A Future With Hope: Service
“A Future with
Hope: Service”
Rev. Amy Morgan
Jeremiah 29:11
For surely I know
the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for
harm, to give you a future with hope.
Matthew 20:25-34
25 But Jesus
called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.
26 It will not be so among you; but whoever
wishes to be great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd
followed him.
30 There were two blind men sitting by the
roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Lord,
have mercy on us, Son of David!"
31 The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet;
but they shouted even more loudly, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of
David!"
32 Jesus stood still and called them, saying,
"What do you want me to do for you?"
33 They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes
be opened."
34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their
eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.
When I lived in New York, I waited tables for
a while in a couple of upscale restaurants. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
were regulars at one of them, along with Peter Jennings and Robert Redford. The
second restaurant was the famous Sardis Restaurant near Times Square, the one
with all the caricatures of famous people hanging on the walls. Famous Broadway
actors would dine there – Kathleen Turner when she was in The Graduate, and
Carol Channing when she was in Hello, Dolly!
Most of the famous people I waited on were
nice enough, a few were kind of awful. But not once did any of them jump up
from their table and start waiting on me.
I mean, James Lipton gave me tickets to Inside the Actors’ Studio once, but
Kathleen Turner never brought me a martini and Paul Newman never asked if he
could get my coat. That would have been extremely awkward, of course, and
unreasonable.
But that’s the picture Jesus paints of his mission
on earth. Jesus – King of kings and Lord of lords, The Anointed One, The
Messiah, the everlasting Word of God – this rock star Jesus explains to his
disciples that he came “not to be served but to serve.” The word he uses in
Greek refers specifically to a table server, a waiter. It’s the word from which
we get Deacons, a ministry founded by the apostles to wait on the tables of
those in need. Sorry, Deacons, if you thought this was a more glorious calling,
but the ministry of deacons in the Bible originates when the apostles think
they’re too busy and important to wait tables. But Jesus Christ, who is
becoming so famous that he will soon enter Jerusalem surrounded by a flash mob
of hosannas and palm leaves, says his mission on earth is to jump up from the
table and wait on others.
Now, a lot of what Jesus said employed
metaphor, and many of his actions were symbolic. But in this, Jesus was
apparently speaking literally. Because we see him on the night of his arrest
literally becoming a slave to his disciples, washing their feet. He literally
becomes their servant, a deacon, a waiter, as he serves them bread and wine.
But lest we think spiritual, or even physical,
nourishment is all this waiter has on the menu, Jesus shows his disciples, and
the crowds following them, that service extends even beyond the table. For
Jesus, service means fulfilling that mission statement he lays out in Luke’s
gospel as he reads from the scroll of Isaiah: he has come "to bring good
news to the poor…to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor."
And, conveniently enough, as Jesus and his
disciples leave Jericho on their way to Jerusalem, along come two men who are
blind. Over the din of the crowd, these men shout for the server. They shout
for mercy. The crowd tells them to hush. They are interrupting their service.
But they shout even more insistently.
And when Jesus finally arrives at their table,
white napkin folded over his forearm, he asks them, “What can I do for you?”
This would, at first, seem to be the most
ridiculous question in all of scripture. These men are blind. Obviously, what
they want is to not be blind!
But Jesus doesn’t make these kinds of
assumptions. The men don’t ask for sight. They cry out for mercy. And Jesus
knows that mercy wears a lot of different hats. He knows that people have spiritual
and emotional longings that outweigh any physical condition. He knows that
personal agency is essential to healing. And he knows that some people prefer
the darkness. So he asks the men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
This question is fundamental if we want to
serve like Jesus. As a waiter, I might think you need to eat a salad, but if
you order the prime rib, that’s what I’m bringing you. Listening for the
longings and desires of others, providing what they want, and not what we think
they need, is how we serve in the manner of Jesus.
If someone is homeless, their greatest need,
or at least what they need from us, might
be a home. But it might be prayer, or
someone to talk to. They might ask for food or bus fare.
If someone is ill, we might assume they want
healing. But that might not be what they want from me, particularly since I have exactly no medical training. But they
may want me to help them listen to the doctor or discern what course of
treatment is in line with their values. They may want me to help communicate
with their family or do some household tasks or fill out paperwork.
I once visited a man who had just had part of
his tongue removed because of cancer. I talked with his wife, and tried to
include him in the conversation with questions he could answer in nodding his
head “yes” or “no.” When it came time for me to leave, I asked if I could pray
for him. He nodded “yes,” but then stopped me, motioning for paper and pencil.
