As we stare down the new year, this sermon series gives us a chance to recommit to truly being the servants of the Lord. Following the Revised Common Lectionary for Epiphany Year A, the series takes a faithful (but not sentimental) look at the work God hands to us, helping us reclaim the power of being Love’s servants in a hurting world.
Note: due to the elasticity of the liturgical calendar, any given year may have more or fewer Sundays in Epiphany. Cross-check the following weeks with your lectionary resource of choice to see which scriptures are included each year.
Week 1: “Servant of the Lord”
Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9 + Matthew 3:13-17
In our human economy, people who work as servants are often looked down on or ignored altogether. Yet scripture is full of exhortations for the faithful to serve God and each other. In Isaiah, God calls God’s servant “my chosen, my delight.” How is being God’s servant different than the service we are used to in stratified economic systems? Looking to Jesus’ example, what does it mean for us to be a servant of the Lord?
Week 2: “When The Work is Too Heavy”
Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7 + 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Serving God can be a joy, but it can also leave us bitterly exhausted and disappointed. Isaiah, despite his deep sense of call and purpose, gave honest expression to those feelings when he said “I have labored in vain.” Yet in that same breath he remembers his work belongs to God. How can we who serve God now hold the exhaustion of the work in one hand and the goodness of the work in the other?
Week 3: “Finding Your Vocation”
Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-4 + Matthew 4:12-23
When work and call merge, we call that vocation. Jesus’ first disciples were fishers, and when Jesus took them away from their nets, he called them to “fish for people”–asking them to take the work they were already doing and reframe it for their service to the kingdom. We sometimes imagine that serving God is requires a whole different skill set than what we already have, but it is often more joyful and authentic to look at what we already love to do and find a way serve God with that work. What vocations exist within your congregation?
Week 4: “Worthy to Serve”
Scripture: Psalm 15 + 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Many Christians feel insecure or ill-equipped for the work Christ calls us to do. Yet again and again, Scripture reminds us that God does not call “the best and brightest” to God’s service, but simply the faithful and willing. Psalm 15 reminds us that those who abide with God are not necessarily the smartest or most skilled, but those who are careful with their words and actions, so as not to hurt others. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, makes the astonishing claim that God specifically chooses the foolish, low, and despised! All of us, whatever our status or skill set, are well worthy by these standards to serve God and God’s children.
Week 5: “Serving Who?”
Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12 + Matthew 5:13-20
Service does not exist in a vacuum. Service always has an object; we must serve something or someone. Of course we want to serve God, but it’s easy to for talk about “serving God” to become somewhat nebulous. Neither Isaiah nor Jesus allows that. Both the prophet Isaiah and Jesus speak strongly about routing our service to God through service to our neighbors, especially our neighbors in need. Isaiah argues that true religious righteousness is clothing the naked and housing the unhoused. Jesus calls us to be salt and light, not hidden away, but useful to our neighbors. These are the “good works” of service that God calls us to.
Week 6: “From Servants to Coworkers”
Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8 + 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Throughout this series, we have seen how we are called to be servants to God. If that was all, it would still be a great thing. But in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he introduces new language; that we are not just God’s servants, but also God’s coworkers. We are not blindly following orders because we must, but working with God for the building of the church and redeeming of the world. This is an astonishing claim, echoing Jesus’ own in the Gospel John that we are not just servants but friends. How can we take our place as God’s coworkers, in the church and in the world?
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