Servants of God

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

June 25, 2006

II Cor. 6:1-13

Frank Harrington tells of the early days of his first pastorate. Frank
had been a bright student, and his early sermons reflected his desire to
share with members of his church all hed learned in seminary. A retired
colonel invited Frank out for coffee one morning, and began Frank, you
are perhaps the brightest pastor weve ever had! And Frank was thinking
to himself No wonder the Army made this man a colonel! But the colonel
went on to suggest that Franks sermons, while scholarly, werent really
connecting with people in the pew. The colonel pointed out Willard
Kanes, a member of limited education, whose job consisted of pumping gas
at a nearby filling station. This was in the days when you didnt have
to pump your own gas! The colonel said We need sermons that can help
Willard Kanes better pump gas on Monday mornings!

Our scripture reading today from II Corinthians is such a passage. Paul
had spent 18 months serving the church in Corinth, and now hes away,
and opponents to Paul had appeared on the scene, wanting to lead the
church in their own direction. Their primary concern seemed to be their
own comfort and prestige. Paul counters in his letter by sharing his
heart, and the attitude needed for one to rise above trials, false
accusations, and grief. Paul wrote As servants of God we have commended
ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions,
hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless
nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of
spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God. Whether
one pumps gas like Willard Kanes, is a colonel in the Armed Forces, a
secretary or an executive, one faces trials and challenges. And
believers in Christ are not immune from challenges, but may face them in
a double measure!

Mother Teresa was once asked What is your biggest problem? One might
have expected Mother Teresa to talk about the terrible poverty in
Calcutta, and the humbleness of the resources she could muster. But
Mother Teresa responded My biggest problem is professionalism. Women
come to work with me among the poorest of the poor. Then I send them off
to get a Masters of Social work or a nursing degree. When they return
from their training, their first question is, Where is my office? I
send them to the House of the Dying. After six months of holding the
hands of dying people, they are ready to be servants again. (Quoted by
Vic Pentz, Peachtree.) Paul was challenged in Corinth by leaders who had
come in after him, desiring prominence, comfort, and prestige.

Paul had become a respected leader in Judaism as a leading Pharisee.
Entrusted with leading the persecution of Christians, Paul got knocked
off his high horse by the blinding light of the risen Christ. Thats
when Paul traded in his prominence to become a servant of Christ, having
to flee for his life at night from Damascus, facing shipwrecks,
stonings, being jailed, beaten with rods, enduring hunger and sleepless
nights. But amazingly, Paul did not recite his sufferings to elicit
sympathy, but to point to the power beyond himself which emboldened and
upheld him. Paul spoke of the power of God which enabled truthful
speech, kindness, patience, holiness of spirit, genuine love, purity and
knowledge. Paul spoke of himself as always rejoicing, as poor, yet
making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The Holy Spirit, which guided Paul, makes all the difference. The
degrees which Mother Teresas workers earned were not the problem. The
social work schools and nursing schools they attended taught useful
skills. The problem was not in the education, but the attitude of the
educated. Tom Long tells of a young physician, a dermatologist, dealing
with a hospital patient who suffered from a rare and potentially fatal
skin disease. The doctor left orders that the patient was to be bathed.
When he stopped in the next day, he could tell from the unpleasant odor
that his orders had not been carried out. The doctor stormed to the
nurses station, demanding Why werent my orders carried out? The
nurse, expecting the outburst, stated that a patient that size required
two people to lift and bathe him. And she couldnt get any of the other
nurses to work with her to accomplish the job. The doctor paused for a
moment, and said Ill help you. Get the bath ready, and let me know
when. Ive never bathed a person, so Ill need your guidance and help.
It wasnt news at this hospital that a doctor had yelled at a nurse. But
it was news that a doctor was going to assist a nurse in bathing a
patient. The word spread like wildfire through the corridors. A crowd of
employees found a reason to happen to be on that floor, to see if the
rumor indeed was true. When the doctor left the room, having assisted a
nurse, a crowd of people broke into applause. That patient, against the
odds, recovered! (Montreat Reclaiming the Text conference, June 2, 2006).

When the going gets tough, some get angry. Some seek to stand above the
fray. Some give in to despair. Some retreat into professionalism. Others
call upon the Holy Spirit. They bend their necks down and help shoulder
the load. They keep heading in Gods direction, regardless of the cost.
Ive been blessed to know people like this. Dr. Charles Ainslie was a
retired Presbyterian medical missionary in Guatemala. I was 24 and on my
seminary intern year; Dr. Ainslie was about 80. His wife was in a
nursing home with Alzheimer's, and sadly, no longer knew him. Dr.
Ainslie visited her faithfully. But he also continued to visit a small
Presbyterian medical clinic in the mountains. When he first went to
Guatemala, he rode a burro into the mountains with his wife to serve and
bear witness. Now, he had a small car, lived simply, and continued to
serve part time, as he could. Doctors in such rural areas have very
simple tools to work with, and the poor peasants presented great
challenges. But he did what he could. Not only did Dr. Ainslie not
complain. He was a very cheerful man! He participated in the Union
Church of Guatemala, where I served, and a businessman and elder at the
church once told me: When our church faces hard times financially, we
make appeals to the congregation to increase their giving. Most of the
business people here, who make big salaries, and small contributions to
the church, continue to give the same. Doc Ainslie, whose retirement
income is meager, but gives a lot, goes home, prays about it, and gives
even more. And Doctor Ainslie was more joyful in his giving than others
were in their keeping!

Our work as Gods servants gets validated in the details. Its not the
occasional show we make, its the way we live out our daily lives. Most
people can tolerate prosperity and success relatively well. But how do
we respond when life doesnt go our way? How do we live when no one
appears to be watching?

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, spoke of Jesus, who, though he
was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to
be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, humbling
himself, even to death on the cross. In Christ, God not only became
human, but Jesus took the place of the human sinner...As he took our
place he gave us his. (Kenneth Foreman, LBC, II Corinthians, p. 130.)

As Eugene Peterson says in his translation of this passage into
contemporary language, Our work as Gods servants gets validated--or
not--in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post,
alertly, unswervingly...in hard times, tough times, bad times; when
were beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working
without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness,
holiness, and honest love;....ignored by the world, but recognized by
God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an
inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always
filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having
nothing, having it all.

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