MARCH 30/APRIL 5

Lent 5 Called To Serve 3/30 & 4/2/06

In an article titled “Voice Recognition,” the author writes that the spiritually maturing Christian and congregation is able to “recognize” God’s voice. (March of the Penquins) The author shares a time he joined a friend on a “bird-watching” quest to observe the rare Pileated Woodpecker. He spent days memorizing the bird’s features as colorfully conveyed in an illustrated book. The day arrived and after about 2 hours of silent walking, they heard a loud, squawky “kek-kek-kek”, followed by a deep drumming. Scanning the tree tops with binoculars, his friend excitedly pointed to a specific tree top. The author of the article looked up just in time to see a tiny black speck skitter away. “That was it!” the one man announced? “That was it?” asked the novice bird watcher!

Bird watchers talk about “jizz,” which comes from the military acronym GIS (General Impression and Shape). Applied to bird-watching, in the absence of certainty, it is determined that all available clues suggest a particular species. What, then, is the “jizz” of the spiritually maturing individual and congregation…its “general impression and shape”?

Turn with me to Philippians 2:2/ “Unity,” contrasting this with “uniformity”, is clearly a distinguishing mark of the spiritually maturing. Verse 2 in The Today’s English Version reads: “Having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.” The spiritually maturing is not “robotic,” incapable of formulating any sort of creative, individual thought. Vs. 5, reads: “The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had”. We learn more about this “attitude” in verses 6-11.

“Humility”, as we acknowledge the greatness of God, the abundance of His grace, and our desperate need, is a central mark of the spiritually maturing disciple. As Jesus, having “the very nature of God”, chose of “his own free will” to take “the nature of a servant,” we are a “servant” community. Many of us entered this sanctuary through what we identify as the “Servant’s Entrance” and we shall all leave tonight/today with the admonition: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!” We will, even, respond with the shout of servanthood, “Thanks be to God!”

In writing this, I am plagued by the thought that this all sounds far less than profound…that this is all rather simple and, perhaps, simplistic. We’ve, likely, all been taught to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”(Mt. 7:12)Yet, as the preacher responded to those questioning why he had preached the same sermon five Sundays in a row, “I’ll write and preach a different sermon when you show me you’ve heard this one!”

What does the “servant” community look like? One answer is given as we present the Baptismal candle to the newly baptized: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” “Servanthood” will reveal itself in good works, observed by the world, all the while bringing glory to God. This doesn’t sound all too difficult, except we are daily reminded how diametrically opposed this is to our human nature! We desire to be served, not to serve! We want people to notice us, not another! We want to be appreciated and recognized for all we do. We want, in fact, some sort of “credit” for it all. Our world effectively instructs us: to take care of ourselves, to “look out for #1”, “Don’t work too hard!”, “Take it easy!”, that “Only the strong survive,” “Dog eat dog”, and “The survival of the fittest!” The conflict comes when we place this popular instruction face-to-face with the very words of Jesus: “I came not to be served, but to serve” and “The least among you will be the greatest!”

The spiritually maturing Christian does not lack ambition, only what Paul describes as “selfish ambition” and “a cheap desire to boast” (vs. 3) This verse from Philippians “drives” us back to a central point in the first sermon in this series, namely that the #1 issue facing the Christian and Christian congregation is that of “self-control.” Paul admonishes us to “control” ourselves. But how?

“In humility count others better than yourselves” and “Look not only to (your) own interests, but also to the interests of others” reads verses 3-4. This is not our nature! We want to be first in line, we want to locate the express lane that will actually “express,” we want the closest parking space, we want the “fast lane” all to ourselves, and our list of wants goes on and on. Such living is selfish and spiritually immature! God expects His people to actually be interested in others and what interests them! I think of hymn #370: “We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear, And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear.” We’ll be reminded through hymn #423… In serving others, Jesus is revealed and spiritual maturity is demonstrated in faithful community! AMEN.