“Not to Be Served”

August 4, 2022

In response to an argument among the disciples of Jesus as to who was the greatest among them, Jesus said these words:

                “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  (Luke 22-24-27)

There is a similar argument going on in our day as to who is the greatest among us.  Putin of Russia reportedly is aspiring to be like Peter the Great, an ancient ruler of Russia, who conquered lands and built an empire on the blood of many others.  In the same way, Putin’s naked aggression and invasion of democratic Ukraine tells a similar story.

Closer home, we have a former President who espouses to be a king maker in the Republican Party.  In swing states that govern elections, he has endorsed persons who believe the lie of a stolen election, and some have been confirmed by Republican voters.  Placing persons who are willing to lie to promote their own political agenda of power over the slow process of democracy places our whole election process for President and other offices in jeopardy.  If elections cannot be certified as legitimate, but are suspect, then the foundation of democracy crumbles.  Elected officials, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America work to subvert the US Constitution!  Is this not treason to our Republic?

The saying “might makes right” is playing out in both cases.  Tyrants replacing servants produce anarchy! This is truly the stuff of revolutions!  Governments of all types have fallen when elected officials subvert the rule of law to make their own laws which work to enhance their own power in governance!  Is this not oppression of the rights of the people?  Can this be called anything more than the naked grasping of power?

                But contrast the life of the Lord Jesus:

                “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  (Luke 22:24-27)

The Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of servanthood, giving his life to serve, and going further, “to give his life as a ransom for many.”  When Jesus’ blood is poured out on the ground dripping down from the cross of crucifixion, we come to know the true sacrifice of power poured out in love for all humanity!    

Where are our politicians who will pour out their life for others, forgoing their own self- interest and instead serving the interests of others?  Power poured out as blood dripping on the ground of sacrifice for the human race (human family) is what brings new life to this world!  Is it too much to ask of public servants that they forego service to self and self-interests, eschewing graft and corruption in order to serve the people who elected them?  Even our Supreme Court has been corrupted by graft and lust for power!  Is there any hope for a democratic process when citizens of the state no longer have respect for the rule of law?

These are serious issues which deserve serious discussion in the people politic.  Where are those who are unafraid to raise the important questions for our democracy?  Have we all chosen cowardice over courage?  Are we so inclined to protect our own reputation and position that we are afraid to challenge sedition and corruption in our government?  We who tout great words, “We the People of the United States of America, in order to establish a more perfect union” are the very ones destroying the foundations of our house!  What idiot digs up the foundation of their own home? When the home collapses in a great crash of dust and rubble, should anyone be surprised at the outcome?  Persons who play with dynamite eventually destroy themselves too!  “And the house fell with a great crash and loud was the fall of it!” (Matthew 7:24-27- Jesus sharing on the foundation of a home built on the sand) 

There are those within and outside of the United States who look for opportunities to destroy this democracy.  Once called the “one great hope of the free world,” we have believed ourselves invincible.  9-11, 2001 should have taught us something! Yet we are worse off now than before 2001.  There are those who tout great words, but it is action which tells the true story of what we believe and do.  Theology is expressed in practice (praxis).  It is not those who say the words, but those who do them who are to be believed!  Actions do in fact speak louder than words!  Our actions prove our core beliefs.  Nothing else matters at the end of the day.  Love is something we do; if we claim to have any of it!

In the course of human events and in any society governed by people, there are critical inflexion points when so many things converge that these moments of time and history can make or break a republic.  Many study the Mayan civilization of Central America in order to determine why they ceased to exist, leaving only magnificent stones and rubble.  Where did all the people go?  At what point in their history did their exalted civilization become no longer viable?

When Putin attacks the foundational principles of the Western alliance, when conservative politicians compromise democratic values in order to obtain power only for themselves, when confidence in foundational institutions fails, when white supremacists want to form their own government, when foreign powers probe for weaknesses and subvert infrastructure on a daily basis with ransomware attacks, when the citizens are afraid wondering about their next meal and need to choose between food and medication (medical care), when the citizenry is divided over basic human rights so they need to subvert their own state government to obtain medical services, when we are in the midst of a global pandemic, when gains in pay are quickly eroded by inflation, when in times of climate changes and weather related disasters…are these not times to be concerned for the health of our democracy?

It is hard not to be pessimistic in such a season.

THE CORE ISSUE FOR US ALL IS FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE!  Do we have any reason to keep on believing, to have hope for tomorrow, to give ourselves time to love and be loved?  Are we able to find these essentials of living if we are without faith, hope and love?  Do we have any reason to believe that tomorrow may be better than today?

