“Going through the motions--kills”

"Going through the motions--kills"

RUMC 4/15/12

Confirmation Sunday

 

The high school Spanish teacher in her late fifties, just a few years from retirement, hauls the same old worn out lesson plans out of her file cabinet for the next year of classes.  She figures, "Why make new ones?"

The married couple, together for fourteen years, in the midst of raising two kids and caring for their own parents.  Pressure at work.  Financial strain.  They haven't had a real conversation for days, haven't had a private dinner for weeks, and haven't laughed together for almost a year.  Who has the energy?

The church member, who sits in the same pew, complains about the same issues, gripes with the same few friends at fellowship hour.  Why change?

The minister who, instead of writing a new sermon, goes to the files for one she preached three years ago.  Add a few cheesy stories from the internet and no one will be the wiser.  What difference does it make?

The student, who gets up, goes to practice before school, classes, practice afterschool, homework, and bed.  Then he gets up to do the same tomorrow, wondering why bother?

 

Does any of that sound familiar?  I'll bet it does to each and every one of us.  Much of life is so routine; we can do it with our eyes closed.  In fact, I am not sure that I don't.  Sometimes I find myself showered, dressed, and ready to walk out the door before my eyes open and my brain engages for the day.  You know what I mean?  It is so automatic to do all those routine chores that we don't think about them.

Have you ever driven somewhere, especially when it is the same route you have taken 1,000 times; and when you get there, you can't remember driving down a certain street?  Or more frighteningly, stopping at that stop sign?  It's frightening isn't it?

 

Let's be honest with each other.  Sometimes we live our faith the same way.  Same old devotions, same old prayers, same old pew, in the same old church, with the same old friends, and the same old preacher, listening to the same old stories, visiting with the same old friends, same old complaints, same old problems, serving on the same old committee because no matter what they are called, they're all the same.

You know the rage right now is the campaigns against distracted driving.  How about distracted "faithing"?  Doing faith when our attention is really on 20 things OTHER than Jesus. 

Sometimes, as a pastor, you know I feel like people expect me to have my act together.  Sometimes it just is not there.  I can be honest about that.  There are times when being candid about my dry spells, however, is not appropriate.  You know, for instance, when I visit you in the hospital or in the middle of leading worship-- no one wants to see the preacher stop to say, "Sorry, it just isn't happening for me today."  Sometimes- just like you- I go through the motions because it is the right thing to do. 

That is exactly what Matthew West was experiencing when he wrote the song "Motions".  

When asked about the story behind his song he said, "I don't always feel it.  Sometimes my faith seems stale.  Numb.  Sometimes I pray, but I don't feel connected.  I sing, but my song sounds empty.  I write, but my words sound cliché.  I ask God questions, but I don't hear answers.  I could try to act like I am always so spiritually refreshed and thriving in my relationship with God.  But that wouldn't be honest.  That wouldn't be me."[i]

Another song writer wrote experiencing distracted "faithing" in the 103^rd Psalm.

 

As for mortals, their days are like grass;
 they flourish like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
 and its place knows it no more.[ii]

 

The poet who wrote Ecclesiastes wrote;

 

Everything is boring, utterly boring—
 no one can find any meaning in it. 
 Boring to the eye,
 boring to the ear. 
 What was will be again,
 what happened will happen again. 
 There's nothing new on this earth. 
 Year after year it's the same old thing.  [iii] 

 

We are not the first people to walk through life like robots not seeing or hearing, not feeling or thinking, not hating-- but not loving either.

There is no life in that.  Going through the motions in marriage kills marriages.

·        Going through the motions in life kills joy.

·        Going through the motions at work leads to unemployment.

·        Going through the motions at school kills learning

·        Going through the motions in faith--- just plain kills.

 

We are not the first people to walk through faith like automatons, sitting glassy eyed, not really listening, not really connecting, not really feeling, not really caring, not really devoted.  There is no life in a faith like that. 

·        Going through the motions in prayer is like praying into a tin can. 

·        Going through the motions in worship is empty ritual. 

·        Going through the motions in our relationship with God--- kills faith.

