CALLED TO SERVE (11/14/10) Scripture Lessons: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 John 13:1-19

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1 Scripture Lessons: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 John 13:1-19 CALLED TO SERVE (11/14/10) Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. (John 13:12-15) This is a special Sunday. We have welcomed Dave and Margie Lowry and Roy Pinnock into full fellowship with our church. Now I would like to say a few words to our new members, words that may even apply to the rest of us. The occasion and the season lends itself to a sermon about stewardship, the stewardship of not only our financial resources but our time and talent. The scripture lesson we heard this morning from the apostle Paul s letter to the church in Corinth is an eloquent articulation of that theme. Paul calls us to reflect on the nature of our gifts. He tells us there are varieties of gifts, and hence many different ways we can help build up our church. He tells us there are many activities, many opportunities to serve our church and, through our church, to serve the world. He reminds us that our gifts are not to be hidden, as one would place a candle under a bushel basket, but are intended to shine forth into the world. They are not intended for our personal gain or gratification; they are entrusted to us by God for the common good. To those who have joined the church today, Paul is speaking to you. Each of you has special gifts and talents. When you bring your gifts and talents to the church, you build up not only this church but also the mystical body of Christ, for we are one with each other in Christ. In Romans 12, Paul tells us, For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. What a beautiful statement! Not all members of our church have the same gifts, but we offer what we have and who we are. We do so knowing that we are not only one in Christ, we are one with each other. This is what it means to be a member of a Christian community, especially a Christian community like our church. 1

2 We know what Paul is saying is true. We celebrate the richness of our diversity and the generosity of our members. As incarnations of God s Holy Spirit, it is inconceivable that each of us would not have something special to give to our church and to one another. In fact, a central part of our spiritual journey is discovering who we are and what we have to offer to the great stream of life. What better place to discover this and to live it out than in communion with the church that called us to that journey and nurtured our spiritual growth? The passage from Paul s letter is an amplification, an expanded version of this morning s gospel lesson. The reading from the 13th chapter of John provides us with the foundation of not only our membership in the church, but of every aspect, every part, every dimension of our life. It confronts us, challenges us, and invites us to view life as an opportunity to serve. Jesus and his disciples enter Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. On the evening before Passover begins, they sit at table in the upper room. Before they eat, Jesus does something that is startling, confusing, and disturbing to his disciples. He gets down on his hands and knees and washes their feet. A host would never wash the feet of his guests. That expression of hospitality was performed by servants. The disciples know Jesus as their rabbi. They have come to know him not only as the Son of Man but as the Son of God. They have glimpsed not only his humanity but his divinity. They have heard his teaching and witnessed his healing miracles. They understand that he is the teacher and they are the students, he is the master and they are the disciples. Peter grasps the incongruity of Jesus action. He knows that, as Jesus disciple, he should wash Jesus feet, not the other way around. When Jesus insists that he perform this service for his disciples, Peter demonstrates his faith in the power of Jesus to cleanse not only his feet but his entire being when he asks Jesus to wash not only his feet but his hands, his head, and his heart. Jesus probably smiled at Peter s request. This is not what he has in mind as he washes his disciples feet. The teaching, the message he is trying to convey is not about cleansing, about taking away sin and making pure, but about service. 2

3 When Jesus has finished washing his disciples feet, he addresses his little band of followers. He says, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. This morning, as your teacher and pastor, I would like to wash your feet. I have always wanted to make this a part of our traditional Maundy Thursday service, but I don t see how we can add it to a service that already includes the celebration of the Lord s Supper and the Office of Tenebrae, neither of which I want to exclude. There are also logistical problems with trying to wash everyone s feet. So this morning we will be participating in a ceremony that I hope will be just as meaningful. I would like us to wash each other s hands, symbolizing not only my ministry to you but also your ministry to each other. Beginning with the members of the Diaconate and followed by the new members, I invite everyone in the congregation who would like to participate in this ceremony to come forward and line up on the right hand side, the lectern side of the table. When it is your turn, please stand in front of the table and hold your hands over the basin. I will pour a small amount of water over your hands and say to you, May the presence of Christ inspire you to service through the sharing of your gifts. I will wipe the hands of the first person with the towel. Then I will give the towel to that person. That person, who will stand to the left of the table, will silently wipe the hands of the second person. The second person will wipe the hands of the third person, and so on. Take your time wiping the hands of the person who stands before you. I suspect it will be as unusual an experience for most of us as it was for the disciples in the upper room. At this time, I invite everyone to come forward to participate in the ritual washing of hands, declaring ourselves not only disciples of our Lord but also servants of each other. (The washing of the hands will take place on the main floor of the sanctuary.) To those of you who are joining with us today, I would like you to remember this lesson. You are called to a life of service in this church. You have gifts and talents that you can share. In the act of washing his disciples feet, Jesus tells us that if we are to 3

4 be his followers, we must become servants. This is what Christians do, or at least it is what Christians are called to do. This is what has made this church not only special but great throughout its 145-year history. Somehow, despite the diversity of our religious beliefs, backgrounds, and even personalities, we have grasped the importance of service. If we only do one thing in this church and do it well, this is what I would like us to do. I would like us to do this for each other, for our community, and for the world. When we commit ourselves to a life, to a ministry of service, we are following the example of our Lord. Dave, Margie, and Roy, I welcome you into full fellowship with our church. I trust that in the days to come you, like all of us, will find many opportunities to serve. A sermon preached by the Reverend Paul D. Sanderson The First Community Church of Southborough November 14,

5 PRAYER FOLLOWING THE SERMON Lord, you have taught us that in the kingdom of God, the honors of this world count for naught. You have taught us that it is more important to love than to be loved, to understand than to be understood, to serve than to be served. If you can give us one gift through your grace, give us the gift of humility. Take away the false pride that divides us, that separates us from one another and from you. Help us to take on not only your mind but your heart that we might live lives of joyous service and show forth your Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Amen. 5