Tag Archives: Servanthood

Servanthood

Living in Spirit
September 23, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:30-37

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ –Mark 9:33-37

While we try to outmaneuver one another in a dangerous game of king or queen off the mountain our nation is crumbling around us and our children are getting lost in the shuffle.

[The 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book] ranks Oklahoma 44th out of all 50 states for child well-being. Even in areas where Oklahoma has seen the most improvement recently, we’re not keeping up with the progress in other states. We have a high percentage of kids scoring below proficient in reading and math, a high rate of teen births, hundreds of thousands of kids living in poverty, and tens of thousands without health insurance. The 2018 Data Book shows that while Oklahoma has improved on some measures of child well-being, we still have a lot of work to do*.

What kind of greed is so addictive it does not care what happens to our children? Yes, I do mean greed and I do mean that it is addictive. It is also a sin as it separates us from God when we place material wealth and the power that accompanies it above God. We are indeed throwing the King off the mountain and paying a heavy price for it that will impact us for decades, if not generations. The economy is booming now but cannot sustain the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. While our unemployment rate is low, the number of people living in poverty is high. Although they work, many do not earn a living wage.

We each need to prob the depth of our being sucked into the addictive qualities of greed, assess what we need to do to correct our ways of being, and implement changes needed. The first change is to ask God for forgiveness for having fallen into such foolish ways. Within our communities of faith, we need to determine how we can impact greed’s influence on our society and find ways to reverse course.

Prayer: Servant Savior, remind us of whose we are and lift us from the mire of greed giving us the courage to work toward a world where everyone has enough. Amen.

*https://okpolicy.org/category/blog/children-and-families/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Servant of All

jesus-washing-feetLiving in the Spirit
September 19, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:30-37

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ –Mark 9:33-35

The wild fires in western USA have been devastating, yet courageous men and women go out every day doing their very best to contain those fires against tremendous odds. They are servants of all, but I doubt in the chaos of their jobs they even give it a moment’s thought. It is what they are called to do.

Jesus was the ultimate servant of all, willing to give his life for his mission. He literally carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders, but in the midst of his ministry his disciples did not comprehend the enormity of his responsibility that will, sooner than they understand, be theirs. They are arguing about which of them were the greatest follower of this celebrity Rabbi. There seems to be a lot of that sentiment going around in our society today. Who is the most persecuted for his or her faith?

Of those disciples gathered around Jesus that day, history tells us that all were killed in their taking up the cross of servanthood and following Jesus except the disciple John, who also devoted his long life in service and in love.

We inherited the mantle of their ministry to be the Body of Christ today, because they were willing to invest their all in that call. We do not need to worry about our ranking in the Kingdom of God for we are all the number one servant of God and of one another.

Prayer: Lord, help me remember that I was created in your image as were all people and your love makes us all equals in sharing our love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Servanthood

Living in the Spirit
June 30, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 24 

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was towards evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14Let the girl to whom I shall say, “Please offer your jar that I may drink”, and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’—Genesis 24:10-14

 Abraham had sent his servant to procure for Isaac a wife. We do not have a lot of arranged marriages in the world today, very few in the USA. Most of us do not have servants and if we do we probably do not call them servants and they are paid for the services they render. So our story today is set in a different culture at a different point in history. Yet we rely on this language to describe our relationship to God, and Jesus has been identified with the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. What can we glean from this story about a servant who is not even worthy to be called by his name?

The servant understands that his wellbeing is intrinsically intertwined with the wellbeing of his master. Thus, he works hard to please the master, which entails knowing the master well—well enough to know what kind of wife he would want for his son. He also knows his master well enough to know his master’s God. His prayer is not for his own gain; it is for God to show his master God’s steadfast love. The servant is aware that he is a part of something larger and greater than himself but doing his part somehow is an important cog that helps to make the whole thing work. Isn’t that true of all of God’s children?

Prayer: Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, weave among us inspiring each of us to do your will for the sake of all creation. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.