A Disciplined Faith: Submission
Fr. Alan Andraeas, Prior
Fr. Alan Andraeas, Prior
A Disciplined Faith: Service
Fr. Alan Andraeas, Prior
Navigator 2016 -3
“Jesus knowing that the Father had given
all things into His hands…laid aside His garments
and took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.”
John 13:3-4
Over the past two years we have been examining the disciplines described in Saint Brendan’s Rule that contribute to the image and life of Christ within us. And as the word discipline implies, each one requires practice and effort in order to achieve a place of constancy in our lives. We have looked at the classic Christian disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude (silence), and submission. In this issue we will focus on the discipline of service.
One of Christ’s greatest acts was to take up a towel and wash His disciples’ feet. It wasn’t walking on water; it wasn’t raising the dead; it wasn’t feeding the multitudes. Nevertheless, this humble act of service has become bar none the gold standard for every believer who truly desires to emulate the life of Jesus within themselves (John 13:14-15; cf., Matthew 20:25-28). Put another way, while not every servant is a Christian, every Christian should desire to be a servant.
Our initial reaction to the thought of service might be a sigh, a frown, or even an intense emotional withdrawal. We churn out thoughts like, “I’m too busy to do anything for anybody else,” or “That’s why I give tithes to the church, so that I’m free from having to do stuff,” or “What has anyone ever done for me?” Sometimes we’re reluctant to express our lives through
service because we don’t like the idea of being caught up in tasks that are menial, mundane, ordinary, or ‘beneath our station.’ And yet, in a way that only God could’ve designed, it’s the discipline of service that promotes our desperately needed freedom from things like status (i.e., ‘rank’ consciousness) and the stifling weight of one’s own pride and ego.
The practice of true service must be differentiated from the display of self-righteous service. A one-time trip to the food bank to help hand out groceries might garner the praises of our friends as they pat us on the back for our heroic plunge into the world of chronic social need, but that’s not true service. True service flows from a relationship with Christ the True Servant. True service delights in doing small, hidden things without recognition more than it desires accolades for doing large, public things. True service doesn’t seek for any form of calculated compensation; its joy is found in the service alone. And finally, true service doesn’t wait for the “feeling” to strike; it serves simply because there is a need, flowing out of a spontaneous reaction because it has become a part of an ingrained lifestyle which is always kneeling before the cross and throne.
The value of service for a disciplined faith is that it knits grace and humility into our lives. As we seek the good of others through simple, hidden service, a change in our own spirit occurs. What kind of a change? As the towel of Christ is wrapped around our waists, pride (the original sin) and haughtiness (its cousin) are made to suffocate and die. The Church needs to remember this because it’s the towel on earth that will eventually be replaced with the white robe and the wedding gown in heaven. But that’s not all. While we must desire to live our lives in ser-vice to others, we must also desire to be servants. That doesn’t sound like much of a distinction, but it truly is. You see, when we offer ourselves in service we’re usually still in control of deciding who to serve and when to serve (and even when not to serve). Being a servant, however, takes us to the next level—it “ups the ante”—because it means we must let go of any perceived “right” to be in charge of our lives. Like Jesus, we must serve at the need of others, not at our convenience (cf. Matthew 14:13-14). Even the Apostle Paul often referred to himself as a bond-slave or bondservant of Christ (e.g., Romans 1:1), poured out as living sacrifice, a drink offering, to God (Romans 12:1), for the sake of Christ in the service of others. He knew that his life in Christ also meant that he had given up the right to his life. And like all biblical paradox I mentioned above, our servanthood becomes the source of our greatest freedom. It’s true. Willing, joyful servanthood nullifies our enslavement to self-pride or entitlement (which is the greatest form of slavery).
How do we serve? Through gentle, perfect courtesy toward those around us (cf. Titus 3:2); through generous hospitality, even to strangers (cf. 1 Peter 4:9); by lending aid even before it is requested; through taking on tasks in your community or church that nobody else wants to do; by reaching out to God’s most precious the “widows and orphans” who are so often forgotten; to bear the spiritual and emotional burdens of those around you (cf. Galatians 6:2); even through the act of listening to those who feel they have no voice and are marginalized by the people and circumstances around them. Sometimes service is even accomplished by personally submitting to the service that others would try to show you because to deny others the chance to serve you would be a reflection of your pride.
In the end, our service (or lack of service) is somehow factored into our final reckoning when we come to stand before the throne of the Lord. Personally speaking, I hope to hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world….For truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:31-46). Even Revelation bears out this aspect of our servanthood as the Apostle John records, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:12).
As believers of a disciplined faith, we can pray for God’s leading in how to deepen our lives of service. It can begin with something as simple as: “Gracious Lord, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, bring me someone this day whom I can serve, and open my eyes to the many opportunities You place around me. Use me as Your vessel. Transform me into the conduit of Your grace. And in all things, may there be less of me and more of Thee.” This kind of prayer takes courage because, if it helps us to look and act more like His Son, then it’s exactly the kind of prayer that God delights to answer. As a monastic fellowship, may we be eager to embrace a life of service and servanthood. To see what the Rule of St. Benedict says about service, read chapters 35 and 48.
