Matthew 8:5-13, Mark 9:35
When our daughter Liz was an infant, we were living in Alexandria, Virginia; I needed work that was flexible so I could work on seminary applications and that paid enough to support a family. I had just finished teaching math in high school; I knew that wasn’t going to cut it! So, I opened the Washington Post and began looking through the want ads and came across an intriguing opportunity: “Wanted: busboy for the Gaslight restaurant.” (Teacher pay was even worse in those days!)
It was a fine dining restaurant with a seven-course meal that changed every single evening. You could even get a free limousine ride to the restaurant with a party of four or more. Eventually, I made my way to the waitstaff.
It was a diverse group: we had someone from Turkey, another from Ireland, someone from France, Guatemala, and Argentina. I learned my one Turkish word from Haluk— “Evet,” which means “yes!”
The two South Americans were both named Armando, and I remember them best. We enjoyed sharing stories about South America since I was born in Brazil. But something they said over 30 years ago now still rattles around in my brain. Somehow, we got to talking about the profession of waiting tables. They both said in their home countries, waiting on tables, cleaning, and in general working in the hospitality industry, was not considered a lower position, unlike in the United States.
And I could tell by the way they interacted with their customers that they really saw this work as a calling. To give someone, for an hour or two, a wonderful experience with good food, good conversation, and attentive service modeled the words of our Lord from today’s scripture: “who would be greatest must be servant of all.” Of course, it doesn’t work if you’re actually trying to become great. It’s something like bragging, “I’m the most humble out of all the people I know.”
It must stem from a true desire to serve another human being. To do whatever you can to give them a few moments of happiness, a lifetime of wellness, or a momentary respite from the craziness of life.
This was Jesus' great example.
As the very place of His birth—a feed trough in a cave of sorts—suggests, Jesus was meek. In a world full of powerful people, full of themselves, it is hard for us to believe that one so humble can be so great. The carol, "Gentle Mary Laid Her Child" asks that very question:
Gentle Mary laid her child
Lowly in a manger;
There He lay, the undefiled,
To the world a stranger.
Such a babe in such a place,
Can He be the Savior?
Jesus showed us it is the very nature of God to serve.
Think of the different types of people that Jesus served:
A Syrophoenician woman from a different culture and a different religion.
Lepers, the ones that others avoided.
The paralytic.
The blind man.
5,000 hungry people.
Several of them would have been considered His enemies or at the very least His stark opponents.
A tax collector.
A ruler of the synagogue.
The Roman official from our text this morning.
We must not minimize the power of that witness, especially for the Roman official. Especially in the way we treat our enemies in today’s world. Listen to this description of the relationship between the Jews and their Roman oppressors at the time of Jesus.
King Herod died when Jesus was a toddler. Immediately after Herod’s death, the Jews protested their harsh treatment under his rule. Their protests soon became riots. The new Roman official at the time, Sabinus, put down the rebellion and then burned down the porticos of the Temple and looted the Temple treasury. The Jewish response to Sabinus’ punitive measures was to rebel again, but this time more successfully.
They besieged Sabinus within Herod’s Palace. With the Romans under siege in Jerusalem, revolution broke out across Israel in the form of guerrilla warfare. Peace was not restored until the legate, Varus, arrived as the new governor of Israel with four additional legions under his command. He vigorously crushed the rebellion and swiftly crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels. Following in the footsteps of his cruel predecessors, Varus became known for his harsh reign and high taxes. To say the least, there was bad blood between Jews and Gentiles—the Romans in particular.
Violence towards one’s so-called enemies has increasingly entered our society, and the bad blood it is creating is escalating.
Last week, there was yet another attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump—a terrible act. And then we see Springfield, Ohio dealing with bomb threats, closing schools, government offices, and hospitals, for goodness' sake.
Threats of violence are coming from so many quarters, and it is being fueled by dangerous rhetoric. But the disintegration of civility comes from a widespread failure not only to control our speech but to live out Jesus’ call to servanthood. Paul describes the practical means to do this in His letter to the Roman Christians: “Hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”
So far, Paul’s words seem reasonable; hard to achieve, but ones we would all aspire to. But then he turns the screws, and specifically shows us that servanthood doesn’t mean only serving the people that are easy to serve; it doesn’t mean only serving the people that deserve to be served. Listen as Paul continues:
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them...
Do not repay anyone evil for evil...
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves...
If your enemies are hungry, feed them...
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Jesus encountered a great enemy of His people, a leader of Roman soldiers, the ones who have devastated families in horrific ways. And yet, Jesus tells this man, pleading for healing for his servant, that He will come right away. And the official says, no, that’s not necessary. He has faith that Jesus can do this miracle from anywhere. Right then and there, Jesus declares that his child has been healed and goes on to explain before the crowds, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus is promising His enemy, in front of the crowd—those with all the reasons to hate this man—that He has a promised place in the kingdom of God.
That is the essence of servanthood.
It is the essence of love.
It is the essence of God.
It is the essence of our calling.
As a congregation in one of the most powerful and influential cities on this planet, we have a challenge—to set a pattern that is starkly different from the way our world deals with difference and disagreement.
I cannot share all the details, but I saw it happen this summer through one of our staff.
There was a person in our community quite upset with our congregation. And over the course of several weeks, they sent me and several others very harshly worded emails and spoke to several of our staff with rhetoric far outsized to the situation.
But this one particular Brick Church staff person never responded in kind; they truly listened to the critiques that were being offered and sought to remedy them. They were not defensive, nor condescending, and they were not demeaning. They served this person in the neighborhood as if they indeed were an honored guest. Through this servant nature, after the manner of Christ, the door was left open for reconciliation. I believe because of that, a few weeks later we received an apology.
“I am ... embarrassed. In the moment, you treated me with grace and dignity. You were professional and courteous. And it's not about me; it's your grace and dignity, kindness and inclusivity. I hope that you will forgive me.”
And of course, we do. We know we’re not a perfect institution, and we’re not perfect people. And in fact, she pointed out something we needed to change, and we have fixed it. But even more, we do so because that is why we are here—to offer the same forgiveness that each one of us has been given. Amen.
Reference:
New Hope Lafayette. "Jesus and the Gentiles." New Hope Lafayette, https://newhopelafayette.org/jesus-and-the-gentiles/. Accessed September 18, 2024.
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