Faithfully follow your Savior! (Mark 9:30-37)

October 7, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

I don’t know why it is, but little children love to play follow the leader.  They love to walk around a play ground following behind and doing everything exactly the same as the person in the lead.  If the leader takes big steps, those following take the same type of big steps.  If the leader steps up on a tree stump and them jumps off, everyone who is following steps up on that same tree stump before jumping off.  If the leader spins in a circle three times, shouting I’m the greatest while waving his hands above his head, then everyone who is following recognizes that it is now their turn to reflect everything the leader does as they faithfully follow him around the playground.  Well, in our lesson today, we are being urged to faithfully follow our Savior.  Though we are not being asked to play follow the leader with him, we are none the less being called on to recognize his great service for us and reflect that service in our lives as we faithfully follow after Jesus Christ our Savior.

Following their Savior was something that the disciples had become quite good at over the past two or so years.  They had grown used to following Jesus wherever he led them, and they had learned a great deal from him as their teacher.  The problem, however, was that they had still had not come to recognize that Jesus’ life was not a pursuit of greatness, but rather, it was a life of service that he performed for you and me.  Take a look at how Mark records this in our lesson today!  “They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” (Mark 9:30-32, NIV84)

Shortly before our lesson opens, Jesus had been in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 50 miles to the Northeast from where he was now.  He had begun to plainly teach the disciples that it was necessary for him to suffer many things at the hands of the religious leaders, that he would die, and on the third day rise again.  On that occasion Peter had taken him aside and tried to convince Jesus that he didn’t really need to go through all that suffering, to which Jesus had responded, “Get behind me satan!”  As we meet Jesus and his disciples today, about 2 weeks has passed and Jesus again teaches his faithful followers that he would soon have to suffer, die, and rise again.  Though Jesus had quite likely taught the disciples this very thing over the past two weeks, take a look at the disciples response in vs. 32, “They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” (Mark 9:32, NIV84)

Though Jesus had explained it quite clearly, the disciples simply didn’t recognize or perhaps they simply didn’t want to recognize that Jesus’ life was not leading to a glorious earthly kingdom, but that his life had been a great act of service which he had provided for the people of the world.  His life had been a great act of service, at the end of which, he would give his life on the cross to free all people from the curse of their sins. 

But even though this was something that the disciples didn’t recognize at this point in their lives, as Jesus followers, this was something that they would come to understand and take comfort in after Jesus rose from the dead, just as we recognize it today.  For today, as we seek to follow our Savior, we do take great comfort in the fact that our Savior served us by living a perfect life on our behalf.  We recognize how Jesus served us by living the perfect life that we who have been forever tainted with sin could not live.  As we follow him, we recognize how he served us by allowing his people to make fun of him, spit on him, beat him and abuse him, reject him, and finally crucify him.  We recognize how Christ served us by enduring the excruciating weight of the countless sins of every single person in creation that were heaped upon him in that moment.  We recognize how Jesus served us by bearing in our place the full punishment of God’s righteous anger over our sins.  We recognize how Jesus served us by willingly committing his spirit to his heavenly father and dying the death that we deserved to die.  But best of all, as his followers today, we recognize and take comfort in the fact that Jesus rose again from the dead to assure us that our sins had been forgiven!  It is because of this that we who are his followers are now willing to serve him with our lives.  It is because of this that we, his followers seek to reflect his love and his service in our own lives.  It is because of this that we who seek to faithfully follow our Savior do indeed seek to reflect his service in all that we say and all that we do.

For the disciples, who were still struggling to make peace with the fact that Jesus’ mission as the Messiah was not to seek glory and greatness for himself, or to seek to establish an earthly kingdom, the idea the idea of reflecting Christ’s service in their lives was still a foreign concept.  It was still a foreign concept because they were still convinced that by following Jesus they would become his right hand men in his earthly kingdom.  This is why, as Mark tells us, the disciples argued along the way about who was the greatest.  Take a look at Mark 9 starting at verse 33: “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:33-37, NIV84)

Though the disciples were willing to faithfully follow their Savior, at this point they did not yet understand that following him was not about who was the greatest, but about serving him with their lives.  Unfortunately, this is something that even we faithful followers of Jesus Christ still have trouble with today.  For even though we know that a Christian life is a life of service, so often we would rather seek our own glory and greatness, however, when we are reminded of all that Christ did for us, it becomes that much easier for us to live our lives in such a way that we reflect our Savior’s service in all that we do!

