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"Letting Ourselves Be Served"
There are many things about serving here at St. Luke’s that
have left an impression on me. One of greatest impressions
has always been that St. Luke’s is a place where we take
God’s call to serve our neighbor and our community seriously.
Since my arrival here, for example, I have seen little brown
bags of food pour in until the total collected has now exceed
literaly 1000’s of pounds lovingly gathered for those in need.
I have seen a portion of our old school building converted in
a clinic that takes advantage of countless volunteer hours and
provides care for those who lack the medical coverage that
they need. Those who serve in this clinic can honestly say
that their efforts have saved lives.
Since my arrival here, I have seen hurting hearts cared for by
Elders, and Stephen Ministers, by those who sew tiny Tender Hands
garments or those who prepare the literal hundreds of meals that
have been delivered to individuals and families who are going
through a time of loss or personal difficulty.
I have seen a member of our Lutheran Haven community who
doesn’t ask the person in need if she might clean their
house for them. Instead, she just shows up with her mop
and bucket and goes to work.
Since my arrival here, I have seen our school converted
into a hurricane shelter with beds made by school children
and even decorated with bright handmade welcome cards
prepared by the same.
I have seen wheelchair parades to and from the Lutheran
Haven before and after Francis. I have seen our school
children pour into school one day with more bleach and
cleaning supplies than I would have ever imagined. And
then I watched as members of our congregation loaded all
that stuff and literally risked their own lives to take
these critical supplies all the way to Mississippi where
the van and trailer were emptied in a few minutes flat.
I have seen roofs repaired, trees cut up, and food that
had spoiled in powerless refrigerators and freezers safely
spirited away. Why I have even seen our church make chainsaws
available to our community. Not every church can claim that!
Yes, as I look back, I think it is fair to say that St. Luke’s
is a place that knows how to serve.
Such service to and for one another is our theme for
today. More specifically, we continue our theme of
"Facing Christ" today with the focus on Facing Service.
Even if we did not have the picture on the screen,
it would probably not be too hard for you to guess
which biblical account would be our focus.
It is the account from John 13 that the artist Ford
Maddox Brown has attempted to capture in his painting
“Christ Washing St. Peter’s Feet”. As we look on, we
see the reaction of the apostles to the Son of God
washing feet. We see in particular the shame of Peter
himself as Jesus, the holy one, makes him clean.
I have to admit something to you. The theme of Christian
service is not hard one to preach about. I am sure
that are already bracing yourself, prepared for me
to say something like: “hey, all that service that
you have done or are doing is great, but…don’t get
too comfortable, and don’t be surprised when God has
something else in mind for you to do. After all,
there is always one more thing that can be done in
God’s kingdom.”.
I could certainly preach that way if you want me
to. It would not be too hard to ask you to look
into your life, and into your heart, and find that
area of service that God has perhaps been, calling,
nudging, pulling you toward. And then all I would
have to say is: “Get busy! Amen!”
It would be a good sermon and it might even hit home
for you. But actually there is something else that
I want to say to you about Christian service today
and I daresay, if we are honest, it will hit home
with each and every one of us.
For you see, I believe that most of us are ready
to serve when we see a need. We are ready to serve,
but how ready are we to be served? That I think is
one of the hardest things for us. None of us really
like to be served. And I guess the question is, why?
Why do we consider bothering anyone to be about the
greatest sin that we could ever commit? It could be
that we don’t look forward to being served because it
is embarrassing to us. It could be that we would
rather not bother others because we want to save
face and tell the world that everything is ok, even
if it isn’t really. It could be that we don’t like
being served because it goes against a lifetime of
being taught that me must rely on ourselves.
But actually, the real reason, like it or not, that
none us really like being served is that it hurts
our pride. That was how it was for Peter all those
years ago.
He had answered Jesus’ call to be a fisher of men
and he had dedicated his life to serving others but
that night something was different. For as the meal
drew to a close, Jesus removed his outer garments,
rolled up his sleeves you might say, and began to
wash Peter’s feet.
Peter was astonished. Should Jesus was his feet?
Shouldn’t he, Peter, be the one to do the serving?
He tried to stop Jesus, but Jesus called him up
short. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me!”
Our artist today has really captured the feelings
that I am sure were racing through Peter’s heart
and mind. He was being served, and he found it
difficult indeed.
We can all relate - we would so rather serve than be
served. We would rather hold up our heads at the end
of the day and say: “I did my part.” It is wounding
for us to have to set our pride aside, but then there
is no other choice.
For you see, the real problem comes when our pride even
finds its way into our relationship with Jesus. Even
here, in church, we would rather be able to say to
God: “I love and appreciate all that you have done to
save me, but remember, I did my bit.” We would never
actually say it, but we sure prefer to be able to hold
our head up in the presence of Jesus Christ.
But it just doesn’t work that way. When we come into
Jesus’ presence, we come with nothing to offer. We
really don’t have anything that we can give Him that He
doesn’t already have, that is except for our sin.
We are so like Peter. It hurts and breaks us to our
very core to have to be completely and totally served
by Jesus. There is no room for our pride here. And
what is more, if we will not surrender to Jesus,
then we also will have no part with him.
So he steps in. He steps into our lives today with
his word and sacrament. He steps into our lives to
serve us completely, but only really knew what that
would mean. For Jesus to serve us completely would
me his complete surrender to the will of his Father.
For Jesus to serve us completely he would endure the
betrayal that he foretold. For Jesus to serve us
completely he would endure ridicule and mockery and pain.
Finally, for Jesus to serve us completely, he who
washed feet would feel the biting agony of nails
driven through his own feet as he was hung on the
cross and left there to die.
Jesus surrendered completely to the will of his Father
and his Father was pleased. He showed his acceptance
by raising him from the dead. In his life, death,
and Easter morning resurrection, Jesus now serves us
in the most important way of our lives.
So just what does he do for us? Well first of all, Jesus
serves us by declaring that we are now free of penalty.
He forgives our sins and remembers them no more.
Jesus serves us further by making us the promise that
this life is not all that there is. Instead he tells
us of an eternal life in heaven that is more glorious,
more incredible than anything that we could possibly imagine.
And still Jesus is not done serving us today. He serves
us by being with us every day, every moment of lives,
assuring us that we are never ever alone!
Jesus has forgiven us, promised us new life, and placed
himself right in the middle of our earthly lives as well.
To say that what Jesus has done and continues to do to
serve us in wonderful still doesn’t quite state the case.
Our artist today/tonight has captured well the feelings of
the apostles as they watched Jesus wash feet, but the
character I like the best in this painting is the disciple
on the far left. Look closely. He sees what a wonderful
thing it is that Jesus wants to give him. He is unlacing
his sandals as if to say: “Me next!”
Jesus serves us in wonderful ways. So why shouldn’t we say
it to, “me next!” In fact, why not encourage others to say
it too!
God has allowed us to serve our community in so many incredible
ways and I am sure he has even more in mind. But the most
important service that we will ever provide is to invite
other to be “next” in being served by Jesus!
In Jesus’ Name! Amen.
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