October 5, 2019
Luke 17:5-10
For the past few weeks, Amy & I have spent a good bit of our time together watching all six seasons of a show originally aired on PBS called Downton Abbey. Maybe some of you are familiar with this show and maybe some have even watched it. “Downton Abbey is a British historical period drama series set in the early 20th century in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey. It depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family whose lives took place upstairs and their domestic servants, whose work took place upstairs, but whose lives took place downstairs.
I feel my watching of this show was justified as the big screen movie was recently released and Amy expressed her desire to see it, and in her world, there would be no reason to see the movie if you had not first watched all fifty-two episodes of the tv show. I’m glad we followed her logic this time because I truly enjoyed watching this series. The funny thing is, during each season I had to remind myself that life in the early 1920’s British Aristocracy was significantly different than my life and my understanding of how the world should work. I have always pushed back against class systems, injustices and oppression. I have always wanted the lowly to rise and have their voice heard. I have always wanted people to feel that their life and their very presence is valuable and what they have to offer the world is significant. And although it may sound rather simple, a long time ago I decided one way I could help make all of this a reality is by saying thank you, which I hope some of you have recognized. Simply put, I am big on saying thanks, and I always have been. I believe it is important to express gratitude to those who serve and help, and even though I have been known to miss naming someone when I say a public word of thanks, I trust everyone knows it is not intentional, as that would go against my very goal of recognizing someone’s added value and worth. There is a funny thing about this idea of saying and receiving thanks – it can become too easily expected.
The thing is, the desire to say thank you, whether publicly or privately, should never come as a result of being made to feel like someone wants to be thanked and their feelings will be hurt if they are not. Nor should anyone be made to feel like someone needs them to say thank you in order for all to be right in the world, or in their relationship. And this doesn’t just apply to me, no one should be made to feel like they should, or must say thank you to someone, or some group, who they were initially led to believe selflessly offered their services. You see, doing something, anything for someone else, or for the benefit of a group, with the goal of being thanked for having done it, is really misdirected.
This whole idea of saying thank you, or being thanked by others whom you serve, stood out to me while watching Downton Abbey. As depicted in this show, saying thank you to those who serve you in the British Aristocracy of the early 1920’s wasn’t even an afterthought. The servants were performing their duties as expected, and apparently, doing so with pride and to a high standard, was all the thanks they needed. There were a few times, though, when some of the servants needed a little refresher course on their expectations of receiving thanks for doing what was expected, and each time this happened I couldn’t help but initially agree with the servant and his/her desire to be thanked. I would find myself silently saying to Lord Grantham, “would it really hurt you to stop and recognize the servant and say thank you every once in awhile?” Quickly, though, my mind would take me to another thought - saying thank you to someone who is doing what is expected may actually create a difficult future reality where being thanked becomes the goal. It may also cause difficulty within the relationship itself. I learned a great deal about relationships based on mutual respect and mutual accountability watching Downton Abbey and while I do love to acknowledge those who serve, I must say, it is not helpful to anyone, if your primary reasoning for offering your services to others is to receive a thank you in return. Not only that, if only one of the goals driving you to serve others is the receiving of thanks, you may need to ask who you are really serving.
*************************
At first these two parables in today’s gospel text seem disconnected. Initially we find Jesus talking about a mustard seed and an uprooted mulberry tree that gets replanted in the sea. Then without even a single sentence between the thoughts, Jesus immediately goes into a lesson about a master and servant. What do a mustard seed and mulberry tree have to do with a master and servant and dinner and thank you’s? Well I think, one way to answer that question is to remember what the apostles initially said to Jesus because both of these stories were told in response to that one stated desire – “Lord, Increase our Faith!”
After using the example of a mustard seed to say that you can’t quantify faith, Jesus talks about a master and a slave to show what he means. Now, this whole idea could be easily lost on those of us living in the modern-day Western world because it is difficult to hear Jesus speak this way about slavery or service. What if we place the story in its proper historical context? One where some people work as servants for a period of years before being freed. If we do that, we might just see Jesus describing a relationship. “Does the servant deserve congratulations simply for doing his job, he asks? Should she be rewarded for doing what is expected? “Of course not!” What Jesus describes is a relationship between master and servant that is marked by mutual accountability and expectation. The master expects the servants to perform their duties, and the servants, in turn, expect that when their work is done, they will receive nourishment and rest and protection.”
This understanding of faith is a way of life because faith is really about mutually respectful, mutually accountable relationships. With this understanding of faith, those who serve God do so with a sense of duty and delight, living a life according to God’s commandments. They serve God and one another, not for the bonus points, and not only because God expects it, but because they know that God has shown them the way to abundant life.”
************************
Saying thank you, I believe, can be a powerfully positive thing. Saying thank you can help grow relationships in all kinds of meaningful and positive ways. And it is for reasons like that I will continue to express my gratitude when I can, and I am lead. Expecting a thank you when taking steps to serve others, though, is fairly destructive. It manipulates the relationship and even a small act of manipulation is destructive. The fictional Downton Abbey helped teach me that lesson over the past few weeks and Jesus help cement by telling me the story of the master and servant and how faith is nothing if not rooted in mutually beneficial, mutually accountable relationships with God and with others. And thanks be to God for Jesus’ lesson.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
Luke 17:5-10
For the past few weeks, Amy & I have spent a good bit of our time together watching all six seasons of a show originally aired on PBS called Downton Abbey. Maybe some of you are familiar with this show and maybe some have even watched it. “Downton Abbey is a British historical period drama series set in the early 20th century in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey. It depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family whose lives took place upstairs and their domestic servants, whose work took place upstairs, but whose lives took place downstairs.
