I have the impression that God knows the importance of humility for [us]. He knows our weakness, our pride, and he purposely sets in our path each day four or five humiliations, and in the course of our life, four or five great humiliations. If we do not comprehend them, if we do not accept them, it is a serious matter. But if we accept them, then we learn the generosity of God -- Dom Helder Camara
All ministry is humbling. Done right, as St. Paul implies, we will exercise ministry as “fools for Christ’s sake.” In an increasingly post-Christian context, what we do in the name of Christ as ministers of his gospel will look more and more like foolishness to others. St Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians of just that. Given the current wisdom of the world, what could be more foolish than proclaiming: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
And such foolishness leads us, by intention or not, to the occasional humiliation, at least by human standards. We should not seek out humiliation, of course. We should not be gluttons for punishment. As Archbishop Tutu is fond of saying: “the meek are called to inherit the earth, not eat the dirt!” Nor, when we do experience humiliation in the course of our ministries, should we wear it as a badge of honor to show others what a dedicated martyr we are. That comes at this from the wrong angle.
Rather, we minister seeking excellence, effectiveness, and faithfulness. And when we fail, sometimes extraordinarily, we learn from our experience so we do not repeat similar failures in the future. Our failures should never be ignored or unexamined. We should not forget them. By remembering them we experience God’s forgiveness and we even may learn to forgive ourselves. In these times of humiliation, as Helder Camara suggests, “we learn the generosity of God.”
I recently had such an experience where I was humiliated by my actions. No one else realized it, I am sure, but I did. After I finished mentally and spiritually kicking myself over an extended period of time for what I had done, I asked God’s forgiveness. I learned something about myself in that humiliation. Whenever I find myself in a similar context again, I am confident I will remind myself of what went before. Our memory is also part of God’s generosity. It can help us grow into the full stature of Christ.
For those of us engaged in the spiritual leadership of the Body of Christ, the issue is not how we can insulate ourselves from potential humiliation. Ministerial leadership requires us to be vulnerable to such a potentiality. Otherwise, we would never risk anything for the sake of the Gospel. No, the issue is this: Do we have a spiritual inbox? Are we open to learning more about ourselves and our ministry? Are we willing to do the hard work of self-examination and growth that can come to us when are brought low and, yes, humiliated by our actions? The church desperately needs leaders who are so inclined.
Scott Benhase is the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia.
