The pastoral team went for a retreat this week. The theme of the retreat was “Servanthood”, based on Matthew 20:20-28 in which Jesus taught the disciples how they ought to live out the life of servanthood, being servants of the Lord.
Let’s begin by reflecting on this question: What is a servant?
A servant has a master and his duty is to follow the orders of the master. Whether the servant is faithful or acts willingly is another matter.
Furthermore, a servant does not have authority or status. In days of old, a servant was synonymous with a slave who was not in possession of any power, let alone fought for power.
The background of the bible passage in Matthew was set against Jesus’ prediction of His own death on the cross, where He would be crucified and then resurrected on the third day.
At the beginning of the passage, the mother of James and John kneeled down before Jesus and asked whether her sons could sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom. This incident aroused suspicion and anger among the disciples.
Jesus then said to the disciples, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.” This is not the case for Christians. “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” According to the hierarchy of this world, the ones who are in authority would lord over others below them. Those who have less power will only do their tasks because they are being forced to do so by those higher up in the hierarchy.
In the eyes of God, however, the ones who are precious are those who serve others voluntarily with a willing heart. Instead of putting their own rights first, true servants put others’ needs before their own. They do so because they follow the example of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ submits to God willingly on His own accord. Jesus is God, yet He is willing to let go of His rights and became flesh and walked this earth, not to be served but to serve; and not only to serve, but to sacrifice His own life and became our sin offering so that we can be redeemed.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on ourselves – what kind of attitude do we hold when we interact with others at church? Have we always been served or are we actively serving others? What about at home? Do we wait to be served or do we take the initiative to serve our family members? We might all have a thousand and one reasons to fight for our rights and to exercise our control over others, just like people in this world. But let’s encourage one another to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ instead and rise above the values of this world, fixing our eyes on Jesus and relying on His strength as we seek to serve and not to be served.
這周，教牧同工，我們一起去了退休營。在營裡，教牧同工一起思想一個主題，“僕人服侍”。在馬太福音20:20-28。
耶穌說到，基督徒怎樣在生活中，作神的僕人去服侍別人。
讓我們先思想，什麼是僕人？
僕人是有主人的，是聽命令，是跟隨主人的。但僕人，是否忠心呢？是否甘心樂意呢？又是另一回事。
僕人，也是沒有地位，沒有身分，在古時，就是奴隸，沒有任何權力，更不要說要爭什麼權位。
在經文中，背景是耶穌再次預言，衪快要被釘十字架死去，並且在第三天復活。
兩門徒的母親們，向耶穌跪下，求耶穌問，將來她的兒子們，有什麼權柄位份。這事引起門徒們之間的猜忌，而且發怒。
耶穌教導說，“你們知道外邦人，有君王為主治理他們，有大臣‘操權管束’他們。”但作為基督徒不一樣，“只是在你們中間，不可這樣；你們中間誰願為大，就必作你們的用人。”在世上的制度，是用權柄轄制人。是有權柄的君王大臣強迫，或是勉強他們，才會去做要做的事。
但在神眼中，是誰願意服侍別人，在神眼中，但是可貴的。神看中，是自願，甘心樂意，去服侍別人的人。不是把自己的利益放在首位，而是把別人的需要放在首位。原因很簡單，不是別的，就是因為，我們的主耶穌基督，是衪甘心樂意，順服天父，而自願的服侍神，衪本身是神，但願意放下衪尊貴的身份，而道成肉身，作為我們的榜樣，來到世上，不是要接受別人的服侍，而是去服侍別人，不單是服侍人，更是為罪人死，願意犧牲衪自己的生命，為了我們可以得到救贖，基督成為我們的贖罪祭。
我們現在在教會，是以什麼心態在生活？是一直被服侍，或是在主動，甘心樂意的，自願去服侍別人？在家又是怎樣，我們是在等待被服侍，或是主動的去服侍家人。我們在世上，都有很多理由，要好像世上的人一樣，爭取自己的權力，去管轄別人，還是，我們跟隨我們主耶穌基督的榜樣，我們是否盡力不被世界的價值觀影響，而是單單仰望神，單單跟隨衪，不是被人服侍，乃是服侍別人？