 

·        Jesus said, "'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.  So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."[iv]

·        Again he said, "You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said, "This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."[v]

Jesus had nothing good to say about the Pharisees or anyone else who just went through the motions of religion without a real relationship with God.

 

·        Paul writes, "So these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth.  But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone."[vi]

·        In Revelation John writes, "'And to the angel of the church in Sardis …'I know your works; you have a name for being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen what remains.  [vii]

 

In fact the Bible in general condemns empty faith, lifeless faith, vacant religion, comatose conviction over and over. 

In today's passage, Paul gives us some advice.  "This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.  ^[viii]

Paul is very clear.  To avoid going through the motions or empty faith He "presses onward."  He "Strains forward".  He makes a conscious decision to press on and reach for that prize which is connection with God.

Matthew West makes the same point in the song. 

 

This might hurt, it's not safe
But I KNOW that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

 

Sometimes when you aren't feeling it you just have to decide to go for it.  Sometimes when the feeling wanes, we have to fall back on the commitment we made at baptism and confirmation.  A commitment is a conscious decision.  Sometimes we just have to decide we are going to push through the "nothingness of this life" instead of going through the motions. 

We might not feel like it.  We might not want to.  We might not have the energy, but we do it anyway.

Like a runner who hits the wall.  Every fiber in their body ready to collapse, every muscle ready to give up.  Somehow, by an act of the will-- by an act of commitment-- they push past that to reach the end of the race. 

If you're not feeling faith, sometimes we have to will ourselves forward, push past the nothingness, push through the wall of meaninglessness, push past the utter hopelessness.  When you do--- When I do --- sometimes I find God waiting just on the other side. 

The truth is that sometimes faith is an act of the will.  Sometimes faith is a conscious and intentional decision.  Sometimes in order to feel the faith, we have to break through the wall we have built.  Sometimes when we have been running like the prodigal son, we have to come to ourselves, and decide to be open to God.  But when we do, God is waiting just on the other side with the ring for our finger, his best robe to put on our shoulders, and the fatted calf on the spit. 

For eight of you, today is your confirmation.  I don't know if you really feel the faith today or not.  I have done my best to teach you the principles and values of the faith.  Angie and I have done our best to show you how we live the faith, and we have tried to give you the tools to do that for yourself.  The next step is up to you. 

You can come up here, go through the service, go through the motions as we have rehearsed them, and walk out of here the same person who walked in.  You can decide that the only thing you are getting out of confirmation is a certificate and keeping mom and dad off your back.  You can decide that…

I hope you don't. 

·        I know it is easier- but it is easier to buy a ticket to the basketball game than it is to train and practice to be the star player.  DON'T.

·        It is easier to squeak by with c's than it is to really study and get an education.  DON'T.

·        It is easier to just keep doing the same old meaningless things, day after day.  DON'T.

When I am down and discouraged.  When I am having one of those dry spells in my faith and I wonder why I am here, when I am convinced that I don't make any difference at all I try to remember the feeling of Bishop Reuben Job's hands on my head during my ordination .  I'll never forget how heavy they were, but sometimes I have to remember on purpose.  To me it was like the hand of God.  I could never forget the way those hands changed my life.  I might try, but the weight of those hands always comes back to me.

 

Ordination is fundamentally a special type of confirmation.

Today, I want you to feel the weight of my hands upon your head, even more -- the weight of God's hand upon your life… feel that, and then decide -- DECIDE IN YOUR HEAD-- to commit yourself to NOT SETTLE for going through the motions. 

In the coming days and years as you walk with God.  You will sometimes walk nearer, and sometimes you will be tempted to go through the motions (or maybe not even that.)  But DON'T SETTLE.

don't you spend your whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

Too many of us settle for an easy faith. 

·        It is easy to show up for church for an hour a week, but don't ask anything else. 

·        It is easy to write a check, but don't ask me to come to a retreat.

·        It is easy to dust my Bible, but you don't really expect me to read it do you?

·        It is easy to say that more people should go to church, but don't ask me to invite anyone.

·        It is easy to say families need to go to church, but don't ask me to make a batch of cookies for Wednesday night.

