Ladders and the Honey Harvester
Ladders … Back when I was in the fire academy, we had to do this terrifying drill with ladders—especially terrifying especially for someone like me who's afraid of heights. I know, not ideal for a firefighter. But here is how the drill went: A group of us would hoist, extend, and hold a ladder straight up in the air, sometimes as high as 35 feet— almost as high as this ceiling– while the next in line had to climb up to the top, then over the top, and back down the other side. Not my favorite drill, to say the least..But it did serve a good purpose: testing balance, trust, and nerves—simulating real fear, which it did, as well as building confidence and teamwork at dangerous heights. My hands are sweating just thinking about it.
But ladders aren’t new. We’ve been climbing them for a long time. We see this in ancient art, like the famous 8,000-year-old rock painting known as the “Honey Harvester.” Found in the Spider Caves of Spain, it shows a figure climbing some kind of ladder, to get honey from a hive. It is the earliest known art representing both someone using a ladder, and someone harvesting honey. We’ve been climbing ladders, to get to the honey, for a long time.
Climbing Ladders for the Wrong Honey
Today, we climb different ladders to get to the honey: the professional ladder to get to success and status, the political ladder to get to power and influence, the social ladder to get approval and recognition, affluence and comfort, a name for ourselves.
But often in our climb, not always, but often, in the brutal competition that is required of us to get to the top, we end up stepping over others, alienating others, and leaving our Christian communal values behind.
And when we do reach the top, it might feel exhilarating … for a moment. But too we often find ourselves alone, miserable—morally and communally, compromised—and the hive, empty.
What If The Honey Is At The Bottom
Here’s the big question. What if the honey—the true reward—isn’t at the top of these ladders, but at the bottom? In something like humility? Namely the other-focused, sweet humility of Jesus? What if progressing in our professional, political, and personal life, means progressing in that?
What if, like Jesus said, everyone who exalts themselves, in selfish ambition, and empty conceit, ends up being humbled and brought low anyway. And what if all who humble themselves, in unifying love, end up being exalted?
Recap of the Sermon Series
We are in the middle of a sermon series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians which we have titled: Joy That Cannot be Bound. Joy. It speaks of fullness. Expansiveness—the way things ought to be. The honey we long for, and the honey we were made for.
We’ve mentioned how Paul’s writing this letter from prison, in chains, and yet he’s talking about a joy that is resilient, one that can take root and grow, like a tree, in the most difficult of circumstances, like a jail cell, because it's grounded not in our circumstances, but in the good news– the unshakable joyful news, and way, of Jesus.
The Sweet Completion of Paul’s Joy
In the part of the letter we heard this morning, Paul writes to his friends, “Make my joy complete.” But note how his joy is completed. It’s not, “Make my joy complete, by sending a little more cash, so I can outfit my cell with a velvet couch, and order in the finest foods Rome has to offer, something that really says, ‘This cell is fit for a Caesar, not just a common prisoner.’
No, Paul’s joy isn’t completed by self indulgence, exalting himself, or by living like Caesar. It’s completed by him and his friends living Jesus, in his humble, other focused way. He says, “make my joy complete, by how you all live together—being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Doing nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regarding others as better than yourselves, each of you looking not to your own interests but to the interests of the others.”
For Paul, the honey—the sweet completion of his joy—isn’t found in his own personal comfort. It’s found in watching his friends live lives bound together by a love that is humble, united, other-focused. His joy is tied up in this kind of togetherness, in a shared humility and love that puts others first.
That’s the real reward: a community, a people, not scrambling up ladders, and stepping on and over each other on the way, but a people descending, getting low, and lifting each other up in humility. Which is something that marks Church of the cross, is it what makes our community so “sweet.”
This is the kind of thing that belongs to the people of God. To the citizens of heaven, to the citizens of the kingdom of Jesus, who is the ultimate example of this way.
Citizens of a Heavenly Colony
At the beginning of our passage Paul urges the Philippians, “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” In the Greek it is: live as citizens worthy of the gospel.” Later in the letter Paul says our citizenship is in heaven.
This would have struck a chord. The Philippians were proud of their Roman citizenship—Philippi was a Roman colony with all the privileges that entailed. They understood what it meant to belong to an empire.
But Paul points them to a higher allegiance. Their true citizenship is in heaven, not Rome. Their lives should be centered on the Lord Jesus and His way, not on the “lord” Caesar and His way. True privilege, true unity, comes not through lording it over each other, but through serving each other in humility. Not by climbing ladders, but by following the example of Christ, who descended to the lowest place, humbled Himself, and gave His life. Who in turn God exalted to the highest place. As the next passage, and the center of the whole letter, reveals.
This sweet unifying humility isn’t cheap. It mirrors Christ’s loving, humble sacrifice, and it often involves suffering, as it did for Paul and the Philippians. But while it’s not cheap, it’s a gift. You have been granted, “graced” in the Greek, not only to believe in Jesus but to suffer for Him. A gift that shows our true citizenship—in the kingdom of Jesus, a place that flows with honey, that we can begin to taste now.
