On Humility:

Jesus rightly identified love for God and people as owning first place among all the commandments of God. These two irreducibly summarize everything else God desires of us. All the other commandments and exhortations of Scripture simply describe for us what it means to to love God and to love people.

Deeply embedded in the command to love is one extraordinary virtue without which love is not possible. Love is essentially other-centered. It is fulfilled in service: service to God and others. It seeks the best for others and so puts others sacrificially before the self. This is the kind of love God has for us; the love Jesus showed us when he went to the cross to provide pardon and reconciliation for alienated rebels like us.

The virtue which makes that kind of love possible is humility. Tim Keller has observed that humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. The difference is subtle but significant. Humility is not some form of self deprecation. It doesn’t focus on the self much at all. But like love, humility makes others more.

A quick survey of the New Testament underscores just how big a deal this is:

• “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly [humble] in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29 ESV).
• “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11 ESV).
• “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight” (Romans 12:16 ESV).
• “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV).
• “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness [gentleness], and patience…” (Colossians 3:12 ESV).
• “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5 ESV).
• “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:6-10 ESV).

Humility has emerged in my own spiritual journey as a deeply longed-for soul imperative. I have been prodded to this journey largely by my own need for grace. As Peter and James both remind us, “God resists the proud [ranges himself in battle against] but gives grace [only] to the humble.” (They are quoting from the Septuagint translation of Proverbs 3:34.)

Since I constantly stand in need of grace it became indispensable to me that I figure out what true humility is and how to go about shaping it in my heart.

A second push came from God locking my attention onto Colossians 3:12 where we are exhorted to put on—clothe ourselves—with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” As I meditated on this passage, humility emerged as the central virtue, the hub around which the others revolved. Only humility could make me kind and gentle. And kindness would produce compassion; gentleness would produce patience.

It continues to be a journey of grace but one in which God is faithfully working out what he started in me some fifty-three years ago.

This week I stumbled across something which I believe may well help me take further on this pilgrimage. Mark Galli is the retiring Editor in Chief for Christianity Today Magazine. I follow his blog (The Galli Report) not because I agree with everything he writes, but because he so often speaks about issues that resonate in my own soul.

Writing about the recent storm caused by his stand on a moral issue, he added “The guiding light for me in any controversy I find myself in is the Litany of Humility. I pray it regularly precisely because I fall so short of its ideals.”

Intrigued, I followed his link to this document:

A Litany of Humility

“Jesus! Meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.”
– Attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry Del Val, by Charles Belmonten (Handbook of Prayers, Studium Theologiae Foundation, Manila, 1986).

Baptists are late discovering the riches of our more liturgical brothers and sisters. I find this litany of prayer helpful. It expresses the heart of one who has thought deeply about what it means to be so grounded in God’s love that one desires to “think of one’s self less.” So for a time, at least, I’m incorporating this into my prayers. It is a good reminder of the many still unhumbled parts of my own sinful self that need to bow before my King.

When I began taking pictures I wanted to shoot color. Black and white didn't interest and besides, I could buy and process color slide film for much less than it cost to buy and process prints.  

With the advent of digital my delight in color pictures only intensified. I especially enjoyed the challenge of processing camera RAW files in Photoshop, trying to produce a final image that was as close to perfect as possible. Perfection is always ephemeral challenge, always a moving target and I remain my own worst critic, but I thoroughly enjoy the pursuit.

Recently I have begun to explore the unique challenges and advantages of black and white. Professional photographers point out that color sometimes gets in the way of a good picture or is distracting. Skin tones can be better rendered in black and white. If you want a vintage look, monochrome is your best bet. Black and white emphasizes structure, texture and form. 

A short while ago I joined a Facebook group that only posts black and white images. It's a great way to see the work of others and learn from their craft. These are some of the images I have posted. Many of them have appeared on my own Facebook page. Not all of them in black and white. 

An old factory on East Michigan  Ave. This is also an HDR image.

And abandoned Dodge pickup

 The next two were taken at the tall ships festival in Bay City a few years ago. The sepia treatment seems to fit the antique nature of these sailing vessels.

This reenactor portrayed an American Indian at a Rendezvous.

Vintage hood ornament at the Gilmore Auto Museum

Vintage aircraft are colorful in their own right but black and white seems to fit. A New Standard bi-plane offering rides at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo

The nose and inboard engines of a B-17 bomber

Port side waist gunner on a B-17

The following images emphasize structure and form.

