"The way of the basin and the towel"

The Disciplines of Christ - Part 4

The Art of Service

Intro: Mark 10:25 (NLT) – “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Serving is something everyone does, in the words of Bob Dylan, “it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” So, who do you serve?

It’s tempting to overlook this discipline because we can check off the things that we do at church, in the community, or for the local school and say, “I got this. I serve plenty.” However the art of service is just as much about how we serve and why we serve as it is the actual serving itself. You see, if we are honest, a lot of our “service” is self-serving. We do it because we feel obligated, we want to maintain a good status among our peers, or we simply do it because of what we get in return. If we are not careful, even our most noble acts of service can be construed as self-serving and if you’re serving yourself,  you’re not serving the Lord.

Alright, let’s take a look at this art of service…

The Discipline – Service for the purpose of Godliness.

 The Art of the Service

In the most practical sense service boils down to performing some sort of task, duty, or responsibility for someone or something (i.e. the government). However, there is a difference between serving and being a servant.

In his book, The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says it well. He says,

“…we must see the difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant. When we choose to serve, we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. And if we are in charge, we will worry a great deal about anyone stepping on us, that is, taking charge over us.

But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated. When we choose to be a servant, we surrender the right to decide who and when we will serve. We become available and vulnerable.”

Therefore, the art of serving unfolds in a couple different ways.

1)    Making oneself available. Americans tend to be busy, busy, busy, and can’t seem to find the time to serve and help others. That’s why this is a discipline, you have to make time to serve.

2)    Humbling oneself to serve others. It’s easier to serve the ones we love. However, Jesus calls us to love and serve the “least of these”. In order to genuinely pull this off one must become humble.

The Story - Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet (John 13:1-17)

 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Questions to consider: What is most remarkable about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet?  How about verse 11… “¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him,”?   What do we learn about service in regards to Jesus washing the feet (serving) of the one whom he knew would betray him? What do you make of Peter’s comments in verse 9? Is he too over the top?

 Helpful Commentary:

We’ve just got to get daVinci’s painting of the last supper out of our heads. The disciplines did NOT walk single file into the room and sit down all on one side of the table for a photo. In fact, they probably shared a glass of wine with the hosts of the house before climbing the stairs to the upper room. When they entered, several conversations were bantering about the room. Most revolved around a single theme: “which one of us is the greatest?”

…While the twelve are embroiled in controversy, Jesus strips down to the loincloth of a slave. He lays aside his garment to pick up a basin and a towel. The argument at hand has left the undone the menial duty of washing feet. It was the job of the lowest slave of the house to perform that duty. None of the twelve will stoop so low. Jesus does. One by one the fall silent. Shocked, they watch with gaping mouths as the Master kneels, playing the role of a common slave. If they only knew how far he really descended in that moment. If they only knew how long he’d been playing that role!

…The basin and the towel are intimately connected with the cross. Both show Jesus’ program for life. Rather than defending or promoting himself, he chose to lay down his life. His greatness is in his service, his power is in his weakness, his gain in his loss, and his life in his death. The foot-washing episode is part of a larger paradigm, as is the cross. It is a new mode of existence, a new path to God. Instead of approaching God through human wisdom, strength, and self-promotion, Jesus blazed a new trail into this upside-down kingdom where the greatest are the least and the leaders are the servants.

Notice that with both the foot washing and the cross there is a clarion call for his disciples to follow his lead. (The call is to)… trust God rather than promote ourselves, to serve, and if need be, die for, others rather than protect our own interest. (Therefore)…it’s not a prissy gesture of being nice to others. It is a subversive attack on worldly ethics of self-promotion and self-aggrandizement. It is the path of faith that trust God to protect our interest and our honor.

The way of Jesus is the basin and a towel.  ^{Mark Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 170-172}

                                                          Further Reading: Phil. 2:1-18

  The Application Questions:  

1)            How is the call of the basin and the towel identical to Jesus’ demand that we carry a cross?

2)            Hopefully, you understand that Jesus is not actually calling to wash feet just like he is not actually calling you to carry a cross. So, what is he calling you to actually do? Give some examples.

 

3)            GROUP DISCUSSION: Discuss your problems with serving? Do you find it hard to serve certain people (i.e. children, the elderly, a different race, the poor, those you don’t like). Share with each other how you have overcome your pride and served those who are hard to serve. If you have experience in serving the least of these, discuss how that affected you?

 

Strengthening your discipline of Serving:

 

Matthew 25:40 (NIV) - “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

 This verse is key to transitioning yourself from just serving to becoming a servant. When we see our service to others as serving Jesus it becomes more genuine and real. Furthermore, when we realize that the people we see as unworthy of our love and service are just as much loved by Jesus as we are, it changes our perspective. He loves them as much as he loves us. We are no better or no worse in his eyes.

One unique way I’ve experienced this past week in learning to serve is allowing myself to be served. I’ll admit, I am a little bit like Peter. If Jesus came to wash my feet, I’d say no to Jesus too. I feel unworthy to be served by Jesus. I don’t deserve it. But the words of Jesus ring loud and clear, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

So as I mentioned in last week’s lesson, My daughter had been in the hospital recovering from major surgery. She’s home now recovering, but still needing a lot of help, attention, and care as she recovers. During this whole ordeal over the past couple weeks, we have received tons of prayers, but also help...help from our parents and our church family…help with meals, help with transporting our kids, and cards and gifts.

Now, I don’t mind serving others, but it’s hard for me to accept help, especially gifts. So over the past week, I have noticed something, I really appreciated the help we received. We could have got by without it, but it would have just been more stressful and tiring.

What I learned is this; I had to humble myself to allow other people to serve me. As a result, I was humbled even more, my heart went out to other people I’ve known who have struggled through similar situations and even worse and I want to do a better job of serving (loving) them.

Lastly, if you really want to be a better servant, start with those close to you. If you’re not serving your spouse, family, or those close to you; God will not honor your service to others. I repeat! It is ungodly and unbiblical to neglect your own household in order to provide/serve the household of others.

Thanks for tuning in. Next week we’ll look at how Jesus demonstrates the art of Prayer.

 

Praying through today’s discipline: Before you log off, spend some time in prayer considering how you serve, why you serve, and who you serve. Maybe ask God to direct you on how to be a better servant. Ask God to humble you and make you aware of the needs around you  and then ask for the courage to serve those who are  hardest to serve.