A sermon by Rev. Dr. Ted Crouch

September 7, 2003

_{Old Testament Lesson: Micah 6:6-8}

_{New Testament Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 26-27}

IN EVERY CHURCH I HAVE EVER SERVED I HAVE BEEN VERY GRATEFUL FOR FAITHFUL VOLUNTEERS. I REMEMBER EACH CHURCH HAS HAD AT LEAST ONE VOLUNTEER WHO WOULD STOP BY THE CHURCH, ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, AND ASK HOW I WAS, AND IF THERE WAS ANYTHING HE OR SHE COULD DO THAT DAY TO HELP ME-- SOMEONE LIKE MARGO WONDER.

THE LIST OF VOLUNTEERS FOR ANY CHURCH IS LONG; SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, TREASURERS, SUMMER CAMP LEADERS, BOY SCOUT LEADERS, YOUTH LEADERS, WORSHIP LEADERS, CHOIR MEMBERS, USHERS, FLOWER ARRANGERS, COMMUNION SERVERS, MUSICIANS, OFFICE ASSISTANTS, NEWSLETTER EDITORS AND COMPILERS AND MAILERS, GARDENERS, THOSE WHO ORGANIZE SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICES OR POTLUCKS AND COFFEE HOURS, AND PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP ON WORK DAYS AT THE CHURCH TO REPAIR THINGS.

THE PROPHET MICAH HAS DEFINED FAITHFUL SERVICE: "WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU BUT TO DO JUSTICE, TO LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD?"

IN BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, WE HEAR THE POWERFUL MESSAGE: GOD’S LOVE FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS CALLS US TO WORK FOR JUSTICE-- FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS.

IN HIS BOOK ‘ACTS OF COMPASSION: CARING FOR OTHERS AND HELPING OURSELVES,’ ROBERT WUTHNOW, OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, SAYS THAT "VOLUNTEERING IS ONE OF THE WAYS AMERICANS SHOW CARE AND COMPASSION"—DOING SO IN WAYS THAT HELP THE GIVER, THE RECIPIENT, AND THE SOCIETY AT LARGE."

HE CONTINUES, "MORE THAN THREE-FOURTHS OF ADULT AMERICANS REGARD VOLUNTARY SERVICE AS VERY IMPORTANT. CARING MUST SURVIVE AND COMPASSION MUST CONTINUE, HE SAYS, IF THE QUALITY OF OUR LIFE TOGETHER IS TO HAVE ANY RICHNESS AT ALL."

"WE MUST DEMONSTRATE, HE SAYS, A SENSE OF COMMITMENT LARGER THAN JUST TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS. COMPASSIONATE CARING SYMBOLIZES OUR COMMITMENT TO THOSE WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RECIPROCATE; IT ACKNOWLEDGES OUR COMMON IDENTITY AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND OUR DEVOTION TO THE VALUE OF CARING ITSELF."

ROBERT WUTHNOW SAYS: "THE PERSON WE HELP MAY WELL BE A STRANGER WE RELATE TO FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES, AND YET THE RELATIONSHIP REVEALS OUR COMMON HUMANITY, AND BRIDGES THE BARRIERS OF ETHNICITY AND RACE AND SOCIAL STATUS.

WHENEVER CHURCH VOLUNTEERS WORK PERSONALLY WITH THE POOR, OR WITH RECENT ARRIVALS SUCH AS IMMIGRANTS, OR WITH THE HOMELESS OR THE HUNGRY, WE DISCOVER AND BEGIN TO USE OUR POWER TO TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF SOME OF GOD’S CHILDREN, AND TO WORK TO CHANGE THE SYSTEMS THAT TREAT PEOPLE UNJUSTLY.

THAT IS WHAT MICAH MEANS BY DOING JUSTICE.

SECONDLY, WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF EACH OF US? TO LOVE KINDNESS.

IN HIS BOOK, ‘OUT OF SOLITUDE’, HENRI NOUWEN HAS AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION OF KINDNESS AND COMPASSION.

HE ASKS: ‘WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CARE? THE WORD CARE FINDS ITS ROOTS IN THE OLD ENGLISH WORD ‘KARA’ WHICH MEANS LAMENT. THE BASIC MEANING OF CARING IS TO ENTER INTO ANOTHER PERSON’S FEELINGS SO DEEPLY THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH THEIR PAIN AND CRY OUT WITH THEM.

CONTINUES NOUWEN, "WHEN WE HONESTLY ASK OURSELVES WHICH PERSONS IN OUR LIVES MEAN THE MOST TO US, WE OFTEN FIND THAT IT IS THOSE WHO HAVE REACHED OUT TO US WITH A GENTLE AND TENDER HAND. THE FRIEND WHO CAN BE SILENT WITH US IN A MOMENT OF CONFUSION, WHO STAYS WITH US THROUGH OUR TIME OF NEED--- THAT IS A FRIEND WHO CARES.

NOUWEN SAYS; "TO CARE MEANS FIRST OF ALL TO BE PRESENT and focussed. THEY HAVE YOUR COMPLETE AND UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. YOU DO NOT SHARE WITH THEM ALL OF YOUR TIMES OF NEEDING CARE. YOU LISTEN--- WITHOUT GIVING YOUR EVALUATION OR JUDGEMENT OR ADVICE.