For the truth is, when we faithfully follow our Savior and remember all that he did for us, we are naturally moved to serve him in all that we say and all that we do.  We are moved to serve him by gathering regularly for worship.  We are moved to serve him by gathering together to study his Word with our fellow Christians.  We are moved to reflect his love for us as we care for the needs of friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers.  We are moved to serve him by fighting against the sinful desires that affect us on a daily basis.  So do just that!  Let your love for Christ reflect in all that you say and do.  Let your lives as followers of Jesus be a reflection of the life of service that he undertook to free you from your sins.  Serve the Lord by giving to him not only the first and best of what he has give to you, but also of yourselves.  Serve the Lord by getting involved in your own congregation.  Serve the Lord by participating in worship.  Serve the Lord by serving your neighbor.  Serve the Lord by telling others about Jesus their Savior.  Serve the Lord by giving to him of your time, of your talents, of your effort, and of your attention. 

These are but a few of the ways that we can reflect our Savior’s service in our own lives as we follow him.  For we who are his followers today do indeed seek to follow just like children follow each other as they play follow the leader.  Though our Savior does not take us on crazy circuitous routes through a playground, as we follow him we easily recognize the great service he accomplished for each and every one of us, and we, as his followers seek to reflect that service through every aspect of our lives.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

As for Me and My Household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Series: What I'd Like to Know Is… (6/6)

September 2, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

On October 11, 1987, my Grandfather, Edwin Breiling, died.  Only a few days before he had been working in his yard, hanging storm windows in preparation for the coming winter, when he collapsed.  He collapsed because an aortal aneurism had ruptured while he was doing his work.  I remember when we got the news that Grandpa had collapsed and that he had been moved to the Hospital in La Crosse.  I remember my parents traveling to La Crosse to help Grandma, and I remember them coming back on Sunday afternoon and giving us the news that Grandpa had gone home to be with the Lord.  I was 15 that day.  I was a freshman in high school and even though I had been to a number of funerals in my young life, this was the first time I had felt the sharp sting of death so personally.  I can still remember the trip to Wisconsin, gathering in the funeral home with the family, sitting and listening to the words of comfort that the Pastor gave before everyone came to pay their respects. 

But out of all of these things, the clearest memory I have is sitting in church and hearing the very words of our lesson today being used as my Grandfather’s funeral sermon.  You see, Edwin Breiling was a Pastor who had served the Lord faithfully for over 40 years, and his final words to his congregation were the very words of our lesson today, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”" (Joshua 24:14–15, NIV84)  Through the pastor who conducted his funeral service, Pastor Edwin Breiling stood before his congregation one last time.  He stood before his congregation as Joshua stood before the Israelites in Shechem.  Grandpa stood before his congregation and told them, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  As Christians, these words are very important to us.  Many of us have them prominently displayed in our homes in one form or another.  My son has these words on a sticker which he has attached to the inside of one of his school folders, and I have a framed copy of these words hanging on the wall in my office. These words are very important to us as Christians because they so clearly convey our desire to be like Joshua.  They clearly convey our desire to stand firm in the teachings of the Lord.  They clearly convey our desire to stand against idolatry and unbelief, and to choose to serve the Lord with our lives.  Even if everybody around us should forsake the Lord, as Christians we long to cry out with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Now, the interesting thing about these words is the situation in which they were given.  You see, when Joshua spoke the words of our lesson today, he was very near the end of his life.  He had led the Israelites for many years, and under his leadership the Lord had subdued the nations before them, and they had conquered the majority of the Promised Land.  Though there were still areas of Canaan to be conquered, by the time that Joshua spoke these words, the land had already been divided among the tribes.  The people were living in cities and homes that they had not built.  They were eating the fruit of vineyards that they had not planted.  They were enjoying the blessings of the good land that the Lord had given them, and they and the land were at rest.

So, Joshua gathered all the people of Israel at Shechem, which was the perfect place to cast out idolatry and renew the Lord’s Covenant.  It was the perfect place because Shechem was the place where Abraham essentially got rid of all the gods his forefathers had served and served the Lord.  It was there at Shechem that Abraham built an altar to the Lord, which was the first altar to the Lord in the heathen land of Canaan, and worshiped the Lord who had chosen him by grace and promised him that his descendants would one day possess the Land of Canaan.  (Genesis 12:1-9).  It was there at Shechem, where all the Israelites had gathered, that each Israelite could look around and they could see the reality of that promise come to fruition.  Not only that, but Shechem was the place where Jacob settled after returning from his 20 years of service to his Uncle Laban (Genesis 33:18-20).  It was at Shechem that he bought the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.  It was at Shechem that Jacob called on all his family to get rid of any foreign gods and idols that they had with them, and they buried them under an Oak tree. (Genesis 35:1-5)  It was also from Shechem where Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers, thus beginning the movement of Israel to Egypt and ultimately their own years of slavery.  So, as Joshua gathered the people at Shechem, in many ways it marked for them a home coming.  It marked for them the ending of the chapters of slavery and wandering in the desert, as well as the beginning of a new nation under the blessing of the Lord.  So, there at Shechem, a place filled with so much history for the Israelites, that Joshua reminded them of the Lord’s great blessings to them and then challenged them, saying: “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”" (Joshua 24:14–15, NIV84)

