Amen
Hi my name is Joe Labellarte. By way of brief introduction my wife Pam and I have been members of Holy Spirit for nearly 17 years and our children Elizabeth, David and Michelle have all been baptized here. When I received a call a few weeks ago from Pastor Doug to speak at our midweek Lenten service he asked if I would speak on the topic of Serving a Mark of Discipleship. Over the years I've served on the Church Council, participated in Lutheran/Catholic dialogues, and more recently been involved with the Men's group. But tonight my message on Serving as a mark of discipleship will draw upon some of my other faith experiences as well as the serving experiences of other people. From my own personal experiences I'll share my experiences on teaching Sunday School, Befriending, and the COOL.
I will start off with Sunday School. I have been teaching for about 10 years. I remember the repeated Sunday announcements stating the need for teachers. Finally one day (I think it was after Bruce Larson had made one of his many announcements) I said to myself "Oh why not".. I probably did it more out of a sense of guilt than anything else. I don't think that any true sense of service was foremost in my mind. So I gave it a whirl. After a few weeks of teaching my thoughts of "I'm doing this because I was guilted into it" began to change. I'm serving these kids and investing my time and efforts but something strange is happening here.
I'm beginning to realize that I am receiving a lot from this experience. I'm doing a service by teaching Sunday school but somehow this is not work, it is something very different. It's also quite amazing to see how fast these 3rd and 4th graders can learn. The last couple of years I have given them some tough assignments like learning the Apostles Creed and all of the names of the books of the New Testament and they have done very well with it. It is such a joyful service in seeing kids learn about our faith. I can see why teachers do what they do and are so happy doing it as we all know it couldn't be for the wages they earn.
Next, I'd like to share with you my faith experiences as a Befriender. Also about 10 years ago, I was in the Narthex and Lois Wass approaches me one Sunday and says "Joe, I think you would be a good Befriender. Of course I had no idea what she was talking about and asked what's a Befriender? She briefly explained that it is a way of helping and serving others in times of difficulty. I asked how long of a time commitment this would be. I expected something like 6 month. But her response was something like "Well once you are trained it could be for a couple of years". Well her answer seemed like a lifetime of servitude to me. Nevertheless, I reluctantly went to a meeting. I think I have attended meetings for about 8 years and learned that instead of a lifetime of servitude it was more of a lesson on how to be served that will last me the rest of my life. I want to tell you that what I received compared to the time and effort I served was very lopsided. I expected to be serving others and I certainly did some of that and still do but what I have received and how much I have been served would take more than this evening to describe.
Next, I want to share my faith experiences with the COOL Food Pantry and Transitional Housing program. COOL stands for Christian Outreach of Lutherans and it serves the needs of needy people in Lake County. I am currently serving as the board president of that organization. It started about 3 years ago when Pastor Doug mentioned that they are in need of a board member and that I consider serving. I new a little bit about them that they operate a food pantry and a housing program. But I had no idea of the scope of the operation. In the past 10 years the pantry has served over half million meals. Well over a thousand people a month are now served at the pantry. The transitional Housing program is not as big about a dozen families are housed for a period of a few years and are coached on how to become self sufficient. I am happy to say one particular success story originated right here with one of our church members who recommended her housecleaner for the Transitional Housing Program. About a year ago the person graduated from the program and is now well on her way to self sufficiency. I do serve on the board and we devote a lot of our energies on fundraising activities. But the people who are the real marks of discipleship and doing the real serving are the COOL staff and volunteers who serve on the front lines. Volunteers who have freely served like Mary Giampietro. The ones serving the needy people on a day-in and day-out basis.
As I started off I said I would share some of my experiences with serving as well as examples of others. So far I have talked about my personal experiences and now I would like to say something about a few others who give of themselves in service.
I've always wanted to make an announcement about what I'm about to say but been reluctant to because it's similar to when one finds a wonderful vacation spot or finds a great fishing hole you want to keep it a secret. The funny thing is though - that what I'm about to mention is not a well kept secret at all. It is regularly posted in our weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter but for the life of me I don't know why more don't come. Anyway, what I'm referring to is Pastor Doug's Thursday morning Bible Study/Breakfast. I don't know how many of you know it but he has been leading this every Thursday at 6:45 am for ever since he has been the Pastor of Holy Spirit. It's a small group that attends (I can count them on one hand). Those that come are very fortunate to hear what he has to say not only about the bible but also about current social, political and local events. I want to say how meaningful and how served I am by it - I even travel out of my way to make it (and I live in Mundelein). We are truly served and want to thank him for his time and would encourage anyone that wants a real boost in the morning to come and see for themselves.
And now an example of service from Pastor Chris. One evening, after Tuesday Life class was well over she waited for me to pick up my son David. What happened was that I had forgotten that I had to be at church to pick him up at 6PM . When I realized it, I frantically called from Oakbrook at 6:00 PM. She said no problem I'll wait for you. I finally arrived sometime after 7PM. That's well over an hour past the time I should have been there. Now this might seem like a small thing to some of you, but it was a wonderful example of service to me.
And then there is another example of serving that David and Linda Johnson have exemplified by helping to build Habitat homes in South Africa. And now Paul Saydak will also be soon traveling to South Africa to volunteer his time to build homes. The MOST group is having a sendoff for him this very evening after this service and I want to be the first to wish you Godspeed Paul. I know you will be recognized as a high mark of discipleship as you serve. I don't think you'll have the Lincolnshire shed building zoning laws to slow you down. I wouldn't be surprised if you build an entire village while you are there.
I want to close with 2 things: First a short excerpt from an article we studied in Befrienders. It's entitled "In The Service of Life" by Rachel Naomi Remen. And then a final thought to leave with you.
The excerpt goes like this, "Our service serves us as well as others. That which uses us strengthens us. Over time, fixing and helping are draining and depleting. Over time we burn out. Service is renewing. When we serve our work will sustain us. Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they owe you one. But serving, like healing is mutual. There is no debt. I am as served as the person I am serving. When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have a feeling of gratitude. "
What have I learned from all these faith experiences of serving?
Well what I have ultimately realized is this
simple concept: That in serving others we are served. In case
you missed it - what I said was that it in serving others we are
served.
And here is the final thought I want to leave you with.
I have spoken about several examples of our faith service as marks
of discipleship, but I would have really missed my mark on this
message if I left out this next and final person.
But I saved the best for last you know this person said that the last shall be first. Yes, I am speaking of our Lord. Jesus' whole life was that of service. He even washed feet - the feet of his disciples. Not to mention that he served time time on the cross for our transgressions. That's the mark of discipleship and service that we all can be grateful for.
Thank you Lord, for your service to us and
redemption of us.
Amen