Some People Are Always Looking for Signs of God S Presence Or Approval. in One of His
5
Proper 22C 2016
Luke 17:5-10
Some people are always looking for signs of God’s presence or approval. In one of his books, Chuck Swindoll tells about a woman who wanted desperately to go on a tour to Israel but who was advised against travel by her doctor. She needed a sign to confirm that God would protect her. The next morning she awoke at exactly 7:47 a. m. Since the tour was booked to fly on a 747 jet she now knew this was God’s will for her. Another young man needed to buy a car, but again he wanted to know that whatever car he bought was what God wanted for him. One night he had a dream in which everything he saw was yellow. The next day he went to a car dealership and bought the “yellowest” car he could find. True to form, the car was a real lemon.
Finally, Swindoll wrote of the Baptist deacon who longed to be a pastor, but who didn’t want to spend years in seminary. Searching the Bible for an answer to his dilemma, he came upon a verse from First Timothy, which in the King James Version reads: “For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree.” Clear evidence that God wanted him to buy a seminary degree on-line.
These well-meaning people looking for a sign of God’s will for them remind me of Jesus’ disciples asking him for more faith as we read in today’s Gospel. These men lived cheek by jowl with Jesus, heard his message, and witnessed the power of his ministry in the lives of the poor, the outcast, and the sick. Indeed, St. Luke tells us that Jesus had given the disciples the power and authority to cast out demons. You might think this would be enough, yet they still asked that their faith be increased.
What more could Jesus possibly give them? The answer is, he doesn’t give them anything more. Notice how Jesus responds to their request. He replies, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” In other words, I believe he is saying to them and to us, “Your problem really isn’t a lack of faith. It doesn’t take much faith to do great things. What it takes is commitment. What it takes is determination, persistence, and a will to see it through to the end.”
Back in the late 1940s there was a football player at Ohio State named George “Bucky” Wertz. Wertz was only 5’6” when he first tried out for the team. At the end of the try-outs, the coach told Bucky he wouldn’t let him play, “You’re too small; these guys will kill you.” In a firm, committed voice Bucky asked for one chance to show what he could do on the field. The coach gave Bucky that one chance and he turned out to be the best tackler on the squad. By the next season Bucky had grown to 5’8”, weighed in at 168 pounds, and again led the team in tackles. His junior and senior years were the same. On January 1, 1950, Ohio State played USC in the Rose Bowl. USC had an all‑American fullback weighing 240 pounds who was considered the finest running back in the nation. Bucky was assigned to “rover” this fullback who proved unable to gain a single yard against Bucky. Bucky hit him behind the line every time he had the ball. Ohio State won in a shocking upset.
A little faith and a lot of hard work made Bucky Wertz a champion. The problem, Jesus told his disciples, was not the paucity of their faith but rather its application. Then Jesus tells them a strange little parable. He says, “Suppose one of you has a slave who’s been out plowing the fields or looking after the sheep. When that slave comes in would you say to him, ‘Come along now and sit down while I fix you something to eat’? Not likely. You would probably say, ‘Put on your apron and prepare my supper, wait on me while I eat and drink; and then later you can have your meal.’ And at the end of the day do you thank your slave because he has done what you told him to do?” Of course not. Then Jesus adds these painful, annoying words, “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what is our duty!'"
Likely you and I would not fare well in such a culture. We like to be appreciated for our work. We like to be patted on the back, rewarded. We would not like being a faceless servant. In preparation for his role in the movie The Remains of the Day Anthony Hopkins actually spent time shadowing a professional butler. This butler measured his success by how well he could be of service to his employer while not drawing any attention to himself. The real test of a butler’s excellence, he said, is that, “the room seems more empty when he is in it.”
That is a concept which is alien to us. We don’t want to disappear into the woodwork. We like people to recognize us when we’ve done a good job, to say, “Well done,” or even, on occasion, to give us extravagant praise. Several months back a leading business journal published an article about the challenge many companies face today in giving their younger workers the constant positive reinforcement they are used to. Parents today are far different from what many of us experienced. From the day they were born, many of today’s young adults have received the constant message both at home and in school, “You are the greatest! You’re special. There’s never been anyone like you before!” It’s getting hard for people in our society to imagine doing anything simply and solely because it’s our duty.
