Today was special at WMB Waterloo (service, notes). John and Jam Coffey spoke about IT Tender in Manilla. There was communion and a new song. And MJ’s baptism showed us that Jesus makes a difference in people’s lives.
This coming week is also special — we complete the 180 challenge … watch for a blog post on June 29.
John Coffey spoke about approaching life and mission with the heart of a learner, listener and servant. I’m a big fan of curiosity, which drives learning and listening. Curiosity and Love are a killer combination. I admire people who are genuinely interested in my life, what I am thinking and how they can learn from me. I want to be like them and learn from them. So, paradoxically, by listening, these people tend to influence me the most. Especially if they have the posture of having my best interest in mind.
We looked at Luke’s account of the last supper. This was such an intense dinner and John’s gospel spends a long time at the dinner (starts in 13). At the dinner Jesus is both celebrating and redefining Passover. The dinner isn’t filled with idle chatter, but rather last chance sort of conversations. The disciple’s heads must have been spinning.
Then, to ratchet it up more, Jesus identifies Judas is going to betray him. This is beyond a tense family Christmas dinner with relatives of differing views. And the next sentence in Luke? “Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them”, which seems totally bizarre to me. You’re going to argue about who is better or greater now? Our desire to be greater than the person next to us must be a very powerful drive.
And in that tense, bizarre, “what are you guys talking about??” moment, Jesus takes time to show them they have it all wrong. Even that is incredible — he has just made it clear he will be betrayed, and he’s been trying to explain he’s going to be killed and no one gets it. I would be totally exasperated. But, he not only explains the greatness of serving, but shows the greatness of serving by washing their feet. Wow. Imagine hosting Christmas dinner and then washing everyone’s feet … and that’s not even a close analogy. That’s what greatness looks like in the Kingdom of Heaven.
This morning John Coffey gave some pretty practical ways to show up with this posture of serving:
- Use your God-given gifts in a way that serves/uplifts others. This usually shows up in the intersection of your interests, gifts/talents, and passion.
- Serve in a way that honours God and gives God the glory. Some hints to recognize that you are serving from true compassion are:
- We recognize suffering and realize we are a part of it and not separate from it
- We want to make/see a change
- We don’t expect anything in return
- Serve in a way that leaves space for “perspective shifts”, growth and
learning.
Helping someone and receiving thanks releases endorphins and therefore feels good. Those “reminder endorphins” tell us about the order of God’s creation, but they are not the motivation for service … they are simply a “sometimes” consequence. True service comes from loving God and loving others. That difference might be subtle, but makes all the difference in the world. For example, does washing someone else’s (especially a lower status person’s) feet release endorphins?
The new to WMB song is Scandal of Grace (I looked for a great version online, but frankly this one is great). Its now added to the Spotify Songs at WMB playlist (bringing the total to 250, more on the playlist here).
And to close, a Sabbath Blessing:
May this day bring Sabbath rest to my heart and my home.
Pete Grieg, A Sabbath Blessing
May God’s image in me be restored, and my imagination in God be re-storied.
May the gravity of material things be lightened, and the relativity of time slow down.
May I know grace to embrace my own finite smallness in the arms of God’s infinite greatness.
May God’s Word feed me and His Spirit lead me into the week and life to come.
The Thursday After 