A PERSON WHO CARES ACCEPTS YOU ON YOUR TERMS, AND ENCOURAGES YOU TO TRUST YOUR DEEPEST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, SO THAT WITH THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT YOU CAN OVERCOME YOUR PRESENT AND FUTURE FEARS AND PROBLEMS.

THAT IS WHAT MICAH MEANS BY A PERSON WHO LOVES KINDNESS.

FINALLY, A PERSON OF FAITH WALKS HUMBLY WITH GOD.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR SAID: ‘IF YOU WANT TO BE IMPORTANT, WONDERFUL; IF YOU WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED, WONDERFUL; IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT, WONDERFUL.

"BUT RECOGNIZE THAT THE ONE WHO IS GREATEST AMONG YOU, ACCORDING TO JESUS, WILL BE THE SERVANT OF ALL. EVERYBODY CAN BE GREAT, BECAUSE EVERYBODY CAN SERVE…ALL YOU NEED TO SERVE IS A HEART FULL OF GRACE, A SOUL GENERATED BY LOVE, AND YOU CAN BE THAT SERVANT."

IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN WE LIVE A LIFE OF FAITHFUL SERVICE, WE SHOW OTHERS WHAT TRUE GREATNESS LOOKS LIKE, ACCORDING TO THE PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH. OUR SERVICE TO PEOPLE IS A WITNESS TO JESUS CHRIST, THE MAN FOR OTHERS, WHO CAME NOT TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE.

TODAY WE HAVE HONORED SOMEONE WHO HAS LIVED THIS FAITHFUL LIFE OF SERVICE.

JESUS SAID INASMUCH AS YOU SERVED ONE OF LEASt OF THESE, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, YOU HAVE SERVED ME.

MICAH CHALLENGES EVERY PERSON OF FAITH: "WITH WHAT SHALL I COME BEFORE THE LORD, AND BOW MYSELF BEFORE GOD ON HIGH?…GOD HAS SHOWED YOU WHAT IS GOOD; AND WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU BUT TO DO JUSTICE, AND TO LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD?"

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA, FOR SEVERAL YEARS, HAS SENT PEOPLE OVERSEAS TO WORK WITH CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS IN MANY COUNTRIES--- ABOUT SEVENTY AT LAST COUNT. THEY USUALLY GO AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE AND WE CALL THEM "VOLUNTEERS IN MISSION."

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT EVERY MEMBER OF A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SHOULD SEE HIMSELF OR HERSELF AS A VOLUNTEER IN MISSION-- RIGHT HERE AT HOME.

I DO NOT MEAN ONLY THOSE WHO volunteer to be ORDAINED FOR SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES, SUCH AS ELDERS AND DEACONS AND PASTORS. I MEAN EVERY FAITHFULL MEMBER OF THE CHURCH.

BEING A PROPHET, MICAH DOES NOT BEAT AROUND THE BUSH OR TRY TO BE POLITE: IT IS NOT A MATTER OF "IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU SOMEDAY DO SOME JUSTICE, OR TRY TO LOVE KINDNESS AND WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD—IF YOU FIND THE TIME. MICAH CALLS EVERY VOLUNTEER MEMBER OF THE CHURCH TO DO WHAT IS GOOD NOW, AND TO DO WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES NOW.

THAT IS THE MINISTRY OF VOLUNTEERS WHO SERVE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR---JESUS CHRIST—IN HIS CHURCH AND IN HIS WORLD. AND AS MICAH INSPIRES AND CHALLENGES US, I KNOW WHaT THE LORD REQUIRES OF ALL OF US: TO DO JUSTICE, AND LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD.

LET US PRAY:

wE THANK YOU, O GOD, THAT WE ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE, CHOSEN FOR SERVICE IN AND FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD. HELP US HEAR YOUR CALL TO SERVICE TODAY. WE ARE YOUR HOUSEHOLD, BAPTIZED INTO ONE FAMILY OF FAITH AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS CHRIST. WE ARE BAPTIZED INTO SERVICE. WE ARE A TEMPLE OF YOUR SPIRIT, BUT WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. WE ARE A COLONY OF HEAVEN. WE ARE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WHICH IS NOW HERE IN PART, AND IS COMING IN FULLNESS. WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. EVERY PART IS IMPORTANT AND HAS ITS FUNCTION FOR THE GOOD OF THE WHOLE BODY.

SEND US OUT IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT TO LIVE FOR OTHERS, AS CHRIST LIVED FOR US, ANNOUNCING HIS DEATH FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD, AND TELLING HIS RESURRECTION TO ALL PEOPLE AND NATIONS.

BY YOUR SPIRIT DRAW US TOGETHER INTO ONE BODY AND JOIN US TO CHRIST THE LORD, THAT WE MAY REMAIN HIS GLAD AND FAITHFUL PEOPLE, THROUGH CHRIST, WITH CHRIST, IN CHRIST, IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, ALL GLORY AND HONOR ARE YOURS, ALMIGHTY GOD, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.