Humility Now and Then
Today, in the west, most people recognize humility as one of the better qualities in a person, that the best leaders are humble leaders, that communities are unified and thrive when it is prevalent, and they are divided and diminished when absent. But this wasn’t always the case. It’s only because Jesus taught and modeled this, in the way He did, and then Christian like Paul made a big deal about it, that we now admire this like we do.
In Roman culture, if we think of the political social ladders of that day, humility was one of the bottom rungs. Not something to be admired and or pursued. It was shameful, down there with being a servant, or in prison like Paul, or worse of all, being a servant on a Roman cross.
But because of Jesus and His beautiful unthinkable countercultural example, Paul puts humility on a pedestal, as the bond that brings and keeps people together, as the thing to pursue, as the thing that would complete his joy. The honey.
Throughout this section Paul urges them to live with one Spirit and One Mind. That is with the Spirit of Jesus, which He mentioned in the previous section, and with the Mind of Jesus, that He mentions in the next section. And what is that way of the Spirit and Mind of Jesus? It’s the way of water.
The Way of Water and Unity
What happens when water hits a ladder? It doesn’t climb upward. It trickles and flows downward, always seeking the lowest places. Water always descends, filling cracks, and valleys, the spaces others ignore.
It reminds me of our Psalm reading: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil …. running down … like the dew of Hermon descending on the mountains of Zion.” Dew that descends in loving, unifying, humility, especially to those who have been ignored.
And as this humble water descends, and gathers—when we are all practicing this unity together—it becomes one of the most beautiful, powerful, unified forces in creation. Trickles become streams, streams join to form rivers, and rivers merge into seas and oceans—vast and beautiful, strong and unstoppable. Which we need to be, because there is always opposition to following Jesus. Paul felt it, the Philippians felt it, and we will feel it if we go with Jesus, in the counter cultural way of Jesus. In Boston this is still very counter cultural!
A Unity Beyond Conformity
But this humble way, brings a unity that is beyond mere conformity. It’s not about looking and thinking exactly the same in everything. That’s a cult. Just as rivers are fed by many tributaries, each bringing water from different landscapes, cultures, and climates, we too bring not only our unique gifts, which Pete talked about in his sermon, our unique gifts and experiences, but also different perspectives and convictions, from how to raise our kinds, how to vote, to the roles of men and women. While these different convictions matter, and are worth debating, on this side of glory we will never reach full agreement on these kinds of things. What we can agree on and find unity and joy in is the way of Jesus: which is the way of humility.
What Does This Humility Look Like?
But what does this look like? And what doesn't it look like, in everyday life? CS Lewis, in Mere Christianity, said:
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy [i.e overly flattering , fake] person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
Which is why AA meetings start the way they do. Which is why confession is part of our liturgy. Anglican liturgy is realistic liturgy. The temptation of the ladder is an ever present temptation, and we succumb to it more that we like to admit, which is why it is a grace to have an opportunity for confession every week.
This next quote often gets attributed to Lewis but actually comes from Rick Warren, and summarizes Lewis' quote well:
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don’t think of themselves.
That’s the humility Paul is talking about. And that’s the kind of humility that leads to unity. Not thinking less of ourselves. But thinking of ourselves less, and others more.
An Example of Humble Unity
In preparing for this sermon, I came across a story that struck me deeply. The author shared about his ministry among Jewish and Arab believers in Israel. Two members of that group—one Jewish, one Arab—traveled to the U.S. for a series of meetings. They graciously agreed to speak at the university where he taught. In a chapel service, these two brothers in Christ stood side by side, sharing how the gospel breaks down barriers that seem insurmountable to the world.
The Jewish brother spoke on, “Why God Loves the Arabs,” and the Arab brother shared, “Why God Loves the Jews.” As you can imagine, the impact of their words—and their very presence together—was profound. It was a powerful reminder of how the gospel transcends division and creates unity, even in the most divided and difficult contexts.
Unity In Our Divided World, And Nation
Oh, how we need more of this in our world today—in our own nation. We need Republican Christians speaking about “Why God Loves the Democrats” and Democratic Christians speaking about “Why God Loves the Republicans.”
Because the honey, the true joy, isn’t found in climbing our political, professional, or personal ladders in self exalting, self-centered ambition. It's found in another ambition, in getting low, in other-centered humility, in lifting others up. The sweetness we seek is found in the mighty, unifying love of Christ, who descended all the way down to give His life in order to lift all of us up with Him.
Our Call As Citizen Of Heaven: The True Honey Harvesters
So, citizens of heaven, let us live lives worthy of the good news of our King. Let us think about those who are different from us—politically, ethnically, culturally—in any way we find threatening, whether out there in the world, or in here within our own community.
And in all humility, let us consider, “Why does the Lord love them?” as we follow His humble descent, and become the true honey harvesters of our day.