The Way of Servanthood
Look around you, and I’m guessing it won’t take long to find a cross. They’re on our jewelry, our tattoos, our architecture, the walls of our homes. Yet, what does that cross mean? Has it become nothing more than a decoration?
It’s always a struggle to grasp the meaning of the cross. In addition to a decoration, it’s clearly a symbol of Christianity. But what kind of Christianity? In a culture where personal virtue is so highly valued, we are tempted to think that Christianity is about trying to be good people. But the cross and resurrection point us to a different way. We are not called to be good people, as if goodness is something we can achieve. The gospel of Jesus calls us into the circle of God’s love, a love that flows to us in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
It’s always a struggle to grasp the meaning of the cross. In addition to a decoration, it’s clearly a symbol of Christianity. But what kind of Christianity? In a culture where personal virtue is so highly valued, we are tempted to think that Christianity is about trying to be good people. But the cross and resurrection point us to a different way. We are not called to be good people, as if goodness is something we can achieve. The gospel of Jesus calls us into the circle of God’s love, a love that flows to us in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In Christ we are made new, today, now, and every day to come. God makes us good people. It is not an achievement. In this new kingdom, our lives are not defined by what we achieve. We are loved, and because we are loved, we serve. Jesus’ death on the cross is the central act of Jesus’ devotion to being “servant of all.” His resurrection is the demonstration that the Way of servanthood, the way of love and generosity, cannot and will not be defeated, even by the most disheartening, cynical forms of betrayal, cruelty, and death.
As Jesus tried to teach his disciples the meaning of the cross (check out Mark 12-14), he tied his own death and resurrection to his followers’ call to be servants. The true greatness of servanthood stands in contrast to the world’s conventional, self-absorbed, counterfeit forms of greatness. Jesus rejects the supposed “greatness” of military conquest and self-promotion, he rejects the supposed “greatness” of any kind of social or spiritual pecking-order. In place of these self-centered illusions, Jesus calls his disciples to the humble, down-to-earth way of servanthood, a life of genuine greatness seeking to serve, not dominate; to kneel down, not climb the ladder up; and rather than arrogantly jockeying for position, to humbly, justly, and beautifully love.
This way of life is the profound meaning of the cross. As the fitting completion of his whole ministry, Jesus’ pilgrimage to Golgotha vividly illustrates this way of life; his resurrection vindicates it; together they reveal God’s invincible power to transform us and transform the world. In order to both demonstrate servanthood and liberate us into it, Jesus is willing to give everything. And that singular act of love and devotion, we are loved, we are made good, and called to a life of service.
As Jesus tried to teach his disciples the meaning of the cross (check out Mark 12-14), he tied his own death and resurrection to his followers’ call to be servants. The true greatness of servanthood stands in contrast to the world’s conventional, self-absorbed, counterfeit forms of greatness. Jesus rejects the supposed “greatness” of military conquest and self-promotion, he rejects the supposed “greatness” of any kind of social or spiritual pecking-order. In place of these self-centered illusions, Jesus calls his disciples to the humble, down-to-earth way of servanthood, a life of genuine greatness seeking to serve, not dominate; to kneel down, not climb the ladder up; and rather than arrogantly jockeying for position, to humbly, justly, and beautifully love.
This way of life is the profound meaning of the cross. As the fitting completion of his whole ministry, Jesus’ pilgrimage to Golgotha vividly illustrates this way of life; his resurrection vindicates it; together they reveal God’s invincible power to transform us and transform the world. In order to both demonstrate servanthood and liberate us into it, Jesus is willing to give everything. And that singular act of love and devotion, we are loved, we are made good, and called to a life of service.
Pastor Jim Honig
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran, Ellison Bay
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