A cup of coffee
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Background: my second service as minister; the interim minister is leaving.
At the start of the service I make a cappuccino coffee and cut a piece of cake. I invite Jo, the church secretary, to come to the front and then serve the coffee and cake, explaining that it is a small token of our appreciation for all her work. I ask: ‘Did it feel good to be given a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, and recognized in this way?’
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In my twenties I worked as a construction engineer on power stations in the Middle East and Africa. These were big projects which lasted several years. There were points in the construction which were particularly significant. For example lifting the boiler drum into position is a tricky operation. The boiler might weigh 100 tonnes and be positioned 20 metres up. When it’s up, a new phase of operation starts. When we reached a significant milestone we would always have a little celebration to mark it. We’d enjoy the sense of accomplishment and have a few beers.
At present we’re at a significant milestone in the life of the church. Chris has been working hard for the church as an interim minister. That’s about to come to an end. The search team has been working hard to find a minister. Their job has finished. When there isn’t a minister, much more work falls on the deacons – and there are only three deacons. Regrettably, their work hasn’t come to an end! There are people in this church who have given time and energy into the church for years. There are many, many people in this church who I should say ‘well done’ and give coffee and cake to.
So RPBC is at a milestone, and that’s a good time to reflect. But we can always encourage each other by noticing what we’re each doing and saying, ‘thank you’ and ‘well done’. There’s a verse in Hebrews which says, ‘But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today”‘. I like that. We’re in ‘today’ aren’t we? Not yesterday, or tomorrow. Then we need to encourage one another. We don’t need to wait for milestones.
We are not always very good at saying ‘well done’. Recently I was in a church meeting. Various people were saying nice kind things about some of the leaders but no one mentioned me. One lady there obviously thought that I might feel left out, so she said something like, ‘And we mustn’t forget Simon. He organized a barbecue two years ago.’ It seemed as though she had hardly noticed or valued what I had been doing over the past two years. I felt a bit miffed. We’re not all brilliant at saying ‘Well done’.
However it’s something that Jesus is very, very good at it. He sees what his servants do, values what they do, and rewards them for what they do. Those are the three key points in this talk: Jesus sees, values and rewards.
Could you turn to Mark 12:41-44?
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
You can imagine the scene. Jesus and his disciples are sitting somewhere near the temple. There are crowds of people around, people from Jerusalem, visitors, pilgrims and so on. As they go in they put something into the offertory box. Jesus noticed a poor widow. Probably no one else noticed her. Jesus, walking on this earth, two thousand years ago, was observant. Jesus sees what his servants do.
Jesus also makes it clear that God sees what’s going on. For example, Jesus tells us, ‘When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’
So Jesus sees what we, his servants do.
We also see in this story that Jesus values what his servants do.
We read, ‘And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.’ The widow might have thought, “I have nothing of value to give. What’s a penny?” And yet, that isn’t how Jesus assessed it. He said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.” Wow! For God it doesn’t matter if the gift is one pound or a million pounds; God values the gift on the basis of the person’s capacity to give.
I have a feeling that some people in this church might be thinking, ‘I’m old. I have nothing left to give.’ But that wasn’t true for that poor widow. Jesus said that she gave more than the others – not less! Can you imagine that? It’s back to front. But it’s what Jesus said, and he emphasised it by saying, “Truly, I say to you”. If we give when we have very little to give, Jesus values it enormously.
So we see in this story that Jesus values what his servants do or give.
My third point is that Jesus rewards his servants. Can you look at Luke 12:35-37?
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.”
This is the story which motivated me to give Jo a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Jo said it felt good. Can you imagine how it will feel if Jesus dresses himself for service, tells you to sit at the table, and comes and serves them? I can do coffee and cake. Jesus will serve up something far better! I think it will be awesome. I want it! I want to be the good and faithful servant.
However there is something I need to point out in this story. Something seems strange about this story. Jesus says ‘Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes’. The master in this story is Jesus, and I’ve said that Jesus sees what’s going on.
Let’s imagine that you’re one of the servants. You’ve served faithfully for many years. Your master has gone off somewhere and you have no idea when he’ll be back. You say to yourself: I’m going to put my feet up. I’ve done my bit. You have a large meal and a glass of wine and twenty minutes later, you’re asleep. At this point the master returns and finds you asleep.
As you gradually take in the fact that Jesus has returned, you think to yourself: ‘Jesus knows that I’ve been a good boy all my life’. He does! But Jesus says, ‘Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes’. The blessing is for those who are awake.
Let me conclude. Our church is at a milestone. It’s an appropriate time to say to each other, ‘Well done’. Often, we’re not very good at seeing what each other is doing and acknowledging it, but we must try.
Jesus, however, sees clearly what we’re doing. He values our service to him, even in things that might seem very small to us. And he will reward our service. The day will come when he will serve us! What an honour! Let’s not miss out on it. Let’s stay awake.
