LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this brief reflection on faithfulness and humility.
It was inspired by two of the readings in the lectionary for the day. The first was from the last surviving letter of St Paul sent shortly before his execution (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18.) The second was the story of the pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
It’s easy to smile at our Pharisee’s confidence – but perhaps we can recognise something of ourselves in it too.
I know I can. When I was a chaplain at YMCA Together on Merseyside, managers encouraged staff to reflect on the values of Strength, Humility, Respect and Kindness – SHREK for short! Not the fairytale ogre (pictured) but a way of valuing colleagues and the people they support.) One year they held an award ceremony to honour the colleagues who had shown the most growth in those values. I found myself wondering if anyone would nominate me for one of the awards. It made no sense. I wasn’t eligible because I was seconded there from a chaplaincy charity. Plus, I realised it was like saying ‘I hope someone notices how humble I am!’
We can all slip into thinking that faith is about getting it right or looking the part. Yet, as Jesus shows us, it’s the humble, honest heart – not the polished performance – that finds mercy. With that in mind, what did Paul and Jesus teach us about being faithful and humble?
Every church has quiet heroes, who turn up early to put the heating on, who make the tea, who pray faithfully for others, who don’t seek attention. They may never get public praise or a medal, but they keep the community of faith alive.
That’s the kind of person Paul describes in his final letter to his most trusted assistant, Timothy – someone who’s fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.
And that’s the kind of person Jesus honours in His parable – not the confident, polished Pharisee, but the humble tax collector who stands at the back, whispering:
‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Today’s readings invite us to hold these two truths together: faithfulness in action and humility of heart.
In this second letter to Timothy, Paul is near the end of his life. He’s in prison, tired, and facing death. Yet his words are not bitter or afraid. He says:
‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’
It’s such a powerful image – not of victory in the worldly sense, but of endurance.Paul’s faith hasn’t protected him from hardship, but it has carried him through it. And then he adds:
‘there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day’.
Notice – Paul is not writing about a medal for achievement, but a crown for faithfulness. Paul doesn’t speak of winning, or outperforming others. He speaks of keeping faith – staying true when it would have been easier to give up. That’s the test of following Jesus. Not how successful we appear but whether we remain faithful when no one’s watching.
These verses also raise a subtle question:
Why do we serve God?
Do we do it to look good, to gain approval, to earn our place in Heaven?
Or do we do it out of gratitude – because we’ve already received grace?
Paul reminds us that the only reward that really matters is God’s ‘well done.’
God, whom Paul calls ‘the righteous judge’, values the intentions behind our service, not the size of our social media following.
Every act of kindness, every prayer whispered in private, every unnoticed moment of perseverance – God knows all of it, and all of it matters.
Then, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells a story that cuts right to the heart.
Two people go up to the temple to pray.
One is confident – a Pharisee who thanks God that he’s better than others.
The other is broken – a tax collector who stands far off and simply says:
‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
And Jesus says:
‘This man went home justified before God.’
It’s a shocking twist – because the Pharisee looks religiously successful. He’s upright, disciplined, respected. But the tax collector is the one who understands grace. The difference is humility.
The Pharisee’s prayer was full of himself.
The tax collector’s prayer was full of God.
And that’s the heart of the Gospel message – we don’t earn God’s love; we receive it as grace and mercy.All our effort, our good works, our service – they’re responses to grace, not the price of it.
When we hold these two readings together, there’s a beautiful balance.
Paul teaches us to keep going – to stay faithful and committed.
Jesus teaches us to keep humble – to never forget that all we have is grace.
Faithfulness without humility can too easily become pride.
Humility without faithfulness can too easily become passivity.
But when we hold them together, we come closer to living out the message of the Gospel.
It’s not about striving for recognition.
It’s about living each day in thankful response to God’s grace – trusting that God can weave our small acts of faithfulness into something much greater. As Desmond Tutu said:
‘Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.’
As Paul looked back on his life, he didn’t boast about his achievements.
He rejoiced that the Lord had ‘stood by’ him and ‘given him strength.’
And as the tax collector walked home from the temple, he carried no status – just forgiveness, and a heart made right with God.
That’s what it means to live faithfully and humbly:
- To keep serving when no one notices.
- To keep praying when the words feel small.
- To keep trusting that God’s grace is enough.
So when life feels hard, when faith feels ordinary or unrecognised, let’s remember:
- God stands by us.
- God strengthens us.
- God restores us.
And one day, like Paul, we too may be able to say:
‘I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.’
Questions:
As we think about what it means to live faithfully and humbly, let’s take a few moments to share what this means for us in our own lives and community:
💭 Keeping the faith
Paul stayed faithful even when life was hard.
• What helps you keep going in faith when things feel difficult or unnoticed?
❤️ Serving with the right heart
Paul reminds us that only God’s ‘well done’ really matters.
• How can we make sure we are serving God out of love and gratitude, not for recognition?
🌿 Living with grace
In Jesus’ story, the humble tax collector was the one who went home right with God.
• What would it look like for our church to be known as a place of humility and grace?
God values not the loudest prayers or the biggest successes, but the faithful heart and the humble spirit. Whether we serve quietly or lead visibly, let’s offer it all to God in love and gratitude.
🙏 Closing prayer
Gracious God,
thank You for the quiet strength that keeps us faithful,
for the mercy that humbles us,
and for the grace that meets us just as we are.
Help us to serve You with steady hearts and open hands,
to walk humbly, love deeply, and finish our race with faith.
Amen.
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