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  For Joshua it was very clear what his choice was.  No matter what any other Israelite would choose, Joshua’s choice for himself and for his family was that they would serve the Lord.  This was the same choice that my Grandfather made!  As for him and for his household, they would serve the Lord!  But this was not a choice made hastily or declared as an ultimatum at his funeral.  No, this was something that he displayed with his life.  Because he was the spiritual leader of his house, he taught his three daughters the truths of God’s Word, and to this day his daughters serve the Lord with their lives.  Those three daughters sought for themselves men who loved the Lord and men who served the Lord with every aspect of their lives, and together, with these men, they each started families that serve the Lord.  In each of these families the children were taught the precious truths of God’s Word.  Each family grew together in faith by gathering in church and worshiping the Lord on a weekly basis.  Each family lived their faith in word and actions.  Whether it was stated or not, each one of those families adopted Joshua’s declaration as their own, demonstrating by their words and actions that regardless of what others did, they would serve the Lord.  From those three daughters came eight grandchildren, and I know for sure that seven of the eight of those grandchildren live to serve the Lord. And even though I’ve personally lost contact with one of them I believe that she too lives her life in service to the Lord.  From those eight grandchildren, four are married and have brought five great-grandchildren into the world so far.  These five great-grandchildren are already being taught the faith of their great-grandfather.  They are already being taught the faith-walk of a Christian’s life, the importance of growing in the Word of God, and the strengthening of faith that comes from gathering for worship on a weekly basis.  All because a man named Edwin Breiling faithfully served the Lord and taught his household to do the same, nearly 25 years after the Lord called him home to heaven, it can still be said that he and his household are serving the Lord.

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Can these words be said about you?  Absolutely!  It doesn’t matter what your family history might be.  It doesn’t matter if you are the first in your family to come to faith in the Lord or you are one in a longer line than I have displayed today.  It doesn’t matter because today, as we have gathered in worship, we have gathered before the Lord at Shechem with Joshua and the Israelites.  Today, we have Joshua calling on each and every one of us to throw away the false gods that our forefathers worshiped, and that we too have worshiped, and serve the Lord.  Today, the Lord is calling on each and every one of us to cast out whatever false gods and idols we’ve been carrying around in our hearts; false gods that have sought to replace the true god and who have, at times, succeeded at replacing him.  But what gods are you still carrying with you today?  Has greed become a god that rules your life?  Have you sat at the altar of selfishness and worshiped there for long periods of time?  Has pleasure filled your heat with the joys of this world and crowded out the joy of the True God.  Has obstinacy become your god as you refuse to heed the Word of the Lord that you learned as little children?  Have you given over to sexual indulgence, worldly wisdom, secularism, hedonism, consumerism, instant gratification, addiction, anger, frustration, or any other gods to claim your heart?  Have you allowed anyone or anything to take over God’s place in your heart?  We all have, this is why Joshua is calling each and every one of us to, “Fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14, NIV84)

So, dear friends, let us all throw away these gods which seek to claim our heats by confessing them to the Lord in our hearts.  Take time during the offering to confess them to the Lord.  Take time during the silent prayer to confess them.  Take time after worship when you are at home and alone to write them down and confess them to the Lord. Then, when you have confessed them crumble up the sheet of paper, send it through the paper shredder, burn it on the grill before cooking your favorite meal, and live in the Lord’s forgiveness, and serve the Lord with your lives.  For you know that it is Jesus, your Savior who forgives all your sins.  You know it is Jesus, your Savior, who purifies your hearts so that you can grow in your faith and so that you can serve the Lord with your lives.  It is Jesus, your Savior, who moves your heart to action so that you begin to live your faith in the things you say and the things that you do. 

So, today, heed the words of Joshua and fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.  No matter what age you might be, no matter what your family situation might be, no matter how well you might have served the Lord to this point, serve the Lord by growing in your faith.  Make the Lord and his Word the highest priority of your life.  Grow in your faith through worship and Bible study, and as you do, you will be seen as someone who does indeed serve the Lord with your life.  Your children will see your example, and no matter what age they might be, they will see the importance of serving the Lord with their lives as you are serving the Lord with your life.  It may happen quickly, and it may happen slowly.  It may even happen so slowly that you cannot perceive it, and in some cases it might take your funeral until your children understand the importance of serving the Lord with their lives.  But regardless of the time it takes, today is the day for you to make the choice to continue serving the Lord with your lives, and making that choice you can say with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Since 1987 these words have resonated with me in a way that I never expected.  I can only thank God for the faithfulness of a man named Edwin Breiling who faithfully lived for the Lord and taught his family to do the say.  I pray that the Lord would continue to allow me to do the same so that my family might continue to learn as his family did.  I pray also that the Lord would bless you through his Word that each of you might live faithfully for the Lord as well, teaching your families to do the same, so that we might all grow in God’s Grace declaring with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Jesus Is Our Servant Leader (Luke 22:19-24; John 13:2-5, 14)

April 21, 2011
Maundy Thursday

Dear friends in Christ.

