October 22, 2006

READING: Isaiah 53:4-12; Mark 10:35-45
SERMON : "The Caring Servant"
OCTOBER 22/06
Rev. Dr. Alem Hagos
Trinity Lutheran Congregation

A few weeks ago as I sat thinking about how James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus if they could rule with him in heaven, one on his right hand, the other on the left.

How should we think about James and John, the sons of Zebedee? How should we think about the day they went to Jesus and said to him:

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."

And when Jesus answered, "What is it you want me to do for you?" They replied:

"Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."

What did James & John ask for? Position and power. Worldly concept of Kingdom of Heaven. What were they going to do with this? People serve them.
Jesus tells us secret of greatness: service. The chief servant is Jesus.

Jesus showed them the full extent of His love. He, the King of the universe, was willing to be a servant. When we have power we have others serve us; but Jesus serves others. Let God make us a servant.
Let us listen to Scripture as it speaks to us about being servants.

How should we think about these two who were so forward that they not only wanted to stand out from the crowd, they also wanted to stand ahead of the

other disciples and have the highest positions of power and privilege that they believed Jesus could grant.

We know how Peter and Matthew and Levi and the others reacted to James and John when they heard what James and John had asked Jesus to do for them.

We know that they were angry with the sons of Zebedee, that they resented the two brothers' attempt to claim a position of privilege in the Kingdom of God.

And we know too how Jesus dealt with James and John, and what he said to all the disciples when he noticed their anger and resentment.

My feeling is that we need to regard James and John and their audacious request with far more seriousness than we may want at first to give them.

My belief is that we should regard James and John as if they were us. And that then we should really listen to what Jesus had to say to them and to the other disciples.

I think we need to reclaim for ourselves the good news of Jesus Christ in all this. And we need to do this in three ways -

FIRST - we need to understand what Jesus wants us to do in daily life

SECOND - we need to understand what Jesus has done and is doing

and THIRD - we need to understand what is being done by the Spirit of Christ in the entire church.

FIRST of all, what does Jesus want us to do in our daily lives.

There is no question that Jesus wants us to care. Nor is there a question that Jesus calls us to be, as he was, a servant of others.

We are not to be like James and John, sons of Zebedee, seeking glory, or power, or self advancement -

or simply seeking to avoid the work of caring,

rather we are to do what is right - we are called to truly care about others and to help them.

A story that is often told in the States helps illustrate what we are to be like with regard to caring:

During the American Revolutionary War a company of soldiers under the command of a captain was building a fort out of a pile of heavy logs. While wrestling with a log which was to form the capstone and was really too heavy for the men to handle, the captain kept yelling at his men "heave it up", while he himself stood by with his hands on his hips.

Suddenly a stranger in everyday clothing rode up on horseback, and seeing the soldiers sweating and struggling with the log, he stopped and asked the captain why he was not helping his men. "I AM AN OFFICER" was the reply.

With that the stranger leapt off his horse, took off his coat, and helped the men put the heavy log in place.

Then, as he was about to ride away, he said to the captain "Next time you need help, just call on me. My name is George Washington and I am Commander In Chief of The United States Army!"

Brothers and Sisters: each of us is called to do what we can as the opportunity arises.

We are called to have the servant attitude,

rather than to assume, as far too many people do, that everyone exists to serve us.

All of us have inside us somewhere James and John,

all of us, in some part of our hearts and minds

would rather be served than serve.

Indeed I think that even the most righteous among us occasionally dreams of the luxury of winning the lottery and of living in ease the rest of our

days rather than of the satisfaction of serving others and serving them well.

And so today, in the name of God, I deliver you a reminder.

A reminder about what Jesus had to say, and about what Jesus did.

Jesus said

"Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wishes to first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his

life as a ransom for many."

Jesus could not tell James or John who would end up sitting at his left or his right hand. As he said to them, it was not even something that he could grant. But I can tell you that Jesus himself sits at the right hand of God.

He sits there because he gave himself to us wholly and completely, because he served God and served us all with all of his heart and soul and body.

I can tell that you when he entered Jerusalem in triumph just a few days before his death, He rode an ass, not a stallion; and that he stayed in the

humble home of a friend, not in some pretentious palace.

I can tell you that he gave food to the hungry and that he visited the sick, and that when he performed miracles he fled from the crowds that

wanted to make him a king because of the power that they knew lay behind those acts.

I can tell you that Jesus didn't just wash people's souls clean of sin, he kneeled beside them and washed their feet clean of dust and dirt.

And not once did he complain that no one appreciated him, nor did he open his mouth when he was reviled and persecuted because he was a friend of sinners.

I offer you today a reminder of who is at the right hand of God and of some of the reasons for why he is there.

SERVANTS IMITATE JESUS
What does this mean? What are we asking for?
To be a servant you have to imitate Jesus, you have to be like Him, you have to have His mind and His attitude.
It isn't always easy, as servants, to imitate Jesus. Remember the time He acted like a slave and washed feet -- dirty, calloused, sweaty feet? Remember how He ate with sinners and welcomed prostitutes? Remember how He touched lepers -- today they would be AIDS patients? Remember how He spent time with unpopular people and loved even His enemies?
It isn't always easy, as servants, to imitate Jesus. He was always humble, though being the eternal Son of God. He was perfectly obedient. He put the Father's will before His own. He always respected His parents. He gave Himself, His blood, His body, His life for those whom He loved.
It isn't always easy, as servants, to imitate Jesus. To be like Jesus, we sinful fallen creatures need the equivalent of a brain transplant.

I offer you this reminder in the name of God,

so that when you speak to your children,

and when you consider what is worth while and what is worthy of respect and what jobs are beneath your dignity, and what insults you cannot bear,

you will know what is right, and which seeds you should water, and which ones you should not.

I call you this day to remember James and John,

and how you yourselves are like them.

And finally I call you to remember that James and John, were among the chosen ones and remained among the chosen ones, and that Jesus served them and gave his life for them.

As he has given his life for you.

Our reward is indeed in heaven - whether to the right or to the left or to the front or to the rear of our Servant King I cannot say - but I can say that God will embrace us and wipe every tear from our eyes and that all we will find there will make the glory we sometimes seek here seem like so

much trash.

Praise be to God for the salvation he grants us through Christ Jesus our

Lord, our brother, our friend, and our servant.

Praise be to God and to Jesus Christ his son, and our caring servant AMEN.

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