I don't know about you, but when I was growing up the concept of humility was one that was greatly emphasized. It is a virtue that I think Mennonites especially tend to call attention to, and I'll talk more about why that is in a bit.
Growing up I was taught to not be proud, to not brag about anything. This also meant that talking about yourself or offering information about your life in the midst of a conversation (without being asked) was kind of a conceited thing to do. This emphasis on humility was ingrained in me. How this played out for me was if someone that didn't know me would find out something about me, like that I played piano and they would ask me how good I was, that was awkward for me. I didn't feel like it was okay for me to say I played piano well. Or if someone would affirm my musical abilities, I would timidly say thank you. I was reminded often (and still am! ) to not let people's affirmation go to my head.
In doing some research, I found out that this emphasis on humility came from the Swiss and south-German Anabaptists and was passed along to those of us who descend from this background. The Swiss and south-German Anabaptists believed the church and the world were to be separate and were more reluctant to be involved in public life; they rejected anything that looked like worldly pride. They emphasized humility, nonresistance, and separation. The Mennonites in Switzerland and other surrounding regions had fled from these areas because of persecution and had become the ``quiet in the land.''
         For some of us, our attitudes about humility are deeply rooted in our heritage. Some of the attitudes we carry are false understandings of humility and some are true understandings. First I have some thoughts on false and true humility and then we'll look at Jesus' example of humility in our scripture texts for today.
I've seen in myself and in others what effect an over-emphasis on humility can have. It causes us to be prideful about how humble we are! This is false humility. We end up looking down on others who don't seem to be very humblethose who talk about themselves or those who live more extravagantly than we do or those who are free to name the gifts God has given them. False humility can cause us to have a negative self-imageto end up putting ourselves down in an attempt to be humble. We're not able to accept affirmation from others. We don't acknowledge that we're gifted at anything. This is not humility. Maybe we do it because that's what we've been taught humility looks like, but feeling like we need to be quiet about anything we accomplish keeps us from fully embracing the gifts God has given us to enjoy!
True humility is being able to recognize the gifts God has given us and embrace them, give thanks to God for them, and use them to glorify God. One of the positive understandings I gained about humility when I was growing up was that the reason we need to be humble and not boast about our accomplishments is that ultimately we are not the ones accomplishing these things. It is God who has gifted us with abilities and talents, and we are to use every gift we've been given to bring glory to God alone. This doesn't mean we need to be hesitant to acknowledge our gifts to other people. We can embrace our gifts in healthy, humble ways.
Perhaps another reason we put ourselves down is because we're searching for affirmation from others and want to hear them disagree with us and boost our self-esteem. However, true humility is not about lowering our own self-worth; it's acknowledging the worth of all people.

         Let's turn our attention now to Jesus. This theme of humility pops up throughout the book of Mark. Jesus is constantly flipping our natural way of thinking upside down. And as the disciples show us, it is really quite hard for us to ``get it.'' In chapter 8 Jesus says, ``If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.'' In just the next chapter the disciples are arguing with one another about who is the greatest. So Jesus tells them, ``….Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.'' He goes on to say ``Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me…'' And, guess what, in just the next chapter when people are bringing little children to Jesus, the disciples speak sternly to them. Jesus is indignant and tells the disciples to let the little children come to him; don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to them. If I was Jesus I would be quite frustrated. Are the disciples listening to anything he's saying?!
         Let's go on a little further. In Mark 10:31 Jesus tells the disciples that ``many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.'' Not long after that James and John go to Jesus with a request to be on his left and right. The other disciples are angry at them for requesting this and Jesus calls them all together and tells them, ``….whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.''
This connects directly with what Paul is saying in Philippians: ``Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.'' The central theme of the book of Philippians is mutual service and sharing. Just as Christ served us, so we are to serve each other.
Practicing humility towards others means putting them first. ``It is the moment where we give up something for someone else without expecting anything back. It's being open-minded and realizing that no matter how much you may know, you do not know everything.'' True humility listens intently to others, acknowledging that there is something to learn from everyone. It does not look down on others. It relates to everyone the same, regardless of who they are, their education level, what they've done, their wealth, etc.
How do we practice humility with one another here at Millersburg Mennonite Church? Do we truly listen to each other before jumping to assumptions or making judgments? Do we realize that there are things we can learn from each person in this roomeven when…especially when we understand things differently, when we have a variety of beliefs about God, the Bible, worship style, the building we worship in, what is most important to our faith, etc. Can we come to each other in humility, acknowledging that we don't have all the right answers and perspectives?

Let's look now at the triumphal entry from the book of Mark. What I remember usually hearing about this passage is that Jesus riding on a donkey was a sign of his humility. Normal kings would have ridden in on a majestic horse. So Jesus was diverging from the normal practice of kings by riding this humble beast. But in looking at materials on this passage I found something a bit different. This new understanding was intriguing to me, so I want to share it with you.
Our perspective that Jesus riding on a donkey is a humble act probably comes more from our view as Westerners than from an accurate interpretation of the text. The donkey played a much more important role in the East than in our part of the world. It was not a despised animal, but a noble one. During Bible times, a donkey was used as a work animal and also as a riding animal. But it was not just ordinary men, women and children that rode donkeys; it was also people of position and influence, including kings. When a King went to battle he would ride a horse, and when he came in peace he rode a donkey. So what was significant about the donkey was that Jesus was showing people that his kingship was one of peace. But like Jesus' disciples, the people in the crowd didn't get it.
They were spreading cloaks and branches on the road before him and shouting ``Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!'' We understand the word ``Hosanna'' to mean praise, but it actually means Save now! So when the crowd shouted ``Hosanna'' it wasn't a cry of praise to Jesus like we normally think of; it was a cry to God to break in and save his people now that the Messiah had come.
At this point in the story, Jesus still had a following. Think about all the people he healed, the miraculous things he did. People believed in Jesus. They wouldn't have brought themselves or their loved ones to him for healing if they didn't believe he could heal them. It was mainly the religious leaders that despised Jesus and wanted him ``taken care of.'' People were intrigued by Jesus. They didn't get what he was saying half the time, but they wanted to be around him. He gave them hope.
The people living in Jesus' time had been waiting for a long time for a Messiah to come save them from the hand of Rome. But the Messiah they expected would be one who came in power, who would drive out Rome by force and free them. So they were still expecting Jesus to be a conquering king who would destroy their enemies. They had no idea of what kind of conqueror Jesus was going to turn out to be.

         Our other passage for this morning is the Philippians one. Let's read it again. Philippians 2:5-11: ``Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, <sup>6</sup> who, though he was in the form ofGod, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, <sup>7</sup> but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, <sup>8</sup> he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of deatheven death on a cross.
<sup>9</sup> Therefore God also highly exaltedhim and gave him the namethat is above every name, <sup>10</sup> so that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, <sup>11</sup> and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.''
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I memorized it many years ago, and it's always special for me to read it or hear it read. I think the reason I find it to be so meaningful is because of the humility that is modeled by Jesus and because of the extremes there. It helps us see how incredible it was for Jesus to number one become human and then to willingly give up his life for us. It gets us to imagine what it was like for Jesus to become human, to be knocked down to this lowly state, and to willingly endure a cruel death as he gave up his life for us. So we go from that to God highly exalting Jesus, and we see this picture of every human being on the face of the earth bowing before Jesus and declaring him Lord. Wow!
What Jesus could have grabbed hold of himselfthe glory and grandeurwas in the end given to him by God. Jesus put God's will for God's people ahead of any desire for recognition of his own status. Jesus' way was the way of humilitypouring himself out completely for others in obedience to God. To the world he may have looked like a total loser, but in serving the interests of others he received the highest honor from God. This is what true humility toward God looks likewillingly giving up our rights, our ``control'', our recognition, our status, our accomplishments and trusting God with the outcome.

Our song of response this morning will be sung by Arlene Yoder and Rachel Miller. The first line of this song is ``Oh kneel me down again, here at your feet.'' The Philippians passage says, ``at the name of Jesus every knee should bend.'' I read that this was probably a signal for the whole congregation to bow down in recognition of Christ's status as Lord. So as a response, I invite you during this song, if you're able and if you so desire, to kneel either in the space in front of your chair or come to the front and kneel on the steps or at the cross. Let's reflect on Jesus' example to us and how to live that out in our lives.