“Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness”
Preached Sunday, September 17, 2023
This morning we are continuing our sermon series on living out our membership vows that we make as part of a United Methodist Church. To serve God faithfully by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. I have endeavored to simplify how we think of each of these things. To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God. To be generous with our presence is to show up. And today we are going to talk about being generous with our service and our witness. I'm talking about them together because I do believe they are so closely related. So to give generously of our service and witness is, simply put:
To see Christ in others.
To be Christ to others.
Those two comprise giving generously of our service.
And then to share Christ with others - which is giving generously of our witness.
When we talk about being generous in our service, seeing Christ in others and being Christ to them, there is no passage that comes to mind more than Matthew 25. In it Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, visit the sick and the prisoner - we do these things to Christ himself.
What we do to each other, especially those who are in the most need, those who are the most marginalized, what we do to the least of these, we do to and for Jesus.
Mother Theresea said, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”
I fully support the practice of reminding ourselves that the least of these are Jesus.
The next time you see someone who is an addict say, “This is addicted Jesus.” The next time you see someone living on the street say, “This is homeless Jesus.” The next time you see something on the news about immigrants or you hear or see a local raid say, “This is undocumented Jesus.” The next time you see someone who is acting erratic or talking to themselves say, “This is mentally ill Jesus.”
We need to practice seeing Jesus in the least of these. We need to train ourselves to recognize that Christ is among us - and often in those who might make us feel most uncomfortable or unsure of what to do.
When we see Jesus in the other, we are compelled to serve them. And when we serve others, out Christian charity or goodness or whatever it is, we come to see Jesus in others. The order is not what matters, what matters is the love and respect not just for Christ but for all those whom Christ manifests himself in: the least of these among us. For in the words of Catholic activist Dorothy Day, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” This can be a hard realization for us as Christians who proclaim and feel a deep love for God, but too often fail to love the least of these or those we classify as others, not us. And yet, in order to deepen our faith, deepen our love for God, we must undertake the practice of loving our neighbor.
Which brings us to the second part of service. If the first part of service is seeing Jesus in the other than the second part is being Jesus to them.
We know that Scripture tells us that we are the hands and feet of Christ. St. Theresa of Avila, expanded upon this well known Scripture by saying:
When we see Jesus in the other, we are compelled to serve them. And when we serve others, out Christian charity or goodness or whatever it is, we come to see Jesus in others. The order is not what matters, what matters is the love and respect not just for Christ but for all those whom Christ manifests himself in: the least of these among us. For in the words of Catholic activist Dorothy Day, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” This can be a hard realization for us as Christians who proclaim and feel a deep love for God, but too often fail to love the least of these or those we classify as others, not us. And yet, in order to deepen our faith, deepen our love for God, we must undertake the practice of loving our neighbor.
Which brings us to the second part of service. If the first part of service is seeing Jesus in the other than the second part is being Jesus to them.
We know that Scripture tells us that we are the hands and feet of Christ. St. Theresa of Avila, expanded upon this well known Scripture by saying:
“Christ has no body but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which his compassion looks out upon the world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”
We may be the only Christ someone ever knows when we offer them love through service. Or we may be the first representative of Christ they ever meet when we are generous in our service.
Christian service can really by summed up as this:
See Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
And BE Jesus to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
Or, as it says in a famous quote attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
All, all, all. See Christ in All. Be Christ to All.
We may be the only Christ someone ever knows when we offer them love through service. Or we may be the first representative of Christ they ever meet when we are generous in our service.
Christian service can really by summed up as this:
See Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
And BE Jesus to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
Or, as it says in a famous quote attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
All, all, all. See Christ in All. Be Christ to All.
This is Christian service.
Which is also closely tied to our Christian witness.
As we BE Christ to others, have no doubt that we are being watched. By those who want to know why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a moment, Christians have not been the best witness to Christ in our world. The famous Ghandi quote is, “'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus calls us to be Christ to the world, to treat all we meet as Jesus, to show our faith through our love. But when you ask most nones (those who aren’t affiliated with any religion) or dones (those who have been hurt by the church) what they think of Christians, what the witness of Chrisitians by and large has been in our country and world - they are likely to say some unappealing and downright harmful things. The crusades; enforcement of strict gender roles and norms including inciting violence against those who don’t fit into strict boxes; the co-opting of religion by political parties that tell us there is one way to vote if we are Christian; the abuse perpetrated and covered up by religious leaders; they may even talk about street corner preachers and billboards that shout HELL IS REAL and try and scare and shame people into a relationship with Christ.
Friends, this is not it. It’s not how Christ calls us to act. It’s not how we share Christ with the world.
Which is also closely tied to our Christian witness.
As we BE Christ to others, have no doubt that we are being watched. By those who want to know why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a moment, Christians have not been the best witness to Christ in our world. The famous Ghandi quote is, “'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus calls us to be Christ to the world, to treat all we meet as Jesus, to show our faith through our love. But when you ask most nones (those who aren’t affiliated with any religion) or dones (those who have been hurt by the church) what they think of Christians, what the witness of Chrisitians by and large has been in our country and world - they are likely to say some unappealing and downright harmful things. The crusades; enforcement of strict gender roles and norms including inciting violence against those who don’t fit into strict boxes; the co-opting of religion by political parties that tell us there is one way to vote if we are Christian; the abuse perpetrated and covered up by religious leaders; they may even talk about street corner preachers and billboards that shout HELL IS REAL and try and scare and shame people into a relationship with Christ.