·        It is easy to criticize the way things are done in the church, but you had better not ask me to be on a committee. 

Don't get me wrong, people don't really say those things… with their mouths.  But some of you say them loud and clear without ever speaking a word.

 

So I challenge you.  DON'T SETTLE!

DON'T SETTLE for the trappings of faith without any real depth.

DON'T SETTLE for tipping God and missing the blessing of generous sacrificial giving.

DON'T SETTLE for attending church rather than being the church.

DON'T SETTLE for saying you care about child abuse, or hunger or homelessness; and then retreat to your nice safe home and your overflowing refrigerator.

DON'T SETTLE for patting the youth on the back when they do something nice, but fail to provide the means for life-changing ministry.

DON'T SETTLE for prayer that is anything less than life changing communion with the almighty God.

DON'T SETTLE for a faith that is lifeless- like a whitewashed tomb-- Jesus called it.  Pretty on the outside, but filled with death on the inside. 

DON'T SETTLE for going through the motions.

don't you spend your whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

 

---

[i]STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Matthew West's "The Motions". (January 2009). Rebeccah Midkiff.   

         http://www.whatistheflipside.com/archives/story-behind-the-song-matthew-wests-the-motions/

[ii] Psalm 103:15-16 (All Scriptures are from the NRSV unless otherwise noted)

[iii] Ecclesiastes 1:8-10 (The Message Bible)

[iv] Matthew 23:27-28

[v]  Matthew 15:7-8

[vi] 2 Tim 3:8-9

[vii] Revelation 3:1-2

[viii] Philippians 3:12-14

SERVE: Is there a servant in the house?

SERVE: Is there a servant in the house?

RUMC 4/8/12

 

Easter is what makes Christians different from all other people. 

·        The father of Judaism, Abraham, died 4,000 years ago. 

·        Buddha died 2,500 years ago

·        Mohamed Died 1,400 years ago. 

·        Jesus died 2,000 years ago

but he

·        "lives again our glorious king." Easter means that we don't serve a dead savior-

·        "we serve a risen savior."  Easter means that

·        "He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today."  And

·        "because he lives we shall live also."

 

Last summer Noah and I planted pumpkins in our little vegetable patch out here.  Noah wanted to grow his own Jack-O-Lantern.  We had done it the year before.  So we were watching our pumpkin plant grow, and bloom, and a little pumpkin set on.  We continued to watch it until the pumpkin got a little bigger than a softball. 

One day one of the stems on the other side of the pumpkin vine started to turn brown, then it turned mushy.  Within a day the brown mushiness oozed its way to the center of the plant.  A little green worm was chewing its way through the stem of Noah's pumpkin plant.  I found the worm, but not before it got to the heart of the plant.  Within another day all the rest of the stems were wilting and turning brown.  I kept hoping it would come back.  I kept hoping that there was still life in it, but it wasn't long before I accidently put my thumb through the mushy skin of the little pumpkin.  It had become nothing but a round ball of stinky slime. 

 

Think about that pumpkin and listen to the key line of this morning's scripture. 

I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

What difference does it make that Jesus was raised from the grave?  What difference does Easter make?  Easter is the difference between me being a 200 pound ball of stinky slime; and me being a living, breathing, growing, and serving disciple of a living God.

If Jesus were not raised from the grave the branches (we) would be

·        Withered and dead. 

·        Our blooms would be wilted, and

·        Our lives would bear no fruit. 

·        There would be no Easter. 

·        There would be no church. 

·        There would be no eternal life. 

 

          We want to be Easter people but Like our pumpkin, the Christian life will not last long if we don't stay connected to the vine. 

·        There is NO new life in Christ for those whose memories of Easter fade as fast as the blooms on the Easter lily. 

·        There is NO forgiveness for those whose faith is not grounded in the truth of God's Easter victory over sin and death. 

·        There is NO promise of eternal life for those who do not stay close to the living vine of Jesus Christ. 

Not only is there no promise of eternal life, there is quite the opposite.  Jesus says, "Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned." 

WE WANT TO STAY CONNECTED.  WE WANT TO ABIDE IN HIM

 

How do we do that?  How do we "abide" in him?  How do we stay connected to the living vine of Christ?

1)            Verse 10 gives us the first answer.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. 

·        Keep my commands. . . like "love the lord your God and your neighbor as yourself."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "do unto others as you want others to do unto you."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "do this in remembrance of me."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "forgive those who trespass against you."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "you must be born again."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "go into all the world."

·        Keep my commands. . . like "to be the greatest of all you must become a servant of all."

THERE IT IS.  You knew I was going to come around to servanthood didn't you?  Of course . . . because if you have been following this series of sermons, you know that I believe we are having a servanthood crisis.  You know that I believe that there is no greater danger to the church of Jesus Christ than the attitude of entitlement that is creeping from our culture into our pews. 

The greatest danger to the church is not secularism, or the decline of denominational loyalty, or membership.  The greatest danger to today's church is that sinister little worm that burrows into our heads and keeps repeating "It's all about you.  It's all about you."

Notice Jesus does not tell you to follow your commands, your interests, your needs, your wants, your priorities, your hopes and dreams, or your goals.  Jesus commands."If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love".  If you keep his commands, you will remain connected to the vine which is life itself. 

If you let that insidious little ego-worm burrow into your brain and your heart, you will wither, and die, and become a 200 pound ball of stinky mush. 

2)    Jesus goes on to give us another answer about how to abide or stay connected to him.  In verse 13 he says, "Love one another.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."  In order to stay connected to Jesus we DO AS HE COMMANDS US especially LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  Loving others as Jesus loved helps us to stay connected to Christ.  There is no better way to love Jesus than to love those whom he loves. 

·        This love, however, is not just a passing nod.  He did not say "Greater love has no one than to acknowledge the existence of his friends."

·        This is not the love of a superficial emotion.  He did not say "Greater love has no one than to feel warm and fuzzy toward his friends."

·        This is not the love of an easy acceptance or mere tolerance.  He did not say "Greater love has no one than to put up with his friends."

No, the love Jesus commands is a sacrificial love.  The love of servanthood." to lay down one's life for one's friends".  WOW.  To lay down one's life! 

Do you remember we talked about this passage at length a few weeks ago saying that although for a few of us laying down our life might mean dying, or laying it down all at once.  For the vast majority of Christians, however, it means laying down our life one little act of kindness, one little act of love, one little act of compassion, one little act of service at a time.  Day by day.  Hour by hour.  Minute by minute.  Laying down our lives by serving our friends in the name of Jesus Christ."  Greater love has no one" than to put someone else's interest ahead of their own in all the little ways, over and over, and over.  Instead of laying down the entire value of your life in one transaction, you are laying down your life 25¢ at a time.  In the very act of serving others, we are giving our lives to Jesus Christ, and staying connected to the living vine. 

 

I said in order to be Easter people. We must stay connected to Jesus Christ.  Staying connected is really not that complicated.

·        Love him by following his commands

·        Love those whom Jesus loves by serving them.

Today it is as though Jesus stands on the other side of a great river, beckoning us to join him.  Do you see him over there motioning for us to come abide in him?

·        Showing up for Easter worship doesn't get us there. 

·        Even being in worship every week doesn't get us there.

·         Even being on a committee

o   and teaching Sunday school

o   and mowing the church lawn

o   and changing the light bulbs do not in themselves create the intimate connection Jesus wants us to have

Because, you see, even though all of those things might be the actions of a servant, our actions do not make us servants.  The only way to the other side is by having a servant heart.

Ah there's the problem? 

·        Between us and Jesus is the raging water of self satisfaction. 

·        Between us and Jesus is the wild current of self help. 

·        Between us and Jesus lies the eddy of entitlement that sweeps so many of our friends helplessly down the river. 

·        Between us and Jesus lie the class 4 rapids raging between the twin hidden obstacles of pride and pleasure. 

·        Between us and our Christ lies the dangerous torrent of self service. 

