The Scandal of Servant-hood

I remember one year when I was a kid that I became so angry that they had to work quite awhile to convince me to get in the car to go to church that particular night.

We can easily imagine some sort of angry argument smoldering not very far in the background behind Jesus that Holy Thursday night.

--The disciples are supposed to be preparing with joy for the Passover celebration, yet we get the distinct impression that they are spending more time off in the corner arguing.

--In the other Gospel accounts, Jesus verbally reprimands the disciples several times as they move toward Jerusalem when they are more concerned about arguing who will get to sit in the honored position when Jesus gets to be king than they are about learning what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

--John doesn't record Jesus' reprimands; instead, he tells what Jesus does at the meal that night.

--Jesus sees what needs to be done,

he sees that no one will take that job that is the lowest of the low.

The basin, towel, and water are sitting there,ready, but no one is about to help anyone else with such cleansing.

And so Jesus gets up and does it.

And then they notice, with shock!

Amazement; what a scandal!

Something they would not stoop to do, Jesus does not seem to be embarrassed to take on, and does so without a word.

“But you are supposed to be more “lordly” than this: a true king would not mess with such a menial task!

The disciples are shocked, and the scandal they sense is on several levels:

(1) The first level we have already mentioned: that foot-washing by Jesus interrupts the continuing argument about who is the greatest in the kingdom to come, and who gets to sit beside Jesus.

(2) The second level is a bit more complex.

Do we sometimes feel a strange reluctance to allow someone to do something loving for us?

When someone wants to give us a “just because” gift, we tend to protest “Oh, you don't have to do that.”

Why the protest?

--Because to accept that gift, however small, is to be ever so slightly dependent on that person.

It is to acknowledge that we cannot or will not do everything we need for ourselves.

We regard it as embarrassing not to be fully independent.

And so Jesus washing their feet is a major upset to their pride.

No longer could they sneer at a lowly slave, or at the last disciple called, or whoever, to do the menial task, for it had already been done by the master.

And then the third level of shock and discomfort is even more important.

Jesus' action upsets us also because to receive love from another is to be called upon to make a loving commitment in response.

We are offended by love, because we fear the commitment which the acceptance of that love is meant to evoke from us.

Jesus does something wonderful out of sheer love – he reaches out to this rag-tag group of disciples who spend too much time bickering and too little time learning and practicing, and he says:

--I choose you, in spite of yourselves.

--I love you, in spite of your un-loveliness.

--I will re-make your hard heart and unwilling hands.

--I invite you to love me in prayer and worship,

--and I invite you to love your neighbor in word and deed.

God's great love which Jesus acts out here really offends us because it is at the same time an invitation to love in return and commit ourselves to a relationship of love.

It turns us inside out, from self-centered to other-directed,

from asking “what will it cost me?” (because we know now that it will cost us everything) to asking “how will it proclaim Good News to a sad and dark world?” and “How will it help my neighbor in body and spirit?”

That kind of change which we cannot control is very offensive to our old ways of thinking.

Servant-hood as a way of life?

“Not for me,” many said back then, turning away from Jesus.

“Not for me,” many still say today.

Robert Kysar tells this story:

There was an executive of a large firm who behaved in a very unorthodox and un-executive manner.

He arrived early each morning and went from office to office preparing coffee in each one.

At first the staff was puzzled, but after a while they found out who was responsible.

Some were deeply impressed that the big boss would do that, and it evoked from them an attitude of helpfulness toward their colleagues.

Others were suspicious, “He's trying to get something out of us.”

Some questioned his sanity.

Some were offended by the implication that they were to treat their subordinates in a like manner.

They soon looked for jobs elsewhere.

But among those who responded favorably to his actions, there emerged a sense of community and congeniality unparalleled in the business world.

The executive gave a gift to the staff.

--Some didn't like it because it wasn't “executive” enough.

--Some didn't like it because it suggested a slight bit of dependency on him.

--Some didn't like it because it opened the possibility of a relationship based upon love and respect rather than fear and power.

But for those who receive the gift gladly, what a different place their office is become.

This is the way in which Jesus acts out the scandal of servant-hood among us;

it is demonstrated in foot-washing, and continues in patient teaching with the disciples and us.

May we begin to be transformed by his gifts, and begin to act toward others in the same way that the Father acts toward the Son our Lord Jesus, and Jesus acts toward us.

Servant-hood.

It will still seem scandalous to the world, but for all whom Jesus calls, it is the highest possible office which any Christian can hold. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.