We cannot NOT serve.

The good thing about writing the blog for the last week of the month is that I get more time to think about the theme - this month it’s serve - longer than those who write earlier. Thinking is good, right? Here’s where I’m probably supposed to say that I don’t so much think as pray, meditate and contemplate. But I can’t, because I don’t. I think, and I mull.

And you’re going to have to stay with me here, this may seem disjointed, so you’ll have to make of it what you will.

We cannot not serve. Think about it. We can’t. We serve our families, our communities, and our country. We serve our customers and clients. We serve with our friends and colleagues, in organizations and charities. We have fun; do benefit walks or runs to serve a cause. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Whom or what we serve may be something or someone other than God. We serve to establish and deepen relationships, to make our live run more smoothly, to earn the means to support ourselves and our families, to help the symphony and the community theater continue to bring entertaining joy to us and to the community, to help the Boys and Girls Clubs continue to enrich the lives of kids. To bring Meals on Wheels to the homebound, and to help WAFER bring food to the need-bound. I hope you’re getting the idea.

There is a delightful play called The Servant of Two Masters. In it the hilariously opportunistic and confused servant Truffaldino represents his master Federigo - who is dead, killed in a dual by Florindo, his sister Beatrice’s lover - but is being impersonated by Beatrice come to claim the dowry of Clarice, newly betrothed to Silvio, whose hand in marriage had been originally promised to Federigo. Confused yet? Well, wait....

Enter Florindo, newly escaped from killing Federigo and seeking a servant. He encounters Truffaldino on an errand for his ‘master’ Federigo/Beatrice. Truffaldino accepts Florindo’s offer of employment, thinking that he’s clever, he can serve two masters, easily double his income, and therefore have the means to woo and win the hand Clarice’s maid, Smeraldino, whom he has recently chanced to meet and fallen in love with. Meantime, Federigo/Beatrice has abandon her disguise and been reunited with Florindo. In the manner of Shakespearean-era comedies there is an on-going series of comic mishaps and mix-ups, exposure and confession, before all’s well that end’s well and everyone is set to be happily married.

Well, almost everyone. When Florindo asks permission for his servant, Truffaldino, to marry Clarice’s maid, Smeraldino, Clarice says that’s impossible, because Smeraldino is promised to Beatrice/Federigo’s servant. Truffaldo, in order to marry Smeraldino, must confess that he is, also that servant. He is, indeed, a servant of two masters.

Jesus said no man can serve two masters. Remember that parable in Mark about the anxious rich man who ran up to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Yeah, he’d kept all the commandments all his life. Would that do it? And Jesus looked at him, and Mark tells us that Jesus loved him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then, come and follow me.” Shocked, the man turned and walked away, grieving, because he owned a lot.

Just as Truffaldo could not serve two masters and get his heart’s desire, that is, marry Smeraldino, the rich man in the parable could not serve two masters, wealth and God, and get his heart’s desire, that is, eternal life. Okay, so the analogy is a bit of a stretch. But not too much. Over and over Jesus talks about laying up treasures in heaven from the well-known fact: that we cannot serve two masters at the same time. Our commitment, our affections will be divided. We will always and ever fail one or the other. We will love the one, and hate the other, according to Scripture.

We tend to forget that in biblical idiom, to ‘hate’ can mean to love less. We see this in Matthew when Jesus says, ‘He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Actually we can, and should, extend that to loving or valuing money, position, possessions, whatever, more than God. Jesus talks about taking up His cross to follow Him. Taking that whole section on riches, worth and value in context rather than pulling one or the other out of context, the implication, and the message to me is that we love our family, the gifts we’ve been given, what we have and enjoy. But we love God more.

Okay, now you’re wondering, ‘how’s she going to tie this all together?’ Frankly, I’m not sure, but I’m going to give it a shot.

Jesus said, “I came not to be served, but to serve.” So did we. We were born to serve. We cannot not serve. And, we cannot serve two masters. We have to choose which one we love most and give that Master our deepest commitment and love. Think about how much you love your parents, your spouse, your children. The affection you hold for your friends. The joy you find in the camaraderie of those who share your special interests. Then think about loving God more than any and all of those people. Putting Him before all of them and everything. Before your family, before your friends. Before your investments, you IRAs, your property. Before your pride, your ego, your prestige, your position. Whatever.

That’s how much God loves you. Loves me. Loves us.

In our twenty-first century literal minds we think choosing whom we will serve is an either/or situation. And it is. It’s also both/and. Jesus said that what we do for the least of humankind, we do for Him. We all want to do something noble, something magnificent and wonderful and become a great lion of God. Once in a while we have that opportunity. The trick is to not say no because it will interfere with your neatly, or not so neatly ordered life. I think it was John Lennon who said, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

Therefore, it seems to me that we do for Him is what we do when we go about our daily duties as they present themselves; seeing Jesus’ face in the faces of those we meet, and, hopefully, those we meet glimpsing Jesus in us. I try and I believe that sometimes I do meet and serve Jesus, and most often it is in the everydayness of everyday.

May your everyday be a sacred step on your journey in the mystery.

~ Janet

Faith In Action

Faith In Action

Writing this blog about Serving did not come easily to me.  I see the concept of serving as both all-encompassing, yet simple in practice.  I believe to serve another is at the crux of how we live out our lives and faith in community.  Jesus modeled what it means to serve one another. To serve speaks to how we view or understand ourselves in relationship to another.  It is how we put out faith in action and how we understand another in relationship to us.

So, how does the idea of Serving translate to the concept of putting our faith in action?  What if one has faith, yet does not know how s/he wants to serve?  What’s a person to do?  Or, let’s say you do know what you want to do, yet feel hesitant, due to anxiety, a seemingly full calendar, or you're just not sure you’re that equipped?  None of these are permanent roadblocks.  Here’s some thoughts to reflect on.

     *  First, PRAY…before you do anything!  Serving in faith, to benefit another, does not rely on your own power. It’s like filling up your car with gas. Try asking God to equip you, and then watch how the Holy Spirit fuels you up for serving.  If God is calling you to serve, and we are all called in some way, the Holy Spirit will lead you on.

*  Wanting to serve in a different way?  Or wanting to serve for the first time and not sure where to start? Talk with someone you trust, someone in your faith community, your clergy, or your family. Brainstorm ideas and try different venues until you find something that matches your gifts and passion…..and maybe even stretches you.  You just may uncover God-given gifts and talents you did not know you have!        

*   Look through your calendar and block off some time, weekly, monthly, something.  There’s an old cliché, 'if you do something 21 times it becomes a habit'.  If you aren’t already involved in service of some kind, start somewhere, and see over time how God is shaping you, your faith,  and your relationships in community! You might be in for a pleasant surprise.

*  Don’t short change yourself. Many folks make light of the services they do offer daily, weekly, monthly and so on; giving themselves the message that what they do is not enough or that it doesn’t make a difference. I invite you to let go of this thought. Whatever you do in faith to benefit another is meaningful and an act of service. We never know what seeds are planted when we reach out.  

*   While appreciation is always welcome, receiving a thank you or validation is not the purpose for reaching out to others.  Even still, we never know how the Holy Spirit will intercede when we place our acts of service in God’s hands.  For example….. Two of our wonderful volunteers at the local Warming Center for the Homeless are a retired couple who come weekly  to  welcome our guests. Last night we had a rowdy bunch waiting outside for the doors to open. It was one of the very few times we needed to ask our guests to lower the volume of their voices. Getting ready to make this request the third time, I felt a little frustrated. Opening the door to make my plea again,I was pleasantly surprised to find our homeless guests in a circle, praying for their friends who might not have shelter last night. Here is faith in action, fueled by the Holy Spirit.

I believe the Christian life flourishes in community with one another, in God.  Serving one another locally, and around our world, is a major cornerstone to strengthening and growing community.

And while my blog has not focused on the following reflection, it seems that reaching out to others is also a way of thanking God for the blessings of community and the ability to reach out. 

The Call

Shalom,

Susan

Serve: Listen to the ignored voices: Make a change

"So often people say we should be the "voice for the voiceless." That's not really true. Everyone has a voice. Which ones are we ignoring or refusing to hear? Really, it is among the marginalized, the forgotten, the voices that we choose not to hear that we can clearly see what God is up to."  ~ ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson

I love working with middle and high school and college students. In them, I see so much excitement, curiosity and unfiltered hunger for God. As I study the seven faith practices with younger Christians from around the world, I've noticed the pattern that faith practices are HARD. Study? Sounds too much like school. Prayer? Confusing and hard. Worship? Involves getting up early. Invite and encourage? Hard to do when you're shy and probably in need of encouragement yourself. Give? Who has money?

But service. THAT is something that sounds good. You get to be with your friends, feel good, have some variety, and maybe even use power tools or travel to cool places. Service. It's a safe starting point in learning to be Christian adults.

When I push people to answer why they do service, there is usually some squirming. But as they realize the connection with their faith, it gets exciting. Service is a way of showing God's love, of learning about the world around them, and about understanding what it means to be Christian. It lets them listen to people who depend on free meals to eat, build homes for those who lack them, paint schools to provide cheer in schools with daily weapon and drug tests--to make these students just like them feel more like valued human beings. They see what God is up to; they know what it's like to do God's work with their hands.

Our very own ELC Youth in Puerto Rico.

Is it possible to do service without being Christian? Sure. Are there advantages to service from a Christian lens? Absolutely: demonstrating the love we have been given, appreciating our blessings, feeling connected to God in a way that our souls so earnestly crave.

At the National Youth Gathering this past summer, Rachel Kurtz sang this song: Make a Change. This song captures a very human desire for our lives to be meaningful and of service to God. Let's go: let our lives make a difference, do some good here, make a change. Let's serve.

My prayer for you this week is that you may discern how God is calling you to serve. May you see what God is up to, and live into the promise that God takes us--as broken humanity--to take God's work into the world. May it be so.

Rachel

Serving... Love - Love

                                                                                                                              [The Tune]

All of the faith practices we’ve been blogging about are relationship based. Worship – relationship with God and community, Prayer – relationship to God and self; Study, Relationship to God and scripture; Invite- relationship with your neighbor. Service is no different – it is an extension of Invite and is possibly the hardest faith practice to truly do well. Service certainly seems foreign to a “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” culture.

“Wait a minute!”, you may say. There is service all over our culture: there are servers in restaurants and bars, almost every company has a “customer service” department, every time we re-write our resumes we say things like “ I was proud to serve as the chair of …”! We live in a service economy for Pete’s sake!

Jesus challenges us to re-think service. Service is not something we do to get something we want [or get something in return], rather service is something we do especially if there is no way for us to be repaid. And then, if we can accept that idea, Jesus asks us to do it with an open heart - joyfully!

Mohandas Gandhi’s quote is

    “Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.” 

So – do it for free and be happy about it.  

Service ala’ Jesus is Patient, Kind, Humble, Respectful, Selfless, Forgiving, Honest and Steadfast. Sounds remarkably like the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 doesn’t it? Service and Love are interchangeable here. Love thy neighbor = serve thy neighbor.

But what if the people I serve just waste what I give them?

But what if the people I serve don’t believe in you?

But what if the people I serve don’t need it?

But what if the people I serve don’t have the same values I do?

But what if the people I serve are just different?

But what if the people I serve make me uncomfortable?

But what if the people I serve don’t change?

It’s easy to come up with lots of rationalizations of why we shouldn’t serve. Jesus’ answer to each of these questions is “That doesn’t make any difference”.  Jesus calls us to be a relationship with our neighbors and we cannot love our neighbors only in the abstract. Jesus’ commands us to make it real, because serving is the incarnation of love.

Lord, help us to go forth to love and joyfully serve, as you have shown us.

Amen.

Paul S