Kanye vs. Jesus
December 11, 2007 6:39 pm BlogsLast Sunday was the Bethlehem Candle of Humility in the second week of Advent. I started off my sermon talking about Kanye West. I bring up Kanye because this last week of advent was about the humility of Jesus so I thought it would be good to see how Kanye stacks up.
For those who only listen to classical music, Kanye is one of the most popular and successful rap artists today. If you turn on the radio, there’s like 90% chance you’ll be listening to one of his songs. “Th-th-that that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger” off his latest album reverberates out of the speakers of every other car driving down the road right now.
In 2006 the cover of Rolling Stone magazine had a picture of Kanye as Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns. He said in an interview at the time if a Bible were written in the present day, he is famous and important enough to be included in it. This year, he was nominated for 5 of the MTV music awards and when he didn’t win any he was upset after the show and said he’d never come to the ceremony again. Here’s a hilarious SNL skit about the humility of Kanye: Click Here.
Somehow I imagine that Kanye West will not quite have the impact that Jesus did. Perhaps it was because of the unsurpassing humility of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was God. Jesus was there…in the beginning…when God said, “Let there be light and there was light.” Jesus was there. When God made the animals and the plants…Jesus was there. And when God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him making him a living being…Jesus was there. This is the deal, this is what makes the Christmas story so huge and significant, that Jesus was God, very God, the one wonderful, powerful, beautfiful, glorious, Creator of the universe…and he became a man. If Jesus were just another person who was born and who did some good things in his life, it would not be as big of deal, he would merely be on par with some other people who did some good things. But if God, God himself, Jesus, became a man…that is a big deal.
Jesus becomes man. How does God do that? I don’t know. How to you create or cause things to exist before there is anything? I don’t know. I suppose when your God and you make the rules and the laws of gravity, you have more resources at your fingertips. But it is clear. God becomes a man. God, the God who always has been and was never born, undergoes the experience of being born as a man.
Jesus becoming a man is humiliting. Not for us, for him. If you are the God of the universe…how humbling is it to become a man, born as a little baby. Think about it. That is crazy. Jesus shows us true humility. If anyone has any right not be humble it’s God. If you’re the most powerful being ever…and you know everything there is to know…there’s nothing to be humble about. It’s just fact. Your it God! But God is not just an awesome God because of his power and knowledge but because of his charater. His character is one of compassion and humility shown in Jesus, God himself, becoming a man.
Neitzsche says humility is weakness. Buddhism says humility is deatching yourself from suffering by realizing you are one with the world. God says humility is grace of God shown in the face of Jesus Christ, who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Our greatest need this Christmas Advent season is the gospel. The gospel is: Jesus died so that the root of my sin problem can get dealt with…so I don’t have to keep trying not to be prideful but so true humility is born in my heart. Then I will naturally be humble like Jesus and lower myself out of compassion for others even when I don’t need to. Then I will naturally live a life of thanks and worship rather than petition, demand, and disappointment. That’s what I need. That is what we all need. We need the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-Pastor Duane