He wrote one word. “Silently.” “You want us to pray silently?” I asked. He
nodded emphatically, “yes.” He didn’t want my words of comfort and promise. My
wordy prayers for healing and hope. He wanted to participate in this prayer in
the only way he could: silently. And he wanted us all to participate that way.
I was so humbled by that. Instead of “do you want me to pray for you?” I should
have been asking him, “what do you want me to do for you?” Pray. Silently.
In response to Jesus’s question, the men who
are blind ask Jesus to open their eyes. This, of course, is a way of asking to
regain their sight, which Jesus, moved by compassion, grants them.
But in the larger context of the gospel, this
request to have their eyes opened takes on greater significance beyond the
healing of a physical condition.
Jesus has encountered so much spiritual
blindness in his ministry to this point. He has called the Pharisees “blind
guides of the blind.” His own disciples have failed to see who he is. He has
tried to show them what the reign of God looks like, but they have been so
blind to it that two of his disciples come asking if they can have positions of
privilege when he finally comes to power. And the crowd surrounding Jesus is
blind to the need of the two men asking Jesus for help, for mercy.
And so, in the midst of all this spiritual
blindness, Jesus’ heart breaks for these two men experiencing physical
blindness, asking to have their eyes opened.
Throughout the gospels, when people’s “eyes
are opened,” they see Jesus for who he is and they respond. They spread the
good news. Or, as in this case, they follow him. Opening someone’s eyes is
never a neutral or complacent activity. No one says, “hey, thanks!” and goes
along their way. The physical healing is always accompanied by spiritual
transformation.
When Jesus serves people, those people are not
just helped; they are changed.
Olga Duvall, who runs the Salvation Army direct
services operation here in Loveland, shared a story last week about a woman who
came into the office, not to ask for help, but to make a donation. She had been
served by the Salvation Army several years prior, receiving rent assistance and
help finding affordable housing. Now that she was back on her feet, she wanted
to help others. She wasn’t just helped; she was changed.
For several years, I’ve been working with a
mission in Mexico to build a school in the Yucatan Peninsula. We work alongside
Mexican tradesmen who teach us and, often, repair our work. In talking with one
of our Mexican friends one day, I asked him how he came to work with the
mission. He said he had worked with another mission team to build a church in
his village. His wife had been served by the mission’s medical clinic. Now, in
addition to his work as a mason, he was training to become a pastor. And he was
glad to help build this school, where children could get a better education and
lift their families out of poverty. She wasn’t just helped; she was changed.
On another trip to Haiti, my parents
encountered a young man who was receiving help from the mission. They followed
his progress as he managed to attend school and graduate. In Haiti, if you are
able to get an education, it is your ticket out of the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere. With an education, you can possibly even go to America, escaping
the disease and devastation that is everywhere in Haiti. But this young man did
not leave; he did not escape. He was not just helped by the mission. He was
changed. And so he chose to stay and to help others.
Here at 1st on 4th, we
value service, not because we are in the best position to know what people
need, and not because it makes us feel good about ourselves. We don’t serve
simply because it makes the world a better place or because we have guilt about
our own privilege. We serve because we follow Jesus, who got up from the table,
who set aside his power and divinity, to serve others. With the power of God
and the frailty of humanity, Jesus asked, “what do you want me to do for you?”
And, in serving, he opened people’s eyes – to the inbreaking of God’s reign, to
the needs of others, and to the good news of a future with hope. His service
didn’t just help people. It changed people.
So as we serve our neighbors outside our doors
and around the world, we will keep asking this question: “What do you want me
to do for you?” We won’t make assumptions about who is needy and who is not.
And we won’t make assumptions about what
folks need. We’ll ask ALL our neighbors, “What do you want me to do for you?”
We’ll ask those who are blind and those who have sight; those who seek the
reign of God all around us and those who are missing it.
Following Jesus and in the power of the Holy
Spirit, we will serve in a way that doesn’t just help people; it changes
people, so that those with new insight will illuminate others. Those who catch
glimpses of God in action will point it out to others. Those whose basic needs
are met will turn around and help someone else get back on their feet. Those
who are healed will bring hope and healing to others.
That is what service means at 1st
on 4th. With the gifts of time, talent, and treasure we all share, with
the grace of God, the compassion of Jesus, and the guidance of the Spirit, we
will serve, and we will change lives. To God be all glory forever and ever.
Amen.
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