Called to Service

It was summer, 1863. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the Union Army’s 20th Maine Infantry Regiment received orders from General George Meade to shoot 120 deserters, or take them with him into battle at Gettysburg. No one would be allowed to return home. At this point in time, the Union army was demoralized and in disarray, and Chamberlain’s decision would be a monumental one.

He walked slowly to where the deserters waited, knowing that he had to make a decision about the fate of these men in a matter of minutes. What do you suppose he planned to do when he reached them? Would he order them to be executed? Would he order them to follow him into battle, and kill only those who refused to accompany him? Would he even want to go into battle with men who had already shown cowardice? What would you have done in his situation? I’ll come back to this dramatic moment in American history later.

James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, weren’t deserters, but it’s clear that they didn’t have a clue what they were getting into when they signed on to walk with Jesus. They were sort of like you and me. Many of us came to church riding primarily on our family’s faith. We identify ourselves as Christians mainly because our parents were Christians. We’re not pagans or Jews or Muslims. We believe in Jesus, but we’ve never really given much thought to what that means. We enjoy church, and prayer comforts us. We treasure the relationships we’ve made in church. We’re not saints, but to tell the truth, we don’t strain our lifestyles too much by trying to be disciples. We are comfortable with cheap discipleship. We can relate to James and John.

One day they came to Jesus and said, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

James and John wanted the recognition and the glory. They wanted to ride in on Jesus’ coattails. Jesus would win the victory, but they would bask in reflected glory on his left hand and his right. There are people like that. They want someone else to make the sacrifice, someone else to pay the bill. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick once preached a sermon titled “Parking on Another Man’s Nickel.” That title gives you an idea how long ago this sermon was preached.

The allusion was to a parking meter that hasn’t quite expired. We pull in and park our car and see that enough time is left on the meter for us to take care of our business. Lucky us. We won’t have to put any of our own money in the meter. And so we are parking on somebody else’s nickel, or quarter, or dollar.

There are people like that in every society. They want to enjoy the benefits of freedom, but they don’t want to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that the next generation has the same benefits that they have enjoyed. Let someone else pay taxes, serve in the military, and participate in elections. There are people like that in the church. They want the church to always be there. They want us to have a first-class ministry to children and youth. They expect excellent facilities and superb music. They just don’t want to foot the bill themselves.

Jesus knew and understood. So he taught the disciples one of the most important truths of our faith. He said to them, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Following Christ is about serving others. That’s the point of this Gospel passage. If serving others is not your cup of tea, you won’t be very happy in Christ’s family. In fact, if you don’t have an area of your life in which you serve someone other than yourself, you aren’t going to be very happy anywhere. Serving others is healthy for mind, soul, and body.

A study by psychologist Larry Scherwitz found that people who are what he calls “self-involved” have more severe coronary artery disease than those who are more focused toward others. He studied 150 patients hospitalized either for suspected heart disease or after a heart attack. He monitored how often they used the pronouns “I, me, my, mine, or myself.” He found that patients with more severe disease made far more references to themselves. His findings remained significant even when he matched patients for age, blood pressure, cholesterol, and Type A behavior.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to stop thinking of yourself all the time. Take the focus off yourself and consider the needs of others and you’ll be healthier, happier, and more fulfilled. You will also be more of what Jesus called you to be. Following Christ is about service. Jesus did not write down a list of requirements for those who wanted to follow him. He required no catechism or doctrinal statement. Instead he provided the ultimate example of sacrificial love. He said to his ambitious followers: “. . . whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

You and I are called to choose a lifestyle that includes service and sacrifice. Why? Because it will get us into heaven? No. That’s already promised. We don’t serve others in order to ensure our salvation. We serve in order to try to be more like Jesus. A catchword in today’s business world is “servant leadership.” No one ever personified that quality more than Jesus. We serve and we sacrifice because we want to be more like him.

Now let me return to that story about the Civil War. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain had a decision to make. He had been ordered to shoot 120 deserters or take them with him. When he reached these frightened men he immediately ordered that they be unshackled. Then he fed them a meal before listening to their grievances. He told them that he was ordered to shoot those who would not follow him into battle. But he promised them that he would not give that order.

He told the men, “This is free ground – all the way to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man is born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be somebody. Here is a place to build a home. It isn’t the land. There’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value, you and me, we’re worth something more than dirt. I never saw dirt I’d die for, but I am not asking you to die for dirt. What we’re all fighting for in the end is each other.”

When Colonel Chamberlain finished his speech, 116 of the 120 deserters joined him in his march to Gettysburg. This helped to turn the tide of battle for the Union army on that historic battlefield. One hundred sixteen men out of 120 were willing to die for the idea that all people have value.

Jesus’ disciples also gave their lives for an idea – the idea that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the world. What inspired them to follow him? They knew that he would do the same for them. In fact, he had already done the same for them. James and John wanted fame and celebrity. They wanted to sit by Christ’s side in his glory. Instead they drank of the cup from which he drank, the cup of service and sacrifice. What changed them? They came to know what it meant to follow Jesus.

How about you?