11 WE NEED MORE BATBOYSl" a sermon delivered in Duke University Chapel 7. by 'J Mr. Edwin R. Richardson Trinity Colleg~; Class of 1981 Scripture Lessons--Ol:d Testament--Psalm 100 Gaspe 1-... Mat thew. ~0: 20-20 Here is the pictu:re: you are playing baseball. l t 1 s the bbt~bm of the ni.nth. " The score is tied. There are 2 -o\its and your team is at bat. YC:ru 1 re at the plate f-a:c:ing a pitcher who has struck out the last 4 batters. He winds up; he throws. You close your eyes -and swing the bat. There's a crack as the ball is sent tltmbing thfough the air. and then disappearfn'g bev ond the lef t-field fence. The umpire S ignals '~hbme-run" and your te'ammates rush out to greet you as the batb ~ y scampe~s underfoot to find the 1 - os~ b~t. There are cries of "hero" from the screaming crowd as the fans pour out onto the field, and the scoreboard flashes the final score. Your dad in the 3rd row :rs all smiles, and your mom can only say,- ''That 1 s my boy 1 11 Would you like an instant replay? If you're a coach, a baseball player, a. fan, O.r a parent, you probabht would ' rsay, "Yesr Let's see that pj ay againl".but, you probably won't think my instant replay is very exciting, because.it focuses on the batboy, not the hero. It goes like this. 11 The boy scampers around underfoot to find the.loose bat. 11 In fact~ the only person who might apprecia~e mv irstant rep lay is a batboy. But 1 1 m convinced that this batboy, whd performs a small servic~ for his team, illustrates a quality which each of us should display in our dai ly lives. I t 1 s a qua 1 i t y of s e rv i c e.. ;.:.Matthew's gospel, read earlfer, tells us that in order to be- saved, we ~ must be servants. So, you say, what do y ou mean b-y a :servan.t? we 11, ~, a servant is defined as 11.a person who labors or exerts himself for the benefit of another: a master or employer. So, you say, he 1 s trying to get me to believe t have to hire my life ~ ut to someone i n. order to be saved. This isn't exactly true. There is only one person who is our master. So, the logical questlon we must face this morntng is, "Who is our master?". In order to find an answer to this question, we examine the 1 ife of Christ, wh -: se actions serve as the examp'le for :all 1 Chri'stians. J,. his life we see the constant devotion to the wi 11' of God, his master, even unti 1 death. Al thouoh Ch rt st died f r our Sins, he died because God willed his aeath,.and,. t.:
_,_ he practiced a life of complete devotion to God, his master. If we understand that we shoulrl follow Christ's example, and Christ's master is God, 'then we realize that our true m~ster is God. We can serve no other thing or person ahead of God and still maintain our intimacy with God through Christ. Yet, it seems clear, I believe, that we do not submit ourselves constantly to God's will. We often lose siqht of the fact that we are God's creatures, and that \I'Je, as his creation, owe him our total devotion. Other times our knowledge of sin takes away our courage to approach God. Our sin creates in us a fear of God. But our attitude when we approach God should not be one of fear. We should, instead, give ourselves completely to God's loving care. The most essential attitude we should adopt as a servant is self denial, because only through self-denial are our powers set free to devote themselves totally to God. Christ's example is one of self-denial, in addition to humility and obedience to the cross. "Well: you say! Where's the "freedom through Christ" I've heard so much about? Why should I give up my freedom just so I can serve Christ? Either I serve him and am not set free, or I choose freedom instead of service and lose God's salvation through ~hri st. But~ Look! Through serving Christ, we are set free! Free from slavery to sin. Through God, we gain a greater victory than we could ever accomplish alone. We become capable, with God's help, to "reign'' or rule as masters over our own faculties and powers, and over the createrl things around us. We come to know our~elve~ better~ ~nd begin to understand what is wrong in our lives. We can gain, through our service to God, an intimacy and blessed communion of life and knowledge and love with God himself. Jesus asks us : "Are vou a wise and faithful servant of the Lord? Blessings o~ you if I return and find you faithfully doing your work." tn Revelation, we read that those who a~e ~aved and serve the Lord will be fed by the Lamb, who will be their shepherd and "lead" them to the springs of the water of life. And God will wipe their tears away." Look what God has promised us! More love, more compassion than we could find anywhere. And you know what? Ministers are not the only people who are living a life of service to God. Service to God can be seen throughout the Christian community. There is diversity of action, but unity of purpose. We are all parts of Christ's body, which has many needs and therefore many different expressions of service to meet these needs. We won't all be the hero who hits a home run, but I think all ~ of us, regardless of our occupation, can be a servant for Chri~t, like the batboy. A batboy receives no recognition from t~~ multitudes at the stadium~ His onl~ comfort is the satfsfaction of khowing he is helping out the team by doing an act of service. Each of us, if we adopt the outlook of the batboy, has a similar calling in our lives. It is the calling to serve our neighbors: the calli nq to be a neighbor, ~o each person we i i
-'3- ena~untert and of actively help,ing him when he comes across our path,. whet:her it be on the quai:!, on the a.thletic field, in our offi. ce~ in our room, a.t ~:00 am in the 1 morning.. or even the ~ night before our huge geology exam. In becoming servants of our neighbor, we serve God and Christ, who ~ommands us in Galatians to be, through love, "servants of one another.'' By serving God through serving our neighbors, we can lead them to understand God, and lead them to understand His love, so that they too, will w~nt to express his love.. '. I do!,'l 1 t feel that Matthe~J's gospel asks us to be on nand and knee before everyone we encounter. Certainly vou woulp laugh at me if I told you that you should serve your family breakfast in bed, or do your secretary's typing when you go to work tomorrow. Can you imagine the heart attacks which would ' b.e. rep.orted if each one of.vou students here thi.s. morni;ng went back to your room and offered to do y~~r roommate's la~ndry? I know tha:t in my own situat)<;>n, I would probably be busy all afternoon I I w_on' t mer:ttion a.~ }y names. 13ut this literal in~erpr~ta~ion of. Matthew is not emp~asized in the remainder of the New Testament. What, then, is Matth ~w talking about? The Livi~g Bible paraphrases Jesus's words as fol)?ws: ''Your atti.tude must be 1 ike my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve,.and to give my life ~sa rarisoi'n for: many.'' We ~ee that the very life of Christ was centered ~n serving God through se.rvi ng man. Jesus gives us a clear example of fulfilling the role of servant in service instances of his life. His washing of the disciple's fe~t is perhaps the most well-known. In this act of servanthood, Jesus shows His qr~at love fbr his disciples. He also charges us to find ways to express our love for one another. We begin now to realize that our obli~ation is one. ~awards the needs of our friends and 0eighbors. But, you say, I've 99t enough problems of my own! How can I help someone else if. I have trouble in my own life? LOVE! Love Is the key! Love provi~es the main support for this mission. First Corinthians says "If you love someone, you will be (1) loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always (~)believe in him and always stand your ground in (3) defending him." This is what serv.ice is all about! Loving! Caring! Forget t i nq about onese 1 f anrl being sens i t i ve to the ~eeds o f. th~ person who lives across the.hall, or across the ~treet." I hope no one is keeping count of the numb~r of times I've avo _ i ~~ed,, f3n oppprtuni ty. God has given m.e to be a, servant, a frle,nd,. to my ne.ighbor; to,listen to a problem, to share a prob.lem of my own, to.comfort and to enco4rage my friends rather than ignore them in favor of other "important affairs".
you know, if doesn't take much to be a servant. I think the most preci.ous memories of my grandfather were the times when he would babysit for my sisters and brother and me. Of course we often wondered who was t.aki ng care of whom, for my grandfather had a slight tenden~y to fall asleep, and we were constantly checking to see if his cigar had fallen. You know, my grandad was a servant~ Yes, you have to give of yourself to be a servant. You h~ve. to be willi~g to love, and be willing to express your love. Don't worry: with God's love.inside you, you can never give too much of yourself. The more.you give, the mo.re you radiate the love which God has given you. Shel. Silversteins,book, 11 The Giving Tree," is a favorit e of min.e. He tells the story of the relationship between a tree and a man. Of how, when the man was a young man, he loved the t r e e, and the t r e e 1 i t e r a 11 v sa cr. i f i c e s i t s e 1 f f o r the wo r 1 d 1 y needs of the growing boy. Everyday ~he boy wquld come to the tree to eat its apples, swing fr6m iti branches, or slide down its trunk. and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tr~e. and the tree gave, and gave, and gave.. 1. The Jast pages relate how the boy, now an old and withered man, returns to the tree for the last time: '"And after a long time the boy came. back again "I am s orry, Boy," said the tree, "But.1_ have nothing left to give you - My apples are gone," 11 My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy. "My branches are gone," 'said the tree. You cannot swing on them. 11 11 1 am too old to swing on branches, 11 said the boy. My trunk is gone, 11 said the tree." "You cannot climb." I am too tired to climb," said the boy. I am sorry, "sighed the tree. 11 I wish that I could give you something.. but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry. " 11 1 don't need very much now," said the boy, just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired. "Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest. 11.. And the boy did. And the tree was happy." Do you love God? Then serve him, Commit each day to service for his will, not what you think is best. Do you love your neighbor? In First John we read "let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God, and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God.'' Do you love your neighbor? Then care for him, PRAY for him: and, for everyone's sake--let him know you care. God pours comfort and strength into us, that we might pour it into others.
. - ) - Well, God's team is at bat. And you're at the plate. I challenge each of you to hit a homerun, because God's team needs some good players. But, I also challenge you this morning to accept the life of the servant, the batboy on God's team, because we need more batboys. Let Us Pray: Dear God, we thank you for all which you have given to us. Help us to share ourselves with others and show your love which we have inside of us. In Jesus name, Amen.