Service
(To read the first sermon in this series click here.)
We
have been loved, served, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Our lack of mercy and compassion has been
forgiven and replaced with the mercy and compassion of Jesus. Compelled by the grace of God we serve in the
name of Jesus.
In the early years of the Christian
Church, when a complaint went up from the Hellenists against the Hebrews that
the food collected for the poor was not being distributed fairly, the Apostles
had to deal with it. What were they to
do?
Notice
that from its very inception the Christian Church was a place of charity, a
place where the poor and hungry were taken care of. Widows and orphans, two groups that needed
special care, found food, clothing, and shelter in the ranks of the Church. But there were disagreements.
Two
different cultures, Greeks and Hebrews, shared one faith, one Jesus. But the Greeks accuse the Hebrews of being
unfair. When the food, or money, or
clothing was given to those in need it seemed like the Greeks were being left
out or short changed. The Hebrews got
more. The Greeks got less.
So
what were the Apostles supposed to do about this? Notice that they were unwilling to do two
things. First, they could not ignore the
ministry of the Word and Prayer in order to serve the poor. The Word of God must be preached and they
were the men with a special calling from Jesus to do just that.
They
were also unwilling to neglect the distribution of goods to the poor. While the Word of God must be taught, the
poor must also be served. While that is
not specifically the Apostles’ task, it is the Church’s task. It must be done, and so they appoint seven
men, deacons, to take care of this essential duty.
The
Word must be proclaimed. It must be
taught. It cannot be neglected. Yet neither can charity, love, mercy, or
compassion. It was never an option for
the Church to choose one over the other.
In fact one leads directly to the other.
When
the Church has been forgiven of its sins, when it has been taught the doctrine
of the faith, then it is motivated and empowered to serve others with love and
compassion. The love of Jesus for us
gives birth to love in us for others.
Jesus
Christ is the embodiment of God’s love for us.
Everything that Jesus does in His life, from His conception to His
ascension is an act of compassion for humanity.
All is done for us. None of it is
done from selfishness or greed.
Every
healing is an act of mercy. Each miracle
is a pouring out of compassion. His
willingness to teach and preach is God’s love in action. The suffering and death of Jesus was not done
for His health. It was done for our
salvation. In His resurrection He
obtained for us a resurrection. In His
ascension He showered down on us His Holy Spirit.
In
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus God showers His mercy upon us giving
us what we could never achieve on our own: forgiveness, life, and
salvation. In His Word He lovingly
teaches us so that our faith will be strong, enduring until the end.
And
this is what drives the compassion of the Church. We have received from God eternal blessings
for an eternal life. How can we not
share our temporal blessings with others in this temporal life?
And
yet that has been, at times, the case.
We in the Church have soaked up the forgiveness of our sins and the teachings
of the Bible only to ignore the needs of those around us. We are more than happy to receive from
God. We are not always as willing to
give to others.
This
is, in large part, because service and love, mercy and compassion, are
messy. They entangle us with others, and
we don’t like to be tied down. We like
to be free to do what we want and go where we please. But when we show compassion that draws us
into a relationship with someone. That
creates a link between us that requires more than the simple writing of a
check.
Acts
of service are not always big, dramatic, and flashy. They are often small, simple, and unnoticed
by the world at large. And that is
another reason we shy away from it. Not
only does it cost us time and energy, we probably won’t even get a pat on the
back for it.
Our
sin predisposes us to lean in on ourselves, to think of myself first. So service, love, and compassion are always a
struggle. They are an uphill battle
against our sinful nature.
That
is why we need Jesus. Jesus serves us
with His death and resurrection, forgiving our selfishness, atoning for our
sinful lack of love. Jesus daily and
richly forgives our sins with His Word and Sacraments, washing away each time
we have failed to serve, failed to show mercy, failed to be compassionate.
Compassion
is not just a one-time event in the history of God. It is a daily outpouring of His grace. We are the constant, moment-by-moment
recipients of the mercy of God.
How
can we not be filled with mercy and compassion for others? How could we possibly neglect the service of
the poor and needy? It is simply not in
our nature. It is not in the nature that
is ours by faith in Christ Jesus.
I
don’t know what this will look like. I
really don’t. For the Apostles it meant
appointing deacons to make sure the poor had what they needed. It probably won’t be exactly like that for
us, but we can begin to consider the possibilities.
What
are the needs of our community that our congregation could work toward
meeting? What are the needs of your
family members, friends, or neighbors that YOU could work toward meeting?
There
might be some big and flashy things that need to be done. More likely, however, there are simple
things, little acts of compassion, which will help those in need. And we are free to do them.
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