Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:42–45, ESV
One of the greatest trends that have been seen in the Christian Church is that the congregations that are known best for actively serving the community in faith are those that are attracting the younger generations. This is a changing trend. In the 1960s, the Lutheran Church was said to be by TIME Magazine to be the fastest-growing church body in the United States. Much of this was fed by immigration as people sought to gather with others from the same areas they were immigrating. This tendency is still with us, but the culture has changed as young adults seek to gather in faith bodies that are more similar to the culture of service and make a difference in the world that influenced them in their formative years. As the Church, we can follow Jesus’ calling to be of service in the world with a message of hope that any social service industry cannot deliver. With food, we bring not only full bellies but full lives centered in Jesus Christ and the eternal give that He promises. Some religious leaders focus only on the service aspect, and their bodies are losing the faith aspect, but for those of us who bring with us not only sustenance to extend life on earth but carry with us the promise of the hope that was given for us all on the Cross, we will witness lives being transformed. All the world’s social ills, including poverty, are rooted in the sin that is meant to rob all of the hope, but in Christ, we bring eternal life.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.