What on Earth Am I Here For (4): Shaped to Serve

Preached Sunday, October 7, 2018

For context read John 13:1-17 and Philippians 2:1-13

 

We are shaped for service. This is Rick Warren’s fourth reason for our being here on this earth, and yet in my mind service is the door – the gateway – the window into our purpose for being. What on earth are we here for? We are here to serve. We are shaped for service.

Think about it. Most mothers, when they first lay eyes on their newborn, feel called to serve. They give of their time and their energy – even when they are utterly exhausted – to serve the needs of their child. As their children grow the character of their service changes. Still parents have this desire to meet the needs of their children, sometimes serving to the point of spoiling them!

We are shaped for service. As a young adult I felt this in my bones. My job working in a lab had meaning to me because I was doing research on schizophrenia. My work had the potential to help others. And in my spare time I loved helping out with the Eno River Association, keeping trails clean and volunteering with their annual fundraiser. I felt like my small contributions helped sustain our beautiful park systems.

We are shaped for service. Consider the number of professions that are service oriented. Teachers, counselors, therapists, nurses, doctors, pastors, aides, plumbers, repairmen, and housekeepers, just to name a few. Most people in service professions choose to be there because they want to serve. They want to make a difference in the lives of others. They find meaning as they touch lives, extend a helping hand, offer healing, and bring joy into the lives of others.

We are shaped for service. When the mainline church in the United States started losing sight of this deep truth, people found other ways to serve. From the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s all sorts of service organizations sprung up – from the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club to service organizations like Kiwanis and the Ruritans and the Lions.

And the church remained involved in service through other organizations. Dorothy Day started the Catholic Worker Movement to deal with hunger and homelessness in New York City, and the Methodist Women were formed in response to women’s issues both at home and abroad.

I believe this desire to serve is in our cumulative bones. It’s God’s prevenient grace – that grace that precedes human action and reflects God’s love for all of creation. It’s the seed God planted in all of us – a longing to make the world a better place, not just for ourselves, but for all of God’s creatures.

And yet, sometimes we forget to water that seed. Sometimes the noise of the world is too loud. No wonder we need to sing, Tune my heart to sing thy grace.

Rick Warren wrote, way back on Day 5, “The way you see your life shapes your life” (44). He then asked, “How do you see your life?” He goes on to say, “I’ve been told life is a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a symphony, a journey, and a dance. People have said, ‘Life is a carousel: sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, and sometimes you just go round and round.’”

How do you see your life? Where do you find meaning in your life? Does your life feel purposeful? Or does it feel more like a minefield? Or a carousel? Are you using your God-given gifts and talents? Or have you gotten lost in the midst of our power-hungry, consumer-driven, “it’s all about me” society?

Unfortunately, while many people embark on a career path with a desire to serve, the day-to-day reality often feels more like an endless and thankless to-do list. Others embark on a career path for all the wrong reasons – money, power, prestige. Sadly, their daily work may feel more like a necessary evil to be endured so that the bills can be paid.  Still others get lost – thinking their gifts are inadequate, their talents are not good enough – that they have nothing to offer, no skills for service. They’ve completely lost sight of the reality that God has uniquely gifted each one of us for service.

So: How do we re-capture that desire to serve? How do we discover that passion and excitement for service? How do we uncover our God-given gifts?

In a sense it all starts with a simple question: How do you see your life?

Jesus, knowing that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table on that night when he knew he would be betrayed, took off his outer robe, tied a towel around himself, and poured water into a basin. Then, with a smile on his face, he began to wash the disciples’ feet. One at a time, he washed their feet, drying them with the towel tied around his waist.

I imagine the fear and uncertainty he might have felt as he washed the feet of Judas, his betrayer. I imagine his frustration as he washed the feet of Peter, the rock, who didn’t understand what was happening. I imagine his awareness of the dark night that still lay ahead of him – arrest, trials, beatings, humiliation. At the same time, in that moment I imagine the intimacy of his touch, the look of love on his face, his sheer joy in making his last act on earth an act of service. In the assurance of God’s promises, he took on a task that only the lowliest of the low would have ever done; in joy he washed the dusty and smelly feet of those he loved the most. Truly loving them to the end.

Even as he faced death, Jesus so clearly saw his life as a life of service. Jesus chose this path. As the Christ Hymn reminds us, Jesus, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Jesus came, not to be served but to serve. And he served with joy all the way to the end.

Years ago I went to visit Pansy Riley when she was in a small assisted living facility. That particular day, as I walked into the small living room, almost every woman in the facility was sitting there with her socks and shoes off. And this woman was washing their feet and trimming their nails – taking her time with each woman, with each foot. There was this joy on her face as she lovingly cared for each woman. And this energy filled the room as the women talked and laughed together.

As we age it gets harder and harder for us to reach our own feet. And our nails and calluses get thick and tough. Taking care of our own feet becomes a real chore, and even an impossibility. And truthfully, taking care of old feet is unpleasant work. But this angel of a woman felt called to serve the elderly in this way. She loved these women by caring for their feet. Just like Jesus.

We are shaped for service. Not all of us are called to wash feet. But all of us are called to serve. All of us are shaped for service. And Jesus has shown us the way through love and humble service – through self-sacrifice and commitment to something bigger than ourselves – by dying to ourselves so that the whole body can truly thrive. It’s all right there for us to see in Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, we already know all of this. We already know that it is in serving others that we feel the most alive. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, deep in your bones. So my question for you is, “How is the way you see your life shaped by your service to God and neighbor?”

To make this more practical, think about what you will be doing tomorrow. Are you getting on the treadmill that is your job and just waiting for 5 o’clock so you can go home? Will you spend the day complaining about your to-do list, fretting about politics, and feeling immobilized by a sense of helplessness? Will you just go through the motions? Or will you see every person you meet and every task you are given as an opportunity to serve? The truth is that an attitude of service can transform an ordinary day into a joy-filled, life-giving day. We were made to more than just survive. We were made to thrive!

And service can take so many different forms – from simply meeting someone’s eyes as you talk with them so that they know you care, to dropping everything on your to-do list to help someone in need, to intentionally using your gifts to make a difference in the world.  When we see our lives through the lens of service we can’t help but see every human being as a beloved child of God and every situation as an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ. When we see ourselves as God’s helpers here on earth, no task is too small and no obstacle is too large. When we see ourselves as servants of the Master the answer to the question, “What on earth am I here for?” might be as simple as “To let you know that you are deeply loved.”

We are shaped for service. How do you see service shaping your life?