And here we sit. 

o   Afraid to cross. 

o   Afraid to give up our entitlement.

o    Afraid to give up our privilege.

o    Just Afraid

 

Max Lucado in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle.  They lived near a large river.  The tribe was in need of medical attention.  A contagious disease was ravaging the population.  People were dying daily.  A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits.  And to enter its water would mean certain death.  The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed.  But they were not impressed.  He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water.  They still wouldn't go in.  He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face.  It didn't matter.  They were still afraid to enter the river.  Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side.  He raised a triumphant fist into the air.  He had entered the water and made it through.  It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.  Isn't that what Jesus did?

He did exactly what he is calling us to do.

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

 

He set aside the glory to which he was entitled, and became a servant to you and me.  He risked his own existence to plunge into the icy waters of the tomb just to serve us sinners, and almost unbelievably emerged from that stone cold tomb as our risen and victorious servant savior. 

        Now he stands calling.  Calling you and me.  Calling all of his disciples to step off the off the shore of safe and selfish discipleship into the water of servant discipleship. 

·        Trust him.  Take his hand and step into the icy waters of servant discipleship.

·         Place your faith in the one who has been here, lived as a servant king and rose victorious on the other side.

·        Place your life in the pierced hands of the one who loved you and served you even unto death.

·        Place your heart in the powerful hands of the only savior, one who is powerful enough to win against death. 

THE ONE AND ONLY RISEN AND VICTORIOUS JESUS CHRIST.

 

AMEN

Serve: Servant Leadership

SERVE: servant leadership

RUMC 4/1/12

Yee Haw, here we are Palm Sunday and Jesus is coming into Jerusalem.  He comes riding on a blazing white stallion and kicking up a cloud of dust.  The people are in awe of his beautiful white horse but they are even more awestruck by the man who was riding it.  As Jesus passed by, you could hear the people say, "Who is that man?"

There were bad guys on the loose and Jesus had come to town to deal with them.  He is ready to save the people from trouble.  His disciple army is close at hand ready to strike down any troublemakers in Jerusalem. 

A large crowd of people gathered to see what the commotion was all about.  The stallion stood on its hind legs, neighed loudly, and pawed the air with its front legs.  When all his work was done, Jesus road off into the sunset, and you could hear the William Tell Overture in the background.  Du du dunt.  Du du dunt.  Du du dunt dunt dunt. 

That makes a great story and we might wish that Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was a bit more spectacular but that's not what happened on the first Palm Sunday. 

          There's no denying that there is a touch of glory in the entrance of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus was welcomed as a hero.  People heard how Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, he healed people who were incurably sick, the blind, the deaf, and the possessed.  The crowd was excited that this miracle-working teacher was coming to town.  They waved palm branches; they spread their coats on the road; they shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David.  Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord."  No wonder they cheered and paved the way with palm branches and clothing.  In the eyes of the crowd there was no doubt that Jesus was the promised king sent by God. 

This king, however, was different.  There was no white stallion.  No show of power and strength.  No William Tell Overture playing in the background.  Instead, he rode a humble donkey, a pack animal; Kings only rode donkeys when they came seeking peace rather than victory.  However, the people didn't want peace; they wanted victory over their Roman oppressors. 

I was trying to think of a modern equivalent.  We might expect a chauffeur driven, white leather seated, air conditioned stretch limo.  Or a sleek shiny black SUV with heavily tinted windows.  Instead, Jesus came riding into town on the tailgate of a rusty 1976 F-150… with a bad muffler …and a broken headlight… and duck tape holding in the back window.  Get the picture?

As Jesus rode along, he didn't smile or give royal waves to the people lining the street.  His heart was heavy.  Luke tells us that as Jesus got closer to the city, he wept. 

There can be no doubt about it.  Jesus is a king.  However, there is something different about this king.  He enters astride a lowly donkey.  On the tailgate of the F-150, no ordinary king… He is a servant king. 

 

Now, think about how you would describe a leader.  Do words like "tough, " "hard-nosed, " or "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" come to mind?  Or maybe you're thinking more like "popular", "smart" and "cool-and-collected." Wrong again!

How do words like "humility", "compassion", "gentleness", "merciful", "righteous", "pure-in-heart", and "peace-maker" sound?  Not exactly words that come to mind as we look at our world leaders today, are they?  If you heard last week's sermon, however, they sound familiar.  Those are the marks of a servant.

