“Excellence Through Servanthood"
September 23, 2012
The 17th Sunday of Ordinary Tine
A.K.A.
Kingdomtide
and
Time of the Church
Wisdom 1: 16 - 2:1; 12 – 22/Psalm 54/James 3: 16 - 4: 6/Mark 9: 30 – 37
His Eminence
The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
and
Primate
of the
National Church in the Philippines
and
the Territorial Church of Asia
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
Today’s lessons speak to us about attitude. They challenge us, in our own lives, to be grateful and to be thankful for all that we receive.
God has given much to us, beginning with the very creation. We are created in His image and likeness. That itself should bring such security and hope to us. We were not created like the animals or like the other beings, but in the very image and likeness of God. It shows how much He trusts us and how much confidence He puts in us. Where we have failed, He has restored us without condemnation. He sent His Son to take our sin to bring to us the righteousness of God.
It should be that in our own lives, we are so filled with security and thanksgiving that we can hold our head high and our shoulders back not in pride, but in security. Not intimidated, not threatened by things around us, but secure of what God has done for us through Christ. Having received such awesome blessings from Him, God expects from us the proper response.
Christ shares with the disciples that He was going to be killed and going to die, but He also shares with them that on the third day He will rise again. Quite obviously, they did not totally understand what He was saying because they were discussing who among them would be the greatest. They were possibly wondering who would take the place of Christ. “Which one of us is great enough to fill His shoes? Who among us is better than the others?” Jesus knew what they were talking about. He said to them that which He would speak to us today, “If you want to be first, be the last and be the servant of all.”
The attitude and the character of servanthood are brought to us throughout most of the Scriptures. It is not arrogance and pride in all that we have received because we have received much. Not only have we received much, we have much to expect to come. God has held back nothing from His people. We should be so secure that regardless of what happens around us, we are not threatened or intimidated because we know who our God is and what He has done for us.
If you listen to the news this time, we hear the world in turmoil. We hear the world demonstrating against governments. Why would we demonstrate? Why would these things be taking place? Most of the time, it is because of insecurity. Security brings confidence. It doesn’t have to have a defense. It brings strength and peace.
This is what God has given to us, through Christ. Christ Himself set a tremendous example for us. We hear this in Philippians 2:7, “Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.” Jesus was God, yet He set aside that royalty for a moment of ministry to mankind. He was so secure with His relationship with the Father, His relationship in the Trinity. Jesus could step away from that privilege for a period of time and not be threatened and intimidated.
Jesus could come and take upon flesh, to become a servant, coming to minister to the needs of mankind, coming to heal them and restore them back into the household of God. He was willing. Not only was He willing, but He acted upon the willingness, becoming a servant.
This was the God Himself; this is the royalty of heaven. So confident, so strong and assured of His place in the kingdom of God in leadership that He could set all that royalty aside for a moment of time and become flesh that He might minister to mankind and that He might serve them.
Christ sets for us an example and a challenge that we, as His people, should follow. 1John2:6 says, “The one who abides in Him ought to Himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” We see the challenge of Scripture bringing out to us that Christ was set as our example. He was set as the Cornerstone of life. He gave up His privileges of royalty, taking upon that which was lower, flesh, that He might redeem man; that He might set a new course for man; that He might bring man out of the darkness and bring him into His marvelous light; that He might take him out of that place of being an alien, a stranger, bringing him to the family of God as a son.
This is what God did for us. This is what He sets as a pattern for us – a servant. Not arrogant, putting ourselves above others as many have done in today’s society, but striving and working hard to become greater that everybody else. Wanting everybody to look at us and see us.
Christ became a servant. He became that which could be used by God. He set aside His own ideas, His own thoughts, and He took upon Himself voluntarily the role of man and the will of the Father. He was not demanding His own place. He was telling the people when He did something good, “Don’t tell the other people. Don’t tell them. Keep this to yourself.” He wasn’t looking for praise. He wasn’t looking for honor. He wasn’t looking for people to bow to Him. He was here as a minister. He was here as a servant. He was here to restore, to heal, and to provide.
This is what Christ came for. This is the task that He gives to us. Throughout the Scriptures, we see many of the characters that God speaks to us calling themselves servants – Moses, Abraham, David, Jacob, Solomon. In the New Testament – Paul, James, Peter, Jude. They all called themselves servants because they set aside their own will and took upon the will of God. This was which was to restore mankind back into the kingdom of God; to heal man of his difficulties and struggles and his battles; to take care of his needs and lift him high above the circumstances of life around him. This is the favor of God shown upon their lives because they did not demand attention for themselves, but instead gave of themselves for the sake of others.
In Matthew 12, Jesus refers to Himself as a servant. In Mark 10, Jesus says that to be great, you shall be the servant of all. In Matthew 7:21, this challenges us greatly because it says, “Not everyone who says Lord will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of My father who is in heaven.”
We think that our words alone will bring us to the place where we are accepted by God. We can say, “Lord, Lord, Lord…” over and over again but it will not change the circumstances until we set aside our will and we take upon the will of Christ.
Paul tells us we die to self in order that we can live unto Him. Seeing the will of God in our lives, living it out, and thankful for what He has done for us. This is worship; this is praise. Worship and praise is not captivated in a song that we sing; but it is captivated in the lifestyle that we live. We live to help man be restored. We live to be an instrument that brings hope into the hearts of others.
We are challenge by God to be thankful for what we have received and in so thanking Him, reach out and touch the lives of others. Restore them; not condemn them; not belittle them and not take away their character; but introduce them to the hope that comes in knowing Christ and all that Christ has done for us.
