Sunday Sermon

I will have a short sermon today. The presider has lined up three volunteers to talk about being a servant minister. That's the theme for today. "Serve in Community". So my contribution will be small.

Afterward, we will go eat somewhere. Then tonight I will stay home and watch 60 minutes. It should be a quieter evening.

So I will share my short sermon here.

“Serve in Community”

October 21, 2012

Mark 10: 35 - 45

I’d like to share with you today’s scripture lesson.

This story in Mark 10 begins with James and John asking Jesus to do whatever they ask of him. They obviously are trying to get him to commit to their request even before he knows what it is. It is even more interesting to note that Jesus did not simply agree to this request, but instead posed an opposing question “What do you want me to do for you?” He evidently wanted them to think about what they were about to ask. And this is not the only time Jesus has responded with another question.. One might presume that Jesus already knew what they wanted. Their answer, to sit in positions of power in Jesus’ kingdom, makes it clear that they had completely missed the point of Jesus’ life and teachings up to that point. It illustrates that they are still thinking of Jesus’ kingdom as opportunities for power. They apparently are still bound by images of the Roman Empire under which they have been oppressed all their lives and they hope Jesus’ kingdom will replace it and that they will have important positions in that kingdom.

Jesus then indicated that their request came with a price and asked if they are willing and able to pay that cost. Then not even knowing what the cost was, they answered in the affirmative. However, Jesus went on to explain that even this would not guarantee their desire to sit on either side of him in God’s kingdom. This appeared to be an explicit indication that one cannot purchase or bargain one’s way into God’s Kingdom, but rather that it is a position of servant hood which they must be willing to fill.

The story then moves to the description of how the other ten disciples were angered by the request of their two colleagues. It is not hard to imagine Jesus shaking his head much like a parent does when settling a squabble between siblings. In response, Jesus called them all together in order to use the situation as another teaching moment—a practice not uncommon in Jesus’ ministry.

He made it quite clear that they had not understood the reason of his mission nor the foundational message of his example and teachings. That message was that each person was to be of equal worth and value in God’s Kingdom and that no one is greater than another. In fact, Jesus says, those who want to be great should be prepared to be servants to all because as he said, “the son of man also came not to be served but to serve”

Jesus also made it clear that the primary purpose of his ministry was to be of service and not just to one particular group of people, but to all. His exchange with these twelve closest allies was and is also a call to anyone who wishes to follow him to do likewise; in other words, that we must be willing to serve in community.

My own feeling is that this is the purpose of a church gathering. Yes, we gather to learn in Church School and to share our theological points of view, and we gather for fellowship and sermons and as important as that may be, that should not be the primary reason for our gathering. We gather to choose and to define our mission as a congregation. We gather to gain incentive to enlarge our mission. And in this congregation, we have multiple missions.

We are still baking cakes for dessert for the dinner served by the Independence First Christian Church. We have a small share in their mission. We are about to embark on one of our regular annual missions of the Samaritan Child shoeboxes. Many in our congregation have taken shoeboxes to fill for needy children in other lands. Soon after that we will be obtaining a family to adopt at Christmastime from Salvation Army. We are also donating the change from our change offering to the Boxing Club of Independence. We continue to gather food for our food basket there in the foyer. But these are small steps in mission, fitting for a congregation of our size.

The important thing is that we must be individually willing to serve, even in small ways. To do this, we must be willing to discern what mission we are able to fill. We must be able to discern what God would like us to do. In order to do that, we must be open to God’s leading Spirit.

This October Bob Avery, Leslie and I went to Mission Center Conference at Springfield. I had taken the reunion staffing list with me in hopes of filling some of the responsibilities while there. I had opportunity to make an announcement and ask for volunteers.

Following the services, Bob and Leslie went to Leslie’s car because we were hoping to be home before the oncoming storm arrived. They waited patiently for me because several people approached me and volunteered their services for staffing the reunion. Melissa and I nearly have the staffing completed thanks to the Mission Center’s congregation’s willingness to serve. That is servant ministry.

That is the spirit of our church. Our willingness to serve in whatever way possible is an indication of our understanding of servant ministry.

In November, here in our congregation, we will be electing new officers. We will in all probability be electing a team of new pastors. If we choose to elect them, these busy younger people are willing to serve in a servant capacity. And please consider prayerfully all those whom we would choose as officers for the next year. Bill and Carol Henson, although not members of our particular congregation, (at least Bill is not officially a member) are examples of servant ministry. Several times since Carol retired, they have gone on missions for the Samaritan Purse group. Among the responsibility in these mission trips, is to build homes for the homeless. They will be going again soon to Guatemala to build homes for the poor. Carol cooks for the workers. Bill helps build homes. That is servant ministry.

In order to truly build community, it will take a combination of the entire Christian Church community to make the changes that can affect the entire culture. None of us are able to do it alone. But working together, in community, we can accomplish miracles.

Let us ask ourselves, what more can we each do to assist in building a community of servant ministers?