Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 12; Daniel 2:1-16; John 21:15-19; 1 Peter 1:13-21; Psalm 145
I grew up in a household where serving others was a given. My parents served on a variety of committees in the church in which I was raised. In addition to their church service, my father served on the local school board for 20 years and my mother volunteered on the planning commission in our town. I never once thought their work was special when I was young. I simply assumed everyone lived lives of service. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to look around and realize this wasn’t the case. An increasing number of folks didn’t volunteer at all – and when they did, the first question they would often ask was, “What’s in it for me?” What made me even sadder was my realization that this wasn’t the just the case in the secular world – it was becoming the norm in many of our churches as well. In the 1980’s and 1990’s churches of all sizes wer forced to hire folks to do things like missions and youth ministry for the congregation since members no longer “had time” to serve those in their own faith community! All of this is to say that we have wandered quite a distance from the sentiments Jesus expressed to Simon Peter in today’s passage from John. In that passage, Jesus asks Simon Peter, “Do you love me?” And after Simon Peter affirms his love of Jesus, Jesus makes a surprising request. Twice Jesus says “Feed my sheep” and once he says “Shepherd my sheep”. In an age where more and more of our spiritual journeys are directed inward – toward self-actualization and self-realization as the ultimate expressions of faith – Jesus reminds Simon Peter (and us) that one of the most appropriate responses to our love for the God is service – not to self but to others. As I look back now at my parents’ acts of service, I can better understand why they were able to make time to serve as they balanced the impossible demands of work and family. Today, I would invite you to explore how much time and energy you devote to feeding God’s sheep. Chances are there is a correlation between the amount and quality of time you spend feeding the sheep and the quality of your relationship with the Shepherd. Til next time…
I grew up in a household where serving others was a given. My parents served on a variety of committees in the church in which I was raised. In addition to their church service, my father served on the local school board for 20 years and my mother volunteered on the planning commission in our town. I never once thought their work was special when I was young. I simply assumed everyone lived lives of service. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to look around and realize this wasn’t the case. An increasing number of folks didn’t volunteer at all – and when they did, the first question they would often ask was, “What’s in it for me?” What made me even sadder was my realization that this wasn’t the just the case in the secular world – it was becoming the norm in many of our churches as well. In the 1980’s and 1990’s churches of all sizes wer forced to hire folks to do things like missions and youth ministry for the congregation since members no longer “had time” to serve those in their own faith community! All of this is to say that we have wandered quite a distance from the sentiments Jesus expressed to Simon Peter in today’s passage from John. In that passage, Jesus asks Simon Peter, “Do you love me?” And after Simon Peter affirms his love of Jesus, Jesus makes a surprising request. Twice Jesus says “Feed my sheep” and once he says “Shepherd my sheep”. In an age where more and more of our spiritual journeys are directed inward – toward self-actualization and self-realization as the ultimate expressions of faith – Jesus reminds Simon Peter (and us) that one of the most appropriate responses to our love for the God is service – not to self but to others. As I look back now at my parents’ acts of service, I can better understand why they were able to make time to serve as they balanced the impossible demands of work and family. Today, I would invite you to explore how much time and energy you devote to feeding God’s sheep. Chances are there is a correlation between the amount and quality of time you spend feeding the sheep and the quality of your relationship with the Shepherd. Til next time…
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