Faith is where we begin; it is the foundation.  Faith in God and in one another is where we start building the house.  God in Christ is our sure rock, our sure foundation.  Jesus is the first principle and committing to serve Him and his kingdom “Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God, fully human and fully divine is our Lord!  Jesus is Lord!”

Hope emerges when faith is established in our hearts.  If we allow current events to dictate how we feel and/or what we believe, we will be hopeless.  If we look about seeking someone to save us we will embrace dictators and tyrants, as many have.  But this is a false foundation and is proven time and again to be a house build on sand.  There is only one Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ the Lord!  Committing ourselves to serve him makes us a Free Man, a Free Woman.  To become God’s servant in Christ means there are no other Lords to whom we owe allegiance, no others we are required to serve.  Our conscience is clear if we live as the Lord Jesus’ free man.  Remember Germany, Hitler and the Barmen Declaration: “Jesus is Lord and there is no other Lord we serve.  Jesus is the Lord of the church, there is no other!”  We serve the Lord Jesus Christ!

Serving Christ means we become the servant of all!  We have no need to promote our own agenda when we are promoting Christ’s!  When the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, we will know that we have chosen the correct way to serve!

Hope comes from faith in Christ.  Jesus pulls us into the future where He lives.  God in Christ comes to us from the future to join with us in our present misery and troubles so that He can redeem us from sin and death and hell.  If we are no longer afraid to die for his kingdom’s sake, we are free to live as a human being in this life, beholden to no one but Christ our Lord!  The Lord’s servant is God’s free man!  We owe allegiance to no one else!  We live as citizens of this world, but this is not our home!

My hope comes from knowing a future exists for me.  Laying up treasure in heaven is simply how I treat my fellow human family.  “As you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me,” Jesus says (Matthew 25:40).  Loving others as Christ loves is how we “do unto others as we would have others do unto us.” (The Golden Rule).  Have we forgotten what we learned in Sunday School?

Having faith in Christ as our foundation, no longer fearing death or loss of reputation, having a future hope that protects us from gloom and despair from today’s news and the things coming on this earth, and loving the human family as Christ loves, pouring out our lives in service to others…does this not keep us from endorsing tyrants, bullies, and those greedy for power?  Does this not protect our hearts and minds from those who live by lying, as we learn and promote the truth, the truth of Jesus’s way, the gospel of peace!

Now these three remain, faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love!                      (I Corinthians 13:13)

This is enough said, for today.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, we find our minds and our hearts pummeled daily by bad news, upsetting news, as we see our fellow human beings suffering loss of life, of limb, of everything.  Wars destroy the undeserving poor, floods leave whole families dead or with nothing remaining, politicians espouse great words and line their pockets with wealth stolen from those easily deceived.  We see all things and wonder if our world can survive much longer, and so we lose hope for the future and we wonder if there is any reason to believe in a future hope for ourselves, our family, for our children and grandchildren.

You, O Lord Jesus, are the only One who can sustain us, along with others who also believe in You, your gospel of peace and in your coming kingdom! 

Grant us faith so that we may believe in you and your promised kingdom!  Give us hope that today is the first day of renewed service to you.  Fill us with your love, the kind of love that is not afraid of sacrifice so that we are able to do what is good, what is right and what is true.  Lead us by your holy scriptures and by your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God the Father and God the Son, in your way of holiness, of righteousness, of peace.  Sustain by the power (exousia) of your Holy Spirit, so that we may do what you would have us to do, and so that miracles done in your Holy Name will convince the unbelievers of this world of the truth of your Good News, your Gospel of Peace!

Tear down the walls of unrighteousness that seek to divide and separate your people!  Destroy evil and sustain what is good.  Allow truth and righteousness to overcome evil in this world.  Hobble with your fiery sword of righteousness and by your holy angels bring to naught those who do evil and seek to destroy the poor, disenfranchised, the widows and the orphans of this world.

Raise up those in this earth who will do what is right, what is good, what is true, which brings peace, so that evildoers will be confounded, confused and brought to naught, brought down from the heights of their power to the dustbins of history, so that all the world comes to know that You Alone are the Lord and God of all humanity, that You Alone Rule in Kingdom of the world and that You Alone are God and Lord of all creation, bringing this universe to naught, so that in your new creation all things will be made new again, where sin, death and dying is no more, the new creation of God, the New Jerusalem of Life and of Peace forever and ever, world without end.  Amen and Amen.

In the holy and powerful name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Savior and our Friend, we make this prayer on this day of our Lord, August 4, 2022.  Amen.

Bill Wilson, servant of God by God’s grace and mercies.

Let all of God’s people say, “Amen!”

“Amen!  We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ!”