smell, massive and dank.

The odor of mildew and mold and rot was oppressive and awful. One of the visitors slowly turned green. He swallowed hard, but he did not gag.

They followed Miss Parnell slowly through the smelly house, baby stepping. And then together the two men gasped. There, spread before them, across a floor pitched and cracked by swollen rotten wood, were dozens and dozens of assorted containers. Empty plastic containers, which had once held margarine or some other condiment, spread across her floor in a futile attempt to catch the water, which had poured through her defective roof. And over their heads, hanging down like hundreds of milky stalactites, were long tentacles of paint, slowly peeling away from the damaged ceiling. In the center of the room, the ceiling had collapsed, shattered by the steady river of water, which poured through during every rain.

We stood in silence, shocked. "You can fix it," she wheezed. "You can fix it." Her words were more a plea then a statement. The two men looked at the level of destruction. They looked at the rot and with the assurance that, short of a miracle, they would never be able to "fix it," one man turned to her and gently said, "Yes ma'am. We will fix it."

They did fix that house. A most wondrous group of church folks came to this place and that miracle did happen. They came even though only three short weeks before they had suffered the loss of a beautiful nine-year-old girl. They came even through their pain and hurt and grief. They came with lamps full of light and hearts full of hope. They came and found that the bridegroom had arrived. And together, they all entered into the banquet.

The Good News is that we do not have rules that will trip us up. Rejoice that when we die we do not have to worry if our Sunday school teacher missed some important teaching of Jesus. We do not have to worry that we overlooked something. God knows us for what's in our hearts and in our souls. God knows our intentions. This is why we do not require all church members to go to Theology school. We do not require church members to takes tests after the sermon. We do not require them to go a Christian Basics course (this is purely for their own enjoyment). God gives us all the wisdom we need. We know how to love others, and treat others kindly. Often it is said everyone knows the difference between right and wrong. Although this can be debated, we certainly do know the difference between helping others, and hurting others. God gives us this wisdom to use as we see fit.

And to God be the glory. Amen.

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The Psalms are a collection of prayers. In ancient times all prayers were said aloud. There was not any such thing as private prayers. A person would go to the temple or the synagogue to pray. That person would pray out loud so that others around him/her could over hear the prayer and respond to the prayer. This was how Jews learned how to pray.

The prayers of one person became part of the community's prayers. They would be repeated because so many people would identify with the prayer. They were repeated and repeated until they were eventually written down and attributed to one the community respected, most often Psalms were contributed to King David.

And so we have Psalm 139, a beautiful prayer that gives us insight into what kind of god, God is.

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways."

Its beautiful, really, God knows every part of us. God knows where we are and who we are.

When I go to West Edmonton Mall and am just another face in the crowd, when I go to work, when I lie down and fall asleep, somewhere in the big computer in the sky, I'm on file. There's Kelly.

God knows our routines - everything we do. God knows us completely.

The Psalm continues, "God is acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely."

God knows what we are about. What is important to us. What makes us tick. God knows when we are good, generous, and disciplined. And this is of great relief for me - to know that God knows when I'm disciplined.

My husband says to me, "Put a filter on it. Think before you speak." And I say, "This is me filtered. You should hear all the stuff I don't say." God sees us when we bite our tongues.

Now, for God to know us so well and to be so intimately connected to us might cause some of us to be fearful. If God really knew me well, God might not like me. As a culture we have learned to hide ourselves. As a society, we have learned to put on masks and hide ourselves from others. All this knowledge about us could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. And so this may be a scary thought, that God knows us so well.

But, God also knows the good and bad that has happened to us. God understands why we are the way we are. God knows the influences at home and school and all the destructive and constructive forces and influences on our lives. And so God has empathy for us, as a parent has empathy for his child when things go wrong.

God knows us better than we know ourselves and therefore God loves us more than we love ourselves. Just like a good parent who loves his/her child more than the child may love himself. God desires only the best for us.

A married couple had always wanted to go on a trip to Scotland but the woman's fear of flying had prevented them from achieving this goal. However, after they had sent their children to college, they found themselves with some extra money for the first time in their lives. So, they decided to take the big trip, even thought it meant a transatlantic flight.

In preparation for the flight the husband told his wife about his use of Psalm 139 when he flew.

"Where can I go from your spirit? O where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there' if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your fight had shall hold me fast."

It sounds so much like flying on a nighttime transatlantic flight that it was perfect for the woman. As they flew, the couple held hands and read the psalm. The flight was perfect, the trip excellent. The woman's fear was forever gone.

However, upon their return home, the man was unloading the suitcases from the trunk of the car and suffered a major heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and placed in the intensive care unit. Suddenly he was surrounded by the cold darkness of this place, with its pinging machines and strange apparatus.

Even with the pain and fear, some words made their way to his consciousness. "Where can I go from your spirit? O where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there' if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there, your right hands shall hold me fast."

This Psalm had taken the family through many crises. If God can be high above the ocean on a jet flight to Scotland, and deep within the scientific confines of an intensive care unit, then God's hands can hold us anywhere.

The gospel lesson that we read this morning is the story of the call of Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector and must have been sick to death of his life. Jesus knew and invited him into a new future. The first thing Matthew and Jesus do together is have a dinner party.

"Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew's house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. "What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?"

Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

Does anyone identify with Matthew? Is anyone here sick of his or her life? In this Matthew passage Jesus challenges the religious and political leaders of his day. Jesus challenges religion that separates people and tells some that they are not worthy of God's love, God's kingdom.

I have said before that some people think that church is only for good, moral, up standing, citizens. But nothing is further from the truth. Actually, the church is a place where people are searching for God and has little to do with morality.

Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector to come and follow him. Tax collectors were the lowest of the low in ancient Jewish society. Most of the time they were crooked and dishonest. Jesus call each and everyone one of us. God calls each of us to follow him.

God says, "I want you, I want your heart. I love you. I understand why you are the way you are. I understand what had made you into the person you are. I understand your fears, your hesitations. And I love you anyway. I accept you."

God says, "I offer you something better than what you currently have. Walk with me and together we can transform your life. Transform your life into a life of hope, inner peace and meaning. Transform your life into a life with no fear. With God, perfect love casts out fear. God's arms are open and moving towards us. We have a choice to embrace God and the richness of a life with God.

Let us take a moment now of silence to think about what we have just heard.

If you feel called by God I invite you to say one simple word. As you hear God calling, say 'yes'. 'Yes' means that you hear the invitation and you want to follow God.

Loving God, we thank for the gift of life with meaning, purpose, fulfillment and joy. Amen.

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