Rejoice!
Fr. Alan Andraeas
Fr. Alan Andraeas, Prior
Navigator 2016 -3
“Jesus knowing that the Father had given
all things into His hands…laid aside His garments
and took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.”
John 13:3-4
Over the past two years we have been examining the disciplines described in Saint Brendan’s Rule that contribute to the image and life of Christ within us. And as the word discipline implies, each one requires practice and effort in order to achieve a place of constancy in our lives. We have looked at the classic Christian disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude (silence), and submission. In this issue we will focus on the discipline of service.
One of Christ’s greatest acts was to take up a towel and wash His disciples’ feet. It wasn’t walking on water; it wasn’t raising the dead; it wasn’t feeding the multitudes. Nevertheless, this humble act of service has become bar none the gold standard for every believer who truly desires to emulate the life of Jesus within themselves (John 13:14-15; cf., Matthew 20:25-28). Put another way, while not every servant is a Christian, every Christian should desire to be a servant.
Our initial reaction to the thought of service might be a sigh, a frown, or even an intense emotional withdrawal. We churn out thoughts like, “I’m too busy to do anything for anybody else,” or “That’s why I give tithes to the church, so that I’m free from having to do stuff,” or “What has anyone ever done for me?” Sometimes we’re reluctant to express our lives through
service because we don’t like the idea of being caught up in tasks that are menial, mundane, ordinary, or ‘beneath our station.’ And yet, in a way that only God could’ve designed, it’s the discipline of service that promotes our desperately needed freedom from things like status (i.e., ‘rank’ consciousness) and the stifling weight of one’s own pride and ego.
The practice of true service must be differentiated from the display of self-righteous service. A one-time trip to the food bank to help hand out groceries might garner the praises of our friends as they pat us on the back for our heroic plunge into the world of chronic social need, but that’s not true service. True service flows from a relationship with Christ the True Servant. True service delights in doing small, hidden things without recognition more than it desires accolades for doing large, public things. True service doesn’t seek for any form of calculated compensation; its joy is found in the service alone. And finally, true service doesn’t wait for the “feeling” to strike; it serves simply because there is a need, flowing out of a spontaneous reaction because it has become a part of an ingrained lifestyle which is always kneeling before the cross and throne.
The value of service for a disciplined faith is that it knits grace and humility into our lives. As we seek the good of others through simple, hidden service, a change in our own spirit occurs. What kind of a change? As the towel of Christ is wrapped around our waists, pride (the original sin) and haughtiness (its cousin) are made to suffocate and die. The Church needs to remember this because it’s the towel on earth that will eventually be replaced with the white robe and the wedding gown in heaven. But that’s not all. While we must desire to live our lives in ser-vice to others, we must also desire to be servants. That doesn’t sound like much of a distinction, but it truly is. You see, when we offer ourselves in service we’re usually still in control of deciding who to serve and when to serve (and even when not to serve). Being a servant, however, takes us to the next level—it “ups the ante”—because it means we must let go of any perceived “right” to be in charge of our lives. Like Jesus, we must serve at the need of others, not at our convenience (cf. Matthew 14:13-14). Even the Apostle Paul often referred to himself as a bond-slave or bondservant of Christ (e.g., Romans 1:1), poured out as living sacrifice, a drink offering, to God (Romans 12:1), for the sake of Christ in the service of others. He knew that his life in Christ also meant that he had given up the right to his life. And like all biblical paradox I mentioned above, our servanthood becomes the source of our greatest freedom. It’s true. Willing, joyful servanthood nullifies our enslavement to self-pride or entitlement (which is the greatest form of slavery).
How do we serve? Through gentle, perfect courtesy toward those around us (cf. Titus 3:2); through generous hospitality, even to strangers (cf. 1 Peter 4:9); by lending aid even before it is requested; through taking on tasks in your community or church that nobody else wants to do; by reaching out to God’s most precious the “widows and orphans” who are so often forgotten; to bear the spiritual and emotional burdens of those around you (cf. Galatians 6:2); even through the act of listening to those who feel they have no voice and are marginalized by the people and circumstances around them. Sometimes service is even accomplished by personally submitting to the service that others would try to show you because to deny others the chance to serve you would be a reflection of your pride.
In the end, our service (or lack of service) is somehow factored into our final reckoning when we come to stand before the throne of the Lord. Personally speaking, I hope to hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world….For truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:31-46). Even Revelation bears out this aspect of our servanthood as the Apostle John records, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:12).
As believers of a disciplined faith, we can pray for God’s leading in how to deepen our lives of service. It can begin with something as simple as: “Gracious Lord, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, bring me someone this day whom I can serve, and open my eyes to the many opportunities You place around me. Use me as Your vessel. Transform me into the conduit of Your grace. And in all things, may there be less of me and more of Thee.” This kind of prayer takes courage because, if it helps us to look and act more like His Son, then it’s exactly the kind of prayer that God delights to answer. As a monastic fellowship, may we be eager to embrace a life of service and servanthood. To see what the Rule of St. Benedict says about service, read chapters 35 and 48.
Rejoice!
Fr. Alan Andraeas