A gray morning in an autumn woods. Had to go monochrome.

Grain silo complex out Parma way

I've processed this image in both color and black and white and like both. Each treatment bring out different aspects of the photo.  Taken near Hocking Hills in Ohio

Night scene at Eaton Rapids Airstream event

Long exposure for smooth water and clouds. 

Another retired pick-up -- this one on a farm on the Camus Prairie in Idaho.

The color in the woods behind this cat actually gets in the way of the image.

Again, black and white emphasizes the form and structure of this milkweed pod.

I haven't used this blog for a spell but may fire it up again. It's mostly been about photography but expect to see some posts about other thoughts as well.

About Serving...

In her new book, Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian, Michelle Lee-Barnewall offers a fresh approach to the debate over gender roles in the church. Instead of pitting issues of authority against equality, she offers a kingdom perspective which emphasizes inclusion and unity over equality, and service over authority.

Although she is speaking into the gender role issue, her biblical study has striking implications for church leadership. Especially noteworthy for me was her discussion of the concept of servant-leadership.

“When one begins by considering oneself to be a servant, the end result is noticeably different from when one begins by thinking of oneself as a leader. In the former, making other’s [sic] needs primary is a natural occurrence, whereas in the latter, serving is a later, secondary addition. Greenleaf [Robert Greenleaf, whom she quotes as the founder of the servant leadership movement] causes us to ask the question, Is the point to be a leader who serves or a servant who leads?”

Referring to the first four chapters of I Corinthians in which Paul describes himself and his associates as servants, helpers, stewards and slaves, she writes: “In various ways Paul sends the message that the attention should be given not to the apostles, but to the one who appointed them and the task for which they have been commissioned.”

“Paul is not simply saying that they are leaders who have the attitude of a servant. He asserts that as servants they are the opposite of what the world esteems in status, privilege, and other worldly considerations when it considers them in their position. They are merely those who have been tasked by a master to whom they are responsible. As a result, their worth and identity come not from their own abilities, but solely from God. The Corinthians should esteem God rather than Paul and Appolos, who are merely the help God uses to accomplish his purposes [emphasis mine].”

My wife and I are watching the Neflix series The Crown, based on the life of Queen Elizabeth. In one recent scene, the Queen with her husband Philip is hosting President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy at Buckingham Palace. When the President and First Lady arrive, they are greeted by a ranking military officer and flanked by crisply uniformed staff. The officer escorts them to their audience with the Queen who is also attended by other courtiers and household staff. He announces them to the Queen and then, at the Queen’s signal, discretely withdraws with the rest of the staff leaving the two couples to talk privately.

As I thought about what Lee-Barnewall had written about servant leadership, Queen Elizabeth’s servants, especially the military officer who escorted the President, offered a perfect illustration of how church leaders and pastors should see themselves. Our job is to introduce others to the King and then get out of his way. We “…are merely the help God uses to accomplish his purposes.”

Amen.

Flowers at Dahlem

I can't resist taking pictures of flowers, probably for the same reasons that we enjoy planting them in and around our homes. 

My Sunday afternoon walk at the Dahlem Center was a constant distraction as flowers, both cultivated and wild, kept finding their way in front of my lens.

Cultivated

Yarrow with spiders

White Hydrangea

OK, so this isn't a flower. A curious red squirrel stuck around long enough to digitalize him.

Crocosmia Lucifer: Eye-catching brilliantly red tubular flowers appear midsummer atop bolt, slightly arching sparsely branched 3 foot tall stems.

Yup, and they attract hummingbirds..

Not sure what this is.

Loved the spiraled bud

Bee Balm

Just a frog.

And then the wild flowers.

Purple Loosetrife

Black-eyed Susans

Not sure about this one

Bee Balm Bud

I'm always trying to capture Queen Anne's Lace but never quite seem to get it right

Butterfly Weed is a fave -- love the orange

This is typical of a number of small flowers (aka, weeds) that bloomed along the path.

Tiger Lilies stand out in the meadow

The purple stems were striking!

Lots of white puffies!

This old tree is falling apart in the middle of the meadow.

I was just going out for a little 45 minute trek but ended up spending three hours. The wildflowers were a pleasant surprise.