But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it . . . So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:7, 11-13
The passage above was one of the Daily Office readings when we returned to our room to pray after an encouraging meeting with the Faculty of Law during our visit to Uganda in October 2018. Through this scripture we heard the Lord affirming his invitation to serve at UCU. What struck us then was Paul’s reference to teachers, as our original invitation was to teach. Since then, we have learned that we are called to service, and that teaching is an element, but not the whole, of service.
Service on behalf of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is not limited to those with a special calling to work in the church proper. In the broadest sense it is service by Christians, offered in a way that allows the light of Christ to be made visible to those whose need to see it. Indeed, our Lord himself offers us the model to follow: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
Service asks: what builds the body of Christ? Relationships. Relationships are built on engagement with others through shared time and a willingness to listen to them and to be vulnerable to them. Indeed, in our initial weeks here we are discovering that our first call is not to “do” something but to “be” something – to be good neighbors to those among whom we now live, to receive love from them, and to offer love to them.
Mission is a synonym for service; and service is the call Christ extends to every baptized Christian. It may be a call to serve where we were raised or live and work, or it may need a passport and visa to respond. In either case, we should serve the Lord in all we do, with all the gifts He has given us.
In his own ministry, Jesus was both a missionary and a sender by equipping his apostles and sending them out to minister in his name. In each serving act of his earthly ministry – from healing to preaching to his sacrifice on the Cross – he offered the relationship of his steadfast love.
We – the whole church – are now His hands and feet. We serve not as the world serves by looking at a “need” and “solving” it by “doing something,” but by being in loving relationships with people, learning about them and being open to learning from them. Who is the Lord calling you to serve, and what seeds can you plant on His behalf by answering that call?
God bless you!
Richard and Catherine