The phrase, “Servant Leadership” is a phrase that was originally coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay that he published back in 1970. In that essay he said, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead” Since that essay was written there have been many people who have sought to practice principals of servant leadership in their homes, businesses, and industries.

Yet, throughout all of history, there is no greater servant leader than Jesus Christ, our Savior. For it was Jesus himself who told us that he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) and that is exactly what Jesus did. He served the Israelites by traveling from town to town and proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in him, the Savior of the world. He served the people by meeting their needs with the condemnation of the law and the comfort of the gospel. He served his people, and indeed the whole world, as he prepared himself on this night to give up his own life so that we might live. In fact, as we meet Jesus in our lesson from John 13 we see him leading his disciples by serving them. For in John 13, Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room celebrating the Passover. But, as we find them, the disciples were all arguing about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus showed them, through an act of servant leadership, what being the greatest was all about. Take a look at what John has to tell us in chapter 13, beginning with verse 2: “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:2-5, 14, NIV84)

How humbling it must have been for the disciples, and how embarrassing, to see Jesus, their Lord and Master displaying his love for them by humbly washing their feet, even as they had been so recently arguing about their greatness. Yet, how often don’t we act exactly like the disciples did? How often don’t we jockey among ourselves to see which one of us is the greatest in the church? Oh, we may not openly argue about our own greatness, but how often don’t we subtly or even overtly point out our own over all service record? How often don’t we like to review how long we’ve served in one position or another, or even how long we’ve been members of this congregation? How often haven’t we, as volunteers, voiced our anger and frustration against all those others who simply don’t do anything for the congregation? How often haven’t we complained about the running of a committee or organization within the church, speaking about its members or leaders behind their backs? How often haven’t we expressed our own ideas in the church and then been hurt when our ideas are not used or voted down? How often haven’t we seen something that needed to be changed, but kept quiet about it, until finally we couldn’t stand it anymore and burst forth in anger, exercising authority over a situation with anger and frustration? How often haven’t we been just like the disciples, self righteously stepping ever closer to our secret desire to be called greatest in the Kingdom of Christianity?

Jesus knows exactly how many times we have done these things and even more than that, just as he knew it about his disciples. Yet, Jesus never switched tracks. He never deviated from his course. In fact, Luke 22 tells us that Jesus continued traveling the path that would lead him to the cross in just a few short hours. Luke 22 tells us how Jesus revealed the identity of his betrayer, how Jesus was setting in motion all the events that were unfolding before him, even how he instituted a new meal of forgiveness for his disciples who were still struggling to understand what servant leadership was all about. Take a look at Luke 22 and well read verses 19-23: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. (Luke 22:19–23, NIV84)

In such an amazing way, as they partook of that holy supper, Jesus gave them to eat and drink the very events that would play out before them in roughly 12 hours time. He gave them his body together with the bread. He gave them his bold together with the wine. He gave it to them for the forgiveness of their sins. He gave it to them to help them understand what his mission was all about. He gave it to them to help them grow in their faith, be strengthened in their faith, and be moved to live in their faith in Jesus, their Servant Leader.

In the same what that Jesus gave this special meal to his disciples, he made sure that they passed it down from generation to generation so that we too could participate in the events of Good Friday. He made sure that through the Apostle’s preaching, we too would learn about this marvelous meal of Christ’s body and blood given and poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. For tonight, as you approach this table to eat the bread and wine—in a special way I cannot understand but only believe because Jesus tell me that this is how it is—you will be eating the very body that was broken for us on the cross. You will be drinking the very blood that Jesus poured out for us for the forgiveness of all of our sins. In this meal, Jesus body together with the bread, and Jesus blood, together with the wine, come together to assure us that our sins have been completely and totally washed away. Those sins of jockeying for position with our words; those sins of voicing our anger against all those who don’t volunteer as often or as willingly as we do; those sins of complaining against others and speaking behind their backs; those sins of feeling unduly hurt when our own ideas are not accepted; those sins of bursting forth with rage and anger rather than working to fix a problem; all our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. All our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ body given for us. All our sins have been forgiven because the Son of Man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

What greater attitude of servant leadership could there be than that of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for our sins! Though he knew what was to come, he willingly went forward to the cross in our place. Though the phrase “Servant Leadership” was only really coined some 40 years ago the concept has been around since even before the time of Christ. Yet as we have studied the People of the Passion, we can truly see how Christ our Savior stands out as our Servant Leader. So, as you leave here today with the taste of your Savior still on your tongues, live in the forgiveness that he has so lovingly bestowed upon you and seek to emulate him with your lives.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN