Tag Archives: Service

We go forward to serve others not to earn G*d’s love but because G*d loves us through Jesus

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 13, 2015
Tags: , Service   

Practical Theology –Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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December 13, 2015
Sunday

“And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” Luke 3:10 – 14

“This is practical theology. There’s great specificity to this passage. John speaks directly to several groups, identifying specific good actions. DIY ABC with a complete to –do list. What should we do – consider the coats in your cupboard. Consider the chairs at the table. Consider the money in the bank. Consider the people you pass on the street. Consider your own actions. Don’t get tripped up on any of your expectations, but pay attention to the specific call of God. That’s a good Advent call. But it isn’t just the answers that are important – it’s also the question. Asking the question “what then should we do?” is letting God get internal. It’s letting our specific context become the location of the good news. Not claiming Abraham as an ancestor so much as asking God to birth newness through us. With asking hearts in these Advent days, we still await and celebrate God with us.” (Practical Theology and Subversive Advent, by Katie Munnik, In The Messy Table, December 10, 2012, Presbyterian Record)

Ministry in the church begins with asking the question “What should we do?” It is a question I try to get my congregation, at least I do with individual members, but I try to get them to ask this question often. What should we do as a church? What should you and I do as individual believers? If we do not ask this question often, we may find that over time our ministries become irrelevant if not ineffective. And when we ask the question, we have to trust that G-d will provide an answer, if not also the path. It is, as Katie Munnik says, “practical theology”. We look around us and see what we have, what we possess right at this moment, when we look to do ministry. The context of our church, our lives, and our surroundings will determine what we do and who we serve. And if we do not follow “practical theology”, we may be like the fire station that teaches fire safety, but has no fire engine.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 16, 2015
Tags: , Service   

Serving One Lord — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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October 16, 2015

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24

“I want to advise you to leave everything but I do not want to be presumptuous. If therefore you are unable to abandon everything which the world offers, you must so hold those things that are of this world that you may not be held by them in the world; that earthly interests may be possessed, not be the possessor, and that what you have should be under the control of your mind.” Gregory the Great (540 – 604) Homily 36, “For All The Saints”, volume II (p. 948)

It is one thing to say “I want to live in this world but not be affected by that world” — and then to go forward each day being successful with that request. We all, to some degree or another, are products of our environments and our unique places in the world. Gregory the Great goes on to say in his homily that it is not necessary to give up everything, as long as the things we use are not “Lords” over us and as long as we can leave them at any time in service to our true Lord. For example, I think it is true to say that there are some places we can live in this world where we do not need a car, like New York City, and other major cities in the world. But for those of us who live in rural parts of the country, having a car is a necessity. And when we go looking for a car, we have so many choices, new and old, brand after brand after brand. We could buy the most expensive and exquisite car on the lot, but it may lord over us in the financial committment and in our incessant concern for its upkeep and care. On the other hand, a nice used car with a few bumps and bruises which runs well even though it does not have the latest gadgets like the “in-car espresso machine” would serve us just as well.

Serving one master is time consuming enough, and should be time-consuming for all of us – time that is worthy of our full attention and utilization of our gifts for G*d.

Pastor Dave