“He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God, in Him.” What great joy this should bring into our lives! What great security and serenity! It is not what we have done or we could ever do that will bring us to this place. It was God’s own Son, Christ, setting aside, empting Himself of His royalty that He could take upon the flesh and become like man. That He could suffer the things that man suffers. That He could face the issues that man faces and He could show man the power and the ability that God has given to man to rise above all of these things, to subdue them, and to rule and to reign in life.
Christ came to be the witness to us. He came to free us from the bondage of fear and lack of understanding. He came to give new life to us. In thanksgiving, He calls us to be a witness. Jesus says, “You shall be My witness.” What witness would we be? It is not words but life. It is a life that challenges us to raise our heads high in the midst of conflict, in the midst of condemnation. Not revenging and not fighting back, but loving, forgiving and giving hope to those even who come against us, even to those who would spit upon us physically or just ideology. Even to those making fun of our faith. It doesn’t require our defense.
Our lives speak enough for us. Our lives say what we are, how we live daily. Are we of the kingdom of God or are we still in man’s mode? Have we been set free from that bondage and slavery to a point where that we can live in the peace that comes in knowing God? The assurance comes because we have been delivered.
The New Testament over and over tells us of how we should respond to this great salvation. How that we should take the will of the Master as our own will and complete it. How that we are obedient not just in action, but obedience from the heart. “I want to give praise to God. I want to give honor to Him. It isn’t that I have to, but I want to. I desire to thank Him for what He has done for me.” Out of the innermost being shall flow that life when it senses.
When we speak the words, those words will be filled with power, with compassion because they come from the heart. If they are simply out of the head, they will be empty. They will hit a brick wall and bounce off. Coming out of the heart, it opens a door of understanding. It opens a door of compassion. It opens a door that Christ can come and minister to the needs of mankind.
We have a choice. We are slaves to the one that we obey. If we are controlled by the world’s system around us, we are slaves of that system. If we are really following God, we became a slave of His and it results in righteousness – taking His character, taking the things that He has given to us and walking in them.
The Greek word for “servant” in meaning is bondage. In Scriptures, it says that this is metaphorically used and it means that we take upon ourselves that which He sets life for us. The things which are spiritual, we assume as our own. The moral standards that He gives and He sets as right, we assimilate them into our living. Things which are ethical, those things we want and we have in our own lives, we bring them into us. We take away the thoughts and the situations of man and we set a higher standard within our lifestyle. Not because we have to, but because we want to.
We want to give praise to Him. We want to give honor to Him. This is becoming a servant. When we take His will, the will of the Master, the will of the Lord and we make it our will, now we are living out our Christianity. When we live out our own lives, we are literally following another god. It is the god of self; the god which will cause death in our lives. Not necessarily talking about a physical death, but the death of blessing, the death of hope, the death of security.
This is why the defense, this is why we argue. This is why we fight back because we have lost our security. When we are secure, we don’t have to go into debate. When we are secure, we are not threatened by what others say or do. We know the Master. We are following the path where He has set it for us.
The Master sets the plan. The servant brings the plan into completion, into fulfillment. God has set the plan before the foundation of the earth. He set all things – plans that are perfect; plans that will not fade and pass away.
This is our task and our responsibility and it should be our joy to fulfill the will of the Father. To bring it to its reality to the best of our ability. Making certain that we are living out what He has set – that which is eternal, that which is righteous, that which has hope.
We take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. He says to us which we must understand. He is ready to punish disobedience whenever our obedience is complete. If He would bring His judgment upon the world today, we would be all wiped away. He waits so that we may learn that we may begin to walk in righteousness. Walk in that which He has given to us. We cannot serve two masters. We will love one and hate the other. You can’t follow both.
We must understand that no servant is above his master. The faithful servant does the master’s will. This should be evident in our lives in everything that we do. It is a challenge that God gives to us. An attitude of giving of ourselves to walk with Him. Yes, He uses some terminology which we struggle with, but He uses it as a metaphor so that we understand what He is talking about. He is not asking us to lose our abilities and just be nothing but a servant. He is asking us to volunteer to take upon a new will that which comes in knowing Him.
Romans 12 says to renew your mind. Set aside the things which are of man and take upon the things of God and prove the will of God. This is what the world is waiting for today. Why is the world in a condition that it is in today? It is because as Christians, we have not taken upon the will of the Father. We have not been like Christ to restore and redeem and to bring hope and help to mankind. We are looking for more for ourselves. We are wanting help for us, when in reality, He has given to us everything.
Our lives should be set to bring hope to others, to bring love to others, and to be like Him – emptying ourselves. He has given to us all. We lack in nothing. We are the blessed! Why did He bless us? As He said to Abraham of old, “I have blessed you that you may be a blessing.” This blessing is not to be self-contained. This blessing is not to make us proud and arrogant. The blessing has been given to us so that we may be a blessing, a help to others; that we might help them in our hour of need, in their hour of want and in their hour of pain.
The Greek word that describes servanthood is “diaconos.” We interpret it as Deacons. A deacon is to be a servant. He takes upon the will of the Master. In the Church today, it means the deacon becomes the servant of the Bishop. He fulfills the will of the Bishop, in like manner as we would to Christ. Doing what God has set rather than what we interpret or want. It is not what we understand, but what God has said. This is how we live out our lives. This is the provision of God to us; but instead what we have done is that we have loved the approval of men, rather than the approval of God.
May we find ourselves desiring to be what God wants us to be. May we walk with Him. May we fulfill His will. May we bring hope to mankind. May we bring peace to man. May we bring glory to God!
LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION
WITH
HIS GRACE, THE MOST REVEREND ARCHBISHOP LUIS ANTONIO "CHITO" GOKIM TAGLE D.D.
ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA AND VENERABLE PRIMATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH
THE WORD EXPOSED
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