I feel my watching of this show was justified as the big screen movie was recently released and Amy expressed her desire to see it, and in her world, there would be no reason to see the movie if you had not first watched all fifty-two episodes of the tv show. I’m glad we followed her logic this time because I truly enjoyed watching this series. The funny thing is, during each season I had to remind myself that life in the early 1920’s British Aristocracy was significantly different than my life and my understanding of how the world should work. I have always pushed back against class systems, injustices and oppression. I have always wanted the lowly to rise and have their voice heard. I have always wanted people to feel that their life and their very presence is valuable and what they have to offer the world is significant. And although it may sound rather simple, a long time ago I decided one way I could help make all of this a reality is by saying thank you, which I hope some of you have recognized. Simply put, I am big on saying thanks, and I always have been. I believe it is important to express gratitude to those who serve and help, and even though I have been known to miss naming someone when I say a public word of thanks, I trust everyone knows it is not intentional, as that would go against my very goal of recognizing someone’s added value and worth. There is a funny thing about this idea of saying and receiving thanks – it can become too easily expected.
The thing is, the desire to say thank you, whether publicly or privately, should never come as a result of being made to feel like someone wants to be thanked and their feelings will be hurt if they are not. Nor should anyone be made to feel like someone needs them to say thank you in order for all to be right in the world, or in their relationship. And this doesn’t just apply to me, no one should be made to feel like they should, or must say thank you to someone, or some group, who they were initially led to believe selflessly offered their services. You see, doing something, anything for someone else, or for the benefit of a group, with the goal of being thanked for having done it, is really misdirected.
This whole idea of saying thank you, or being thanked by others whom you serve, stood out to me while watching Downton Abbey. As depicted in this show, saying thank you to those who serve you in the British Aristocracy of the early 1920’s wasn’t even an afterthought. The servants were performing their duties as expected, and apparently, doing so with pride and to a high standard, was all the thanks they needed. There were a few times, though, when some of the servants needed a little refresher course on their expectations of receiving thanks for doing what was expected, and each time this happened I couldn’t help but initially agree with the servant and his/her desire to be thanked. I would find myself silently saying to Lord Grantham, “would it really hurt you to stop and recognize the servant and say thank you every once in awhile?” Quickly, though, my mind would take me to another thought - saying thank you to someone who is doing what is expected may actually create a difficult future reality where being thanked becomes the goal. It may also cause difficulty within the relationship itself. I learned a great deal about relationships based on mutual respect and mutual accountability watching Downton Abbey and while I do love to acknowledge those who serve, I must say, it is not helpful to anyone, if your primary reasoning for offering your services to others is to receive a thank you in return. Not only that, if only one of the goals driving you to serve others is the receiving of thanks, you may need to ask who you are really serving.
*************************
At first these two parables in today’s gospel text seem disconnected. Initially we find Jesus talking about a mustard seed and an uprooted mulberry tree that gets replanted in the sea. Then without even a single sentence between the thoughts, Jesus immediately goes into a lesson about a master and servant. What do a mustard seed and mulberry tree have to do with a master and servant and dinner and thank you’s? Well I think, one way to answer that question is to remember what the apostles initially said to Jesus because both of these stories were told in response to that one stated desire – “Lord, Increase our Faith!”
After using the example of a mustard seed to say that you can’t quantify faith, Jesus talks about a master and a slave to show what he means. Now, this whole idea could be easily lost on those of us living in the modern-day Western world because it is difficult to hear Jesus speak this way about slavery or service. What if we place the story in its proper historical context? One where some people work as servants for a period of years before being freed. If we do that, we might just see Jesus describing a relationship. “Does the servant deserve congratulations simply for doing his job, he asks? Should she be rewarded for doing what is expected? “Of course not!” What Jesus describes is a relationship between master and servant that is marked by mutual accountability and expectation. The master expects the servants to perform their duties, and the servants, in turn, expect that when their work is done, they will receive nourishment and rest and protection.”
This understanding of faith is a way of life because faith is really about mutually respectful, mutually accountable relationships. With this understanding of faith, those who serve God do so with a sense of duty and delight, living a life according to God’s commandments. They serve God and one another, not for the bonus points, and not only because God expects it, but because they know that God has shown them the way to abundant life.”
************************
Saying thank you, I believe, can be a powerfully positive thing. Saying thank you can help grow relationships in all kinds of meaningful and positive ways. And it is for reasons like that I will continue to express my gratitude when I can, and I am lead. Expecting a thank you when taking steps to serve others, though, is fairly destructive. It manipulates the relationship and even a small act of manipulation is destructive. The fictional Downton Abbey helped teach me that lesson over the past few weeks and Jesus help cement by telling me the story of the master and servant and how faith is nothing if not rooted in mutually beneficial, mutually accountable relationships with God and with others. And thanks be to God for Jesus’ lesson.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
