Last Sunday, we began a new sermon series at
Christ United Methodist Church entitled, “The
Essentials of Discipleship.” I
understand Christian discipleship to be an inter-related process of following Christ by learning,
experiencing, serving and growing in our faith and deepening our relationship
with the Divine. When we first become
Christians, we are beginners in the faith.
But, over time, Christ intends for us to grow deeper in our faith. Christian disciples grow best through a process
that combines “education” and “experience”—that is, learning and serving.
In this sermon series, we will explore the four core principles for
growth and service; that is, “the essentials of discipleship.” They are:
(1) Seek God; (2) Act Inclusively;
(3) Serve others—both human and nonhuman; and (4) Work for Justice. Last week, we looked at the principle of acting
inclusively. This Sunday,
September 2nd, we will focus on serving others—both human and nonhuman.
The principle of serving other persons runs like a
red thread throughout the entire Bible.
Again and again the scriptures proclaim the importance of caring for the
physical necessities of other persons.
See, for instance, Leviticus 23:22, Proverbs 14:31, 17:5, 19:17, Isaiah
58:7-10, Deuteronomy 15:10-11, Ezekiel 16:49, 1 John 3:17-18, Luke 12:33,
Matthew 19:21, Galatians 2:10, and 6:2 Philippians 2:4, James 2:5, 16-17, and Romans
12:13.
Perhaps the most important scriptural passage on
caring for others is Jesus’ apocalyptic description of God’s final judgment in
Matthew 25: 31-46. In the first verses,
Jesus sets the scene for the final judgment:
“‘When the Son of Man comes
in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his
glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the
left.’” (verses 31-33). The sheep represent
righteous people whom will receive salvation, while the goats represent sinners
to be condemned.
In
Jesus’ explanation, those who will be redeemed are those who have served and
cared for others who needed resources in order to live and flourish, while the
condemned are those have ignored the needs of their fellows. Jesus explicitly mentions 6 needs which
people have: (1) those who hunger; (2)
those who thirst; (3) those who were strangers; (4) those who were naked; (5)
those who were sick; and (6) those in prison. However, it seems clear that
Christ intends for this list to be suggestive
and not comprehensive. For
instance, it seems certain that Jesus would also include the homeless, even
though he does not explicitly mention them.
The general thrust of these apocalyptic verses is that we are all
responsible for one another’s flourishing and wellbeing.
In
these verses, Jesus places himself in the position of those with needs. For instance, he says: “I was hungry…I was thirsty…” etc. Both the “sheep” and the “goats” are
surprised that they helped, or did not help, Jesus himself. They say, “Lord, when was it that we saw you
hungry…thirsty…?” etc. Jesus responds by
saying, “Truly, I tell you, just as you did it [or, did not do it, in the case
of the goats] to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me.’” The consensus among
Bible scholars is that Jesus is making a universal claim, when he refers to
“members of my family.” That is, any
person, regardless of nationality, creed, race, etc. is entitled to receive the
basic necessities required in order to live a life that is happy, flourishing,
and with dignity.
In his
commentary on Matthew, the New Testament scholar Eugene Boring observes: “This is the only scene with any details
picturing the last judgment in the NT.
To the reader’s surprise (ancient and modern), the criterion of judgment
is not confession of faith in Christ.
Nothing is said of grace, justification, or the forgiveness of
sins. What counts is whether one has
acted with loving care for needy people.
Such deeds are not a matter of ‘extra credit,’ but constitute the
decisive criterion of judgment…”.[1]
So,
clearly, serving others is an essential principle of Christian
discipleship. Of course, we already knew
that. In the American context, Christ’s
call to serve others is understood by nearly everyone—Christian and
non-Christian, alike. At Christ United
Methodist Church in Lincoln, we are probably stronger at serving others than we
are at any of the three other essential principles. Although there is still room for growth, at
Christ UMC, we are involved in many “ministries of mercy,” including feeding the
hungry, clothing those without sufficient clothing—especially in the cold
winter months; other ministries include mentoring children, welcoming and
sponsoring refugees, and providing emergency financial assistance. I suspect that Christ UMC is not unique in
this regard. Most American churches are
involved in ministries of mercy to some degree.
The
challenge for the preacher—especially when the text is Matthew 25: 31-46, as it
will be on September 2nd—is to identify new perspectives on this very, very
familiar text. To accomplish that this
Sunday, I intend to develop two new insights into serving others:
1.
“Serving Others” is not
restricted to just “human others,” it includes nonhumans, as well. Humans have always shaped and modified their
environment. Over the course of history,
these manipulations were temporary and more-or-less sustainable. However, since the Industrial Revolution over
200 years ago, advances in our technology have given humans a previously
unknown potential to transform entire eco-systems radically and
permanently. We have misused this
awesome power. Today, we suffer and
struggle with ecological problems such as Global Climate Change and increased
chemicals in our air and water.
Last week, in our
exploration of acting inclusively, we saw that being created in the image of
God carries with it the responsibility to be good stewards of the environment
(see Genesis 1:26). In our sacred scripture,
there is another important insight concerning our relationship with the
environment, as well.
In the second Creation
Story, in Genesis 2, God creates Adam, the first man. God is so enamored with the new human that
God creates a special garden—the Garden of Eden. When the Garden is completed, Genesis says, “The Lord God took the man and
put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) The verb which we usually translate as “to
till and keep” the Garden is the Hebrew word, “ābad.” This is an odd word choice here. As with many English words, this Hebrew word
has several different meanings. Although
it can mean “to till and keep,” that is a tertiary meaning. The principal meaning of ābad is to “serve”
as when a servant serves the King. I
believe that the writer of Genesis used ābad intentionally and that he
intended for us to interpret it as to literally serve nature, in order to
underscore our God-give responsibility to care for and serve God’s Creation. So, we should include serving the environment
as part of serving others, and thus it is an essential component of
discipleship.
2.
“Serving Others” is a “two-way street”. Of course, those whom
we serve receive benefit. Yet, when we
serve voluntarily, enthusiastically, and faithfully, then we benefit, as
well. Serving others can be
transformative. When we serve others, we
grow in our faith and our relationship with God. Similarly, serving others creates good feeling
in ourselves and is fundamental to genuine happiness. In study after study after study, social
scientists researching happiness have found that serving others is absolutely fundamental to living a life
filled with genuine happiness and flourishing.
It’s ironic, the more we serve and give, the more we receive back.
If you live in the Lincoln,
Nebraska area and do not have a place of worship, then I invite you to come and
join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, September 2nd, as we explore
the second essential principle of Christian discipleship. Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street in
Lincoln, Nebraska. Our two traditional
Worship Services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday morning.
Come, join us. Everyone is welcome and accepted because God
loves us all.
[1] M.
Eugene Boring, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew in the New Interpreter’s
Bible, vol 8, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002), CD-ROM Edition.
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