It has been said that our nation has a leadership crisis.  I'm not convinced that is true.  There are MANY people willing to experience the high of winning the election.  There are plenty of people who want the power and privileges that come with office.  There are plenty of people who seek to line their own pockets or manipulate the system so their friends can get wealthier.  There are plenty of people in our culture who want to be that kind of leader. 

Perhaps if the our administrative council ran more like congress, where the officers got all kinds of free perks, and influence, and kickbacks, and book deals and speaking engagements, and junkets--- perhaps if the ad council were more like that we would have people lined up to be committee chairs. 

No, this crisis both in the culture and in the church is not a leadership crisis.  It is a servanthood crisis. 

In politics and government, it doesn't seem that our elected officials perceive themselves as public servants any more.  Perhaps if we had more public servants and fewer career politicians who think the government is here to serve them, we would be one-step closer to solving our problems. 

The same is true in the church.  Too many members think the church is here to serve them, and seemingly don't understand that discipleship means not being served, but becoming a servant. 

When James and John wanted the seat on the right and left of Jesus.  Jesus said, "Well, that is the way it is in the world.  That is the way government would work.  I'll scratch your back, and you scratch mine is the way of the world.  But Jesus says "NOT SO AMONG YOU."  "Not so among you.  He who would be great must be a servant of all."

Jesus came not to be served, but to be a servant. 

In the Kingdom of God, the great ones are not the ones that write the books or have television shows.  The great ones are the ones who feed the homeless, rock crack babies, help children learn to read, empty the bedpans, and change the oil.  The great ones in the church are not the ones that stand behind the pulpit week after week.  The great ones are usually found in the nursery, or the 3^rd grade class, or baking cookies for the bake sale, or changing a light bulb, or plunging out the toilet, making phone calls to recruit for something or another, doing the dishes after the meal, or serving on the education commission or trustees.  The great ones are not the ones that are most visible.  The great ones are the ones who are almost invisible, but don't mind because they only do it because they love Jesus. 

In the secular business schools in the early 1970s Robert Greenleaf, proposed the servant leader model.  However, the concept of a servant leader is not such a modern concept.  It can be found in the biblical account of the life of Jesus Christ.  In Jesus, I see four qualities of a servant leader. 

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First, a servant leader is GOD HONORING.  It is not that they do not care about people, (in fact they do very much), but their one and only motivation is to please God. 

A. T. Pierson wrote: The supreme test of service is this: 'For whom am I doing this?' Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all.  ^[i]  If we are looking around to make sure that someone is watching us, we are not being a servant.  If we are upset that we don't get a thank you, we are not being a servant.  If we do something because it makes us feel good, we are not serving God (of course serving God may make us feel good, but that is not our motivation.)  If we do something because we feel like we have to, we are not serving.  No matter what our motivation, if it is not to please God, we are not serving. 

A brilliant young concert pianist was performing for the first time in public.  The audience sat enthralled as beautiful music flowed from his disciplined fingers.  The people could hardly take their eyes off this young virtuoso.  As the final note faded, the audience burst into applause.  Everyone was standing - except one old man up front.  The pianist walked off the stage crestfallen.  The stage manager praised the performance, but the young man said, "I was no good, it was a failure."  The manager replied, "Look out there, everyone is on his feet except one old man!"  "Yes," said the youth dejectedly, "but that one old man is my teacher."

Even if everyone one else is applauding, if everyone around you is patting you on the back.  If the whole world is bowing before you: if God is not honored, you have not served. 

In Galatians 1:10 Paul writes, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ"

A servant Leader lives to honor God. 

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Second, a servant leader is OTHERS ORIENTED.  The servant leader is motivated by God, but acts the servanthood out for the sake of others.  Philippians 2:3-4 says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  2 Other-centeredness is a trait that few exhibit. 

I am not saying that a servant has to have no self-esteem.  No, I am not talking about thinking less of yourself, I am talking about just thinking of yourself less. 

·        Who is more important, the child that needs a teacher on Wednesday night or you?