Friends, this is not it. It’s not how Christ calls us to act. It’s not how we share Christ with the world.
The early church didn’t grow because of the right doctrine or amazing worship services or family friendly programming or even convicting sermons. The early church grew because of the radical way they showed up and showed love to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. This was their generous Christian witness. But it wasn’t done without also talking about why they did: their love for Christ and Christ’s love for the world.
A quote famously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and spread widely in Christian circles is this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Yes, it’s true - our Christian service, what we do, how we see Christ in others, how we be Christ to them - this is a powerful Christian witness. And, it is not enough in our world. We must show our faith with our whole lives: our actions and our words.
If we only talk about our faith but that talk is not infused with love and not backed up by our actions, people will have no desire to enter into a relationship with us, our church, or our God. It will be empty talk.
And if we only DO but never talk about our faith, how are others to truly know the why behind what we do and how we live our lives? How are they to know how our faith gets us through the hard times, comforting us through dark nights. How it increases our joy, making the light all the brighter. How it has given us a community and relationships that surround us with support and love. How our faith shapes us, forms us, has made us who we are...if we don’t say WHY along with what we DO, then no one will know beyond “well, they were being kind.” We must combat the negative witness of those who call themselves Christians but don’t share the love of Christ in this world. We must. We must let Christ lead us in all we do.
In order to share our witness, we must also share our service. In order to share our service, and for them to know why we do what we do, we must share our witness.
It’s like the hymn goes: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And I would add - by telling them about that love.
Today we had the joy of baptizing three wonderful children of God. In our baptismal liturgy we promised that “With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.” So that we would surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that through us, they would come to know Christ - they would know the God of love.
When we look at these children, we should say to ourselves, “Here is Jesus as a child. I will treat them like Christ himself. I will show them, with my words and actions, who Christ is, and what the Love of God looks like.”
This is generous service and witness. That we would see ALL we meet as we see these children that we baptized today. Loved by God. Loved by Jesus. Seeing them as Jesus himself. That we would see the least of these and every person we meet as Jesus. Then once we see them as Jesus, we then can BE Jesus to them, being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And as we BE Jesus to them, sharing Jesus with them, not just with actions of love but words of love too.
Being generous in our service & witness is just this:
Seeing Christ.
Being Christ.
Sharing Christ.
So my challenge to you this morning is not an easy one, it is one that requires self-reflection and discipline, and that is to ask ourselves:: Are we being generous with how we see others? How we treat others? And how we share the Love of Christ with our actions and words? How can we train our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our whole hearts to be generous in love, in service, and in witness? This is the call of the Christian life, a call to a life of generosity, and of love.
May we all be found to be generous.
Amen.
A quote famously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and spread widely in Christian circles is this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Yes, it’s true - our Christian service, what we do, how we see Christ in others, how we be Christ to them - this is a powerful Christian witness. And, it is not enough in our world. We must show our faith with our whole lives: our actions and our words.
If we only talk about our faith but that talk is not infused with love and not backed up by our actions, people will have no desire to enter into a relationship with us, our church, or our God. It will be empty talk.
And if we only DO but never talk about our faith, how are others to truly know the why behind what we do and how we live our lives? How are they to know how our faith gets us through the hard times, comforting us through dark nights. How it increases our joy, making the light all the brighter. How it has given us a community and relationships that surround us with support and love. How our faith shapes us, forms us, has made us who we are...if we don’t say WHY along with what we DO, then no one will know beyond “well, they were being kind.” We must combat the negative witness of those who call themselves Christians but don’t share the love of Christ in this world. We must. We must let Christ lead us in all we do.
In order to share our witness, we must also share our service. In order to share our service, and for them to know why we do what we do, we must share our witness.
It’s like the hymn goes: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And I would add - by telling them about that love.
Today we had the joy of baptizing three wonderful children of God. In our baptismal liturgy we promised that “With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.” So that we would surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that through us, they would come to know Christ - they would know the God of love.
When we look at these children, we should say to ourselves, “Here is Jesus as a child. I will treat them like Christ himself. I will show them, with my words and actions, who Christ is, and what the Love of God looks like.”
This is generous service and witness. That we would see ALL we meet as we see these children that we baptized today. Loved by God. Loved by Jesus. Seeing them as Jesus himself. That we would see the least of these and every person we meet as Jesus. Then once we see them as Jesus, we then can BE Jesus to them, being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And as we BE Jesus to them, sharing Jesus with them, not just with actions of love but words of love too.
Being generous in our service & witness is just this:
Seeing Christ.
Being Christ.
Sharing Christ.
So my challenge to you this morning is not an easy one, it is one that requires self-reflection and discipline, and that is to ask ourselves:: Are we being generous with how we see others? How we treat others? And how we share the Love of Christ with our actions and words? How can we train our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our whole hearts to be generous in love, in service, and in witness? This is the call of the Christian life, a call to a life of generosity, and of love.
May we all be found to be generous.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment