EXODUS 12:1-14a

PSALM 78:14-20, 23-25

1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26

JOHN 13:1-15

Sermon – Maundy Thursday – 3/28/02

The Servant Church

Peter was shocked. Shocked! His Lord and Master had taken off his own robe and was dressed like a slave and now, on his hands and knees, Christ was performing the most menial act of personal service performed by the lowest-ranking slave in a First Century household. He was washing the feet of his disciples.

Probably, the other disciples were equally shocked, but good old St. Peter always was the first one to open his mouth, first expressing his astonishment and then protesting that he could never let Christ do this for him. Jesus told him straight out, “’Unless I wash you, you will have no share with me.’” Peter didn’t want to be “fired” for being unwilling to let his king serve him, so he tried to broaden the ritual beyond just the menial task, perhaps trying to raise Jesus’ actions in his own mind from like those of a shoeshine boy to those of a barber.

But Jesus would have none of it. He was giving an example of mutual service which he wanted his disciples—then and now—to emulate. “’For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’”

Jesus had had enough of hearing his disciples jockey for position among themselves, debate who was the greatest, and ask to be on his right or left hand when he came in his Kingdom. His disciples, like most people then and since, lived in a culture in which high rank meant power and privilege and rarely intentional efforts to serve all people—never mind personally abasing oneself to do so. Could they imagine King Herod or a Roman Emperor on his hands and knees washing his servants’ feet? No way. Could they imagine such a leader thinking first and foremost about a proposal’s impact on the most vulnerable people before adopting a governmental policy? Equally implausible.

Jesus made it unmistakeably clear that he did not want the leaders (or members) of his Church behaving in such a high-handed way. We must let him serve us—which means admitting, regularly, that we need his help and cannot experience true Life without his grace and power—and we must serve one another, and the world, with dedication, humility and strength. When any Church—meaning individual congregation, diocese, denomination or the whole Christian enterprise—acts as if it’s above the rules, acts purely for its own institutional self-interest, or acts in ways directly contrary to the interests of the most vulnerable people it deals with, it is under severe judgement, and the same goes for any individual Church leader behaving in the same way.

So I am glad that in the Diocese of New Jersey we have a new motto, a new theme which started with this month’s Diocesan Convention, and hopefully will continue indefinitely. The theme is, “Becoming the Servant Church.”

Leadership can and should be manifested in service to others. This can move mountains by inspiration and example far more than any amount of imperiousness. Leadership also can be manifested laterally, not just through a top-down hierarchy. We, as a diocese, have decided not to wait for the election of a new bishop in order to move forward in mission: we are unleashing the latent leadership potential among many people to empower and guide others in ministry.

So it was that the keynote speaker at Convention was a lay person named Hamilton Beazley, who focused us on Jesus’ Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them all I have commanded you.” We then spent a record amount of time in workshops designed to inform and empower ministries on the parish level across the diocese. I was honored to lead one designed to inspire people to share the Good News of what God has done in their lives, in which I talked about the miracles of healing we’ve experienced at St. Barnabas, and talked about our Recovery Sunday celebrations, and about our “International Sunday” liturgy as a way to celebrate the diversity of God’s family and welcome people from all over the world.

Our delegates Tony Thompson, Elda Hubbard and Catharine Moore attended other workshops, and Catharine has been appointed by the bishop to be part of the Search Committee for a new Youth Ministries Director for the Diocese of New Jersey.

On Saturday, April 13 the Diocese will sponsor a series of workshops on Christian Education in which parishes can share how they do their best and strongest ministries—teaching others to the glory of God and the betterment of all. On October 19, the Diocese will sponsor an even broader series of workshops—again, to encourage, enlighten and empower churches from all over the Diocese to be better servants of Christ. All this can help people get away from old attitudes like “we can (or have to) figure everything out for ourselves” or “we’re in competition so of course we won’t share our best ideas with anyone.”

On the local level, St. Barnabas is involved as well. Recently, we’ve had leadership teams meet with Christ the King Lutheran Church and Community Presbyterian Church of the Sand Hills as free consultants for the building projects those churches are considering. We are all in business to serve Christ and God’s people. If those congregations grow, that is a good thing and can glorify God and serve God’s people. We at St. Barnabas have learned from others and gladly share our learning in turn, because we are in the business of serving Christ and serving all God’s people.

Mutual love, mutual service, shared commitment: these are some of the ways we can heed the words of Christ we heard tonight: “’For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’”

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church