Strengthened for Service

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT – COMMUNION SERVICE
Reading: Matthew 25:31-46
 Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, December 1st, 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

Christmas is coming. 'Soon and very soon' we are going to welcome the birth of the baby born to be King of Kings. One of the jobs of a King is to dispense justice. Our reading from Matthew gave us a picture of the kind of Kingdom that Jesus rules over; the Kingdom of God, in which the rules are not quite the same as in the kingdoms of the world.

In God's kingdom it's not achievement or success that measures greatness, but rather service. In fact Jesus so completely identifies with people who need serving that He goes as far as saying 'In as much as you helped the least of people, you have helped me!” The negative side of the picture is that when we haven't helped others, we have been no help to Jesus... or to God's Kingdom.

One of the positive things about this congregation is the way we help others. There always seems to be food in the baskets for the Food Pantry, another turkey to be cooked for the Inn, another clothing drive that is well responded to. Our building is host to organizations that help people struggling with addiction problems.  Through our gifts and tithes we support chaplaincy programs, missionaries at home and abroad, a whole host of projects and peoples.

And it is GOOD that we do these things. They are the work of the Kingdom. Inspired by our Savior Jesus Christ, we seek to be His hands that are reaching out to others. We want to make a difference. We want other people to know that God cares for them and loves them. We need to keep on doing what we do. It's important.

Of course we can always do more, but I'm not going to suggest we take on extra projects or responsibilities. What I would suggest to you this morning is that service can be hard work and that here and now, in this place, at this time, we meet around a table laid with bread and wine that can remind us why we are doing many of the things that we do.

We serve God, not to gain favor with God, but out of gratitude towards God for the gift of Jesus Christ. We serve God, not in our own strength, but through the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit, who turns service into an opportunity for worship.

It is striking in Matthews account of the King who is judging the subjects that they ask him, “When did we see you naked, or hungry, or in prison?” They have no concept that their service may somehow have attracted the Kings good pleasure. Still less do they seem aware that their actions could be interpreted as actually being ones that touched the King himself.

The good subjects just seem to be aware that being of service to others was the right way to live. There appears no question of personal gain or merit, no sense of currying favor with the King. There was a need. They could meet it. So they did it.

Rather like the parable of the Good Samaritan, the service givers recognize that a persons religious beliefs, a persons nationality or cultural identity, whether they were meant to be friends by the conventions of their society or not, didn't count for much. What mattered was that they saw a person in need of a helping hand, they extended that hand, and the person was helped to get through the situation that had befallen them.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, those who could have helped, namely a Levite and a Priest, are too busy. They are so wrapped up in their self preservation that they don't see the needs of the injured party, nor recognize their own ability to be of help.

In our parable about the King, the ones whom he judges complain, “ 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' (Matthew 25:44-45 NIV).

Christmas time is sometimes known as the season of giving. We give in response to what has been given to us... 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life'  (John 3:16)

It is GOOD that at the start of Advent we gather around a table to remember the One whom God has given to us, Our Lord Jesus Christ, whose life was so marked by selfless service that even today, when somebody does a good deed, you often hear, even non-religious people say, “Well that was the Christian thing to do!”

Seeing these elements of bread and wine reminds us that service can be tough. Even though we acknowledge that it is the right thing to do, we also are not good at putting our selves aside. We, like the Priest and the Levite on the road who walked by the needy man... we have our own agendas to meet. We are busy people. We know the limitations of our resources. We fear getting to involved when trouble comes. We are uncomfortable with those who are different to us. It is not easy to put our aside our fears and our prejudices. Service can be hard work.

Around this table we see what Jesus went through for us. His body was broken. His blood was poured out. He is our pattern. He is our inspiration. And all that He went through was not just for us, but for all people, of all places, of all kinds and all times. He calls us to be people who let others know that they are loved, that God cares about them, that God can help them.

Around this table God promises to strengthen us for service.  Matthew 11:28-30:  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." As we allow God to strengthen us, service does not take on the notion of being a burden, but a privilege. It becomes a sharing in the work of Christ. It becomes not so much a task as an act of worship. Jesus tells us in that verse we just read: “You shall find rest for your souls”.

I would encourage us then as a Church to keep on doing the things that we are doing that help others experience something of God's Kingdom. To make the most of our times for offering and giving, not just in this season of goodwill, but throughout the year. In a world where we sometimes wonder if we can really do anything to change things, well, here, through the ministry and mission of our own church community are so many opportunities to do the little things that can make a big difference in the lives of those who may be served.

We know it's the right thing to do! Around this table we are challenged to consider how to realistically respond to the deep love shown to us in Jesus Christ. Around this table we are also strengthened for service. How? Well that's the work of the Holy Spirit and I would not be so presumptuous as to seek to explain it.

Is it about community? Is it about identification? Is it about how taking time to reflect makes us more able to reflect the love of God towards to others? I don't think it is necessary to explain it or understand it.

What I do know is that when I come to this table, laid with bread and wine, and lay before God my life as it is, my fears, my worries, my confession that when it comes to serving others I often fail, my selfishness and misguided sense of privilege... when I come to this table with all my brokenness, then it becomes a healing place. It becomes a place where we remember God is with us... and that because God is for us then we have nothing to fear, but everything to offer!

'Soon and very soon we are going to see the King'. Our reading from Matthew gave us a particular perspective on how meetings with King's can turn out! We believe in Jesus Christ, the Servant King, so let us seek for the pattern of His life to be one we follow in our own lives, through the grace, mercy and help of God's Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.