·        Who is more important, the hungry woman on the corner, or you with your comfortably pudgy tummy?

·        What is more important, putting that 20 dollars you have toward either the mission trip, or the sponsored child, or Homes for Haiti; or keeping it in your pocket to spend on stuff you know you don't really need?

When you have to chose between your comfort and convenience, and the comfort and well-being of others, whom do you choose.  A servant leader is oriented toward choosing others. 

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Third, a Servant leader is HUMBLE OR MEEK.  They don't complain, they aren't preoccupied with what they gain from leadership.  They are not interested in status or comfort.  They willingly undergo hardship and suffering, humbling themselves in order to meet the needs of others.  They are not too important or dignified to undertake even the lowest of tasks and they do so with no thought of personal gain. 

During the American Revolution, a man rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier.  Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them.  Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!"  The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers.  The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again." It was none other than President George Washington.  [ii]

Washington could have Lorded his position over the corporal.  He could have gone past because he was too important to be bothered.  A servant leader, however, would never do that.  A servant leader is humble. 

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Finally, a servant leader is hopeful.  Hopeful that what they do might make a difference. 

You have probably heard the story of the boy with the beach full of starfish.  Throwing them back in to the ocean.  The man says, "Kid you're wasting your time, you can't possibly make a difference." 

The kid bends down picks up another starfish and throws it as far as he can SAYING, "I made a difference to that one."

Servant leaders do not always see how their efforts can change lives, or bring in the kingdom, or make any difference at all.  They sometimes never get to see the difference they make.  Nevertheless, they do their work with hope.  Hope that they can make a difference to this child, this nursing home resident, this class, this church, this neighbor.  A Servant leader serves with hope. 

 

The leaders of this world and our country are not often servant leaders.  Some are I am sure, but not many.  How different would our world be, how different would our country be… if we had more servant leaders in positions of power?  People who really wanted to honor God in their service, people who were really other centered, people who were really humble, people who really served with hope.  The world landscape, Washington and Des Moines would be unrecognizable.  Oppression would be a thing of the past, wars would be rare, revolutions would be artifacts in history books.  Gridlock would be broken, budgets would be balanced, and citizens would benefit from the work of the government instead of living in fear of what they will do next. 

How different would our church be if we had more servant leaders?  I think most of our current leaders try very hard to be servant leaders.  We have some wonderful leaders in this congregation.  But we need more who will lead by serving. 

God needs more servants who truly and deeply want to serve God.  Not just be members that show up one hour a week in order to be seen.  But people who seek in all that they do, to serve God. 

God needs more servants who are really other focused.  Not focused on friends, or family, or sports, or self.  But focused on finding ways to serve God by serving others. 

God needs more servants who are humble and meek.  There are way too many people here who pat themselves on the back saying "I've have done my part.  It is someone else's turn."  What if Jesus would have finished with Palm Sunday saying that, and returned to Galilee?

God needs more servants to serve with hope.  There is way too much work, way too many hurting people, way too many opportunities, way too many lives to be changed for a few of us to do it all.  Sure, the job of ushering in the Kingdom of God is big, that's why God just gave us a little corner of the world to serve.  Let's all serve with hope. 

 

Palm Sunday teaches us a lot about how Jesus worked.  He could have come riding in on a white stallion and brought an end to all the silliness and sin in the world.  He could have, by virtue of his divine power, destroyed his opponents and whisked the rest into the kingdom.  He didn't. 

He came humble and riding on a donkey.  The servant king.  Thinking only of pleasing God, thinking only of serving others, humbly putting others before his comfort and even his life, plodding step by step toward the torture, pain and despair of the cross, knowing that on the other side lay the hope of resurrection. 

Let us not stand by and idly watch the events of this holy week.  Let these events fill our servant hearts with a renewed desire and commitment to serve the God who sent Jesus not to be served, but to serve, and to call us to be servants.  The Servant God who rides the humble donkey, washes the stinky feet, accepts the deadly lashing and gives his life to serve salvation to all who come to serve him. 

 

AMEN

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[i] A.T. Pierson, The Truth.

 

[ii] Today in the Word, March 6, 1991.