To set Jesus’ words in a more contemporary setting, we might think of paying our electric bill. You don’t expect a personal letter back from the president of FPL saying, “Well, done! You paid on time! Keep up the good work! We’re proud of you!” No, we pay our bill because that is our responsibility. Or, when we pay our taxes, we don’t expect a letter from the commissioner of the I.R.S. saying, “You are one super citizen. I wish we had more like you.” No, we pay our taxes because that is our duty as citizens. So also, says Jesus, when we serve God, we are only doing our duty. We don’t deserve any special reward. Neither do we need any special gifts to carry out our work. We don’t need any special spiritual insights. We don’t even need an abundance of faith. What we need is to show up, committed to doing our part.
It’s not uncommon for clergy to receive calls from people looking to do some volunteer work. A colleague received a phone call from a teenager who said she wanted to do something to be of help, BUT, she said, she could only volunteer on Saturdays after 2 and before 5 because she had sports and studies and a busy social schedule and she didn’t want anything outdoors. Her mother said it was really important that it involved working with people because that looks best on your college resume. She liked the idea of helping the homeless as long as she didn’t have to get too close to them, or, God forbid, touch them. A soup kitchen was OK so long as she didn’t have to wash dishes.
The truth of the matter is that is how many people today want to serve –when it is convenient for them, when it is within their comfort zone, and where they can receive recognition and appreciation. For many Americans today servant hood is a completely alien concept. The command of Jesus to take up a cross and follow him seems beyond reason – a noble idea to be sure but impossible to fulfill. Are we too affluent, too pampered, too comfortable to hear and appreciate the words of the Gospel?
The disciples thought their problem was that they lacked faith. Jesus’ told them that was not their problem at all. Their problem was a lack of commitment. That is often our problem, too, isn’t it? Catholic priest, author, and lecturer, Fr. John Dear tells about a friend who died several years ago from cancer. She was a very lively, outgoing person who worked in two large parishes on Long Island. Just before she died, she told Fr. Dear, “John, I figured out the meaning of life!” “Really?!” he said. “What is it?” She replied, it’s this: When you’re a child and a teenager, you serve. When you are in your twenties and beginning life and starting a family, you serve. When you are in your thirties and forties, you serve. When you are middle age, you serve. When you are in your sixties and seventies and starting to retire, you serve. When you move into your eighties and start to slow down, you serve. When you get sick, you serve. When you are dying, you serve. On your last day, as you die, you serve.”
You serve – without fuss or complaint and sometimes with very little recognition and not a lot of glory. It’s only when you end your earthly journey and are received into the loving arms of Jesus that you hear those ultimate words of commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come, share my joy.”
That’s who we are—servants. We serve because there was One who first served us. Our salvation came about because once long ago the Lord of the entire universe was willing to take upon himself the role of a servant. Now God calls us into that service. Not because it will look good on our resume, not because we will be praised for it, but because that is who we are; we are followers of the One who became a servant of all so that we might be sons and daughters of the Most High.
I recently saw an interview with film maker Ken Burns concerning his latest documentary titled The Sharps’ War. It tells the story of a Unitarian minister and his wife from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who with no hesitation responded to an urgent call for volunteers to help rescue political dissidents and refugees fleeing the Nazi onslaught. They left their own children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed themselves to multiple missions worthy of James Bond, saving hundreds of imperiled lives. Burns was adamant that the Sharps were the most ordinary, conventional people who had no special skills or experience. All they had was their burning commitment to be of service in whatever way they could.
We have a crisis of commitment, a crisis of servant hood in our society. The all-too-prevalent “Look out for Number One” attitude has taken something very important out of our nation’s character which is often felt even in the church. We might find a willingness to help with a task but no willingness to lead when there is a real job that needs to be done, a job for which there is little opportunity for recognition and praise—“Oh no! I couldn’t possibly do that.”
The disciples asked Jesus for more faith. There is no record that Jesus granted their request. They didn’t need more faith. What they needed was simply to show up for duty. They needed to say with the Prophet Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.”