SERVE: Like Jesus (#1)
February 26,
2011
RUMC
There
are nearly 10 million United Methodists in the world. There are 8 times that many Anglicans, 30
times that many Orthodox Christians in the world, and 100 times that many Catholics. When you add up all the Christian groups
there are over 2 billion Christians in the world. That is roughly the population of the world’s
2 most populous countries, China and India, added together. 1/3 of the earth’s population is Christian.[1]
One
would assume that a movement that big, which has lasted over 2000 years, would
have been founded by one of the world’s most powerful men.
·
Someone who inspired people like Martin Luther King Jr, or
Mahatma Gandhi.
·
Surely, it must have been organized by someone who had
greater administrative skills than the greatest world leader ever had.
·
Surely, this person must have been smarter than Einstein,
Gary Kasparov, Marilyn Savant, and Stephen Hawking all rolled into one.
·
Surely, the founder of such a great movement must have spoken
many languages and traveled all over the world.
·
Surely, the creator of such an association must have been
among the wealthiest and most powerful people of his day.
·
Surely, this man must have been known by, and rubbed
shoulders with the most powerful people in the world.
·
Surely, the leader of such a great group must have lived in
opulence and comfort.
·
And certainly, when he died there must have been an
outpouring of grief greater than when Princes Diana died. He must be buried in a great cathedral or
palace with beautiful grounds and a huge memorial.
·
One would think that our founder would wear a crown and wield
a scepter.
One
would think… but then… one would be wrong.
You
would think that the founder of the world’s greatest religion- who was God
himself incarnate on the face of the earth would have had millions of followers,
and a motorcade lead by white horses and trumpets and soldiers. But you would be wrong.
You
would think that Jesus would have had dozens of assistants, hundreds of
employees, thousands of underlings, and a budget that would dwarf the current
budget of the United States. But you
would be wrong.
Listen
to this:
being in very nature God, (he)
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross![2]
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross![2]
Rather
than power, prestige, and privilege, we hear words like nothing, servant,
humble, and death. It is almost enough
to make your head swim.
It
reminds me of the story about the aliens who visited the earth. They landed near a small country church
attracted by the light of its high steeple.
One of the aliens asked, “We
have heard a rumor that God visited your planet many years ago. Is that true?”
“Well, there was a man named Jesus,” one
person said
“Yes!
That’s it! Jesus Christ! Did He really come?” the aliens asked
excitedly -
“Well, yes, but…” one of the
Churchgoers began.
The Aliens interrupted “What
an extraordinary thing! What a wonderful
thing!” exclaimed the aliens. “Tell us, what did you do when God visited
your planet? Did you bring gifts and
throw them at His feet? Did you go crazy
with celebrating and singing? Did you have parades and build him a big palace? Did the entire world finally realize how much
God loves them? Please, tell us, what
did you do?”
The members of the small
country Church pondered for a moment and then sheepishly said, “We...ah…we
killed Him.”[3]
The
mental picture of God living as a humble, sandlefooted, country preacher and
miracle worker, walking around a nation 1/7th the size of Iowa,
subjecting himself to the capricious rule of the Roman empire, and the maligning
of the temple authority, having neither home nor entourage, seeking not
celebrity, nor supremacy, nor the trappings of status boggles the mind.
He
did not count equality with God something to be rasped, but took on the form of
a servant.
In
Matthew 20:28 Jesus announces his purpose.
“He has come not to be served,
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” To serve and
to give, not to be served. Not to grab the spotlight in the center ring. Not to make a name, attract attention, or
become successful, or famous, or powerful, or idolized. No Quite frankly that stuff turned him off. [4]
Jesus
came not to be served, but to serve.
Not
to have power, but to love
Not
to have authority, but to be vulnerable
Not
to have wealth, but to raise up the poor.
Not
to have status, but to walk with the nobodies.
Not
to be comfortable, but to comfort.
Not
to be famous, but to make God famous.
We
are called to this same servanthood. Just before the passage we read today Paul
writes, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in
humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests
but each of you to the interests of the others. In your
relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” [5]
Have
the same mindset that is in Christ Jesus . . .
the mindset of a servant
I
Peter says, 5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to
your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”[6]
but shows favor to the humble.”[6]
Like
Jesus, we are called to be servants. Therefore,
we will spend the next 6 weeks unpacking that and trying to come to grips with just
what that means for us.
Let’s
get two things out of the way though.
·
As I talk about service and servanthood. I am not advocating low self-esteem, weakness
or being a doormat. That is not at all,
what I think of when I think of Jesus.
In fact, I think it takes greater self-esteem and greater strength to be
a servant than it does to use, abuse, and intimidate others.
·
Second, being a servant does not come automatically with
being a Christian. Being a Christian
does not erase our ego, our lust for power, or our sense of entitlement. Becoming a Christian servant, having that
serving mind of Christ, is therefore something we can and will work on together.
It
is easy to lose sight of our primary calling as Christians, isn’t it? In an entitlement driven society, in this
hierarchical society, in this world consumed with one-upmanship, where even our
bishops (who ought to be examples of servanthood) seek more and more authority;
the call to service is easily drowned out by the allure of power.
·
The busy mother of small children struggles with schoolwork and
soccer matches, to stay a step or two ahead of her husband and kids.
·
Workers fight tooth and nail to get the promotion, have
better crop yields, or have a more successful business than the person next to
them.
·
Parents push their children to be the best athlete at the
expense of being the best person.
·
Neighbors just have to have a bigger house, a better car, a
nicer garden, or a fancier grill than the family next door.
In
the midst of all of that we read, “he who would be greatest of all must be a
servant of all.”[7] An attitude of servanthood is hard to find in
our society, but it is overwhelmingly the attitude of Christ, and should be the
attitude of we who follow his way.
Jesus
was God as a servant- He came not to be served, but to serve.
Today
we are starting an 8 sermon series that will end on Easter Sunday. In the next weeks we will explore what we
have to lay down, what we have to pick up, the character of the servant, the
great oxymoron of servant leadership, on Maundy Thursday I will preach the
sermon with my favorite title, “I don’t wana’ touch your stinkin’ feet!” And we will conclude on Easter with “Is there
a servant in the house.”
I
have frankly been struggling with and planning this series for about 9
months. Knowing that as a people, we
need to come to grips with the reality that the church is not here to serve you,
you are here to learn to serve Jesus and all the people he loves.
Therefore,
as pastor I am declaring this year, “The year of the servant.” I want us to be uncomfortable together, struggle
together, and grit our teeth together so that we can learn to be better
servants of Christ together. How about
it? Will you join me?
What
do you want to be when you grow up? We
were all asked that at one time or another.
We usually hear answers like “policeman,” “nurse,” “doctor,” “ball player.” Sometimes that is based on interest; many times those answers are based on how
much status or profit they see in that particular job.
Let’s conclude today by asking Jesus what he
wants us to be when we grow up. Suddenly
the question takes on new light. I don’t
think Jesus would tell you to be a farmer, banker, preacher, or anything else. He would not tell us to grow up to be
something that will give us status or wealth.
I think Jesus would give every one of us the same answer. I think Jesus would say, “I want you to be
different. I don’t want you to grow up asking,
“what can I get? But instead “what can I
give?” [8]
Jesus
did not “consider equality with God something to be used to
his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” I think when I grow up I want to be just like him.
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” I think when I grow up I want to be just like him.
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