Service Over Status

Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 31: 10-31
The Gospel: Mark 9: 30-37         
      
Do you remember the old Enjoli Perfume Commercial? It aired in the early 1980s. It had a woman in a business suit singing, “ I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never, never let you forget you’re a man - ‘cause I’m a woman - Enjoli!” It was called the 8-hour perfume for the 24-hour woman. This song became the backdrop for my career planning, for my life. I, and many other women, were empowered knowing that we could do anything despite that glass ceiling that was still above us trying to hem us in. If we worked hard enough, we could do anything a man could do, even work in careers that had been closed to us before. 

But there was a catch. To really be a woman, we had to do it all. We had to bring home the money, make the dinner, take care of the kids, clean the house and still serve our husbands. In other words, we had to be like the capable wife in Proverbs 31. She is an affluent woman who, like a warrior, tucks in the ends of her skirts, girding herself for all her tasks. She spins wool, makes clothes, shops, cooks, buys a field, plants a vineyard, speaks wisdom, teaches kindness, supports her husband, helps the poor, fears God and is called happy by her husband and children. While this wife is a great role model of work ethic, wisdom, efficiency and caring, I find myself wondering when she has time to feel happy. Does she ever have time to sit down and smell the roses, just for a moment?

Is there such a thing as doing too much? 

Yes. There is a reason even God rested on the seventh day. 

The Good Wife from Proverbs and the woman in the Enjoli Commercial are intelligent and highly capable. In many ways they defy old gender roles in making money, being able to buy and sell. The Good Wife goes farther in that she helps those in need beyond her own husband and family. We are all called to service in this way, caring for others, but we are also called to rest. It is in taking a break, in resting that we renew our energy to keep doing those important tasks for ourselves, our families and others. It is in resting that we  have time to contemplate the beauty of God’s creation: to sit in wonder while watching a bee gather pollen or a squirrel gathering acorns for the winter, to marvel at the simple beauty of the first trees turning from green to yellow and red - to thank God for that and what we have and to pause to pray for what we and the world need: peace, hope, and love. 

There is so much to be gained from the pause of rest. 

When we, as humans, do too much, our planet pays for it. 

Here in Vermont, our forebears did too much sheep farming for a while and it took a toll on our land. In 1840, just 30 years after William Jarvis brought the first 400 Merino sheep from Spain to his farm in Weathersfield, there were
1,681,819 sheep in the state. That resulted in clear cutting that contributed to soil erosion and mudslides. Overgrazing by the sheep hurt the soil and plant diversity. We can still see the remnants of that 40-year industry today in the many stone walls that cross our landscape, but the good news is that the trees and plants are back, the land, when given time to rest again, recovers. 

Farmers have long understood the need for the land to rest and recover as they practice crop rotation to allow different nutrients to enter the soil and they leave some fields fallow - a season or more to rest unplanted. That time of rest actually improves crop yield and quality in the end. 

In the world today there is much we can do to allow this beautiful planet to rest. The key is we need to rest - rest from using so much power, rest from polluting the earth with chemicals and plastics, rest from building in places that are not sustainable, rest from sprawl - just rest.

Part of our service to God, to others, and to our planet is to rest. 

It takes some humility to rest. In resting, there can be a feeling that we won’t win the race. We won’t be the top salesperson, we won’t have the most stuff, we won’t earn that reward or status that just a few more hours of work will give us. 

I was talking to one of my seniors at school this week who noted he could not help out at our Fall Festival fundraiser next weekend because he has to work. He goes to school all week, works in the evenings and works all weekend. I told him that he needs to take some time for himself and encouraged him to at least take the weekends off when he starts a full time apprenticeship after he graduates. He said he probably won’t because he wants the money. 

He has not yet learned the value of rest, but I hope and pray that he does. 

In a way, Jesus was trying to tell the disciples to take a rest and learn some humility in the Mark scripture from today. They didn’t need to compete over who was the greatest among them. “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all…whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” All of Jesus’ teaching is paradoxical - the last shall be first, the first shall be last. It is not about power or stuff. The servant of all in Greek translates to the person who was the lowest of servants, who served food and ate scraps after everyone else. A child has no economic or other power and no voice. In the world then and now no one would gain status by serving food or welcoming a child, yet Jesus says in doing this, they and we are welcoming Jesus and God. It is only in humble service, abundant welcome to all, that we follow Christ’s example and truly welcome God into our lives. It is in resting after doing this that we can see that is the case and that we can find the energy to keep serving. 

 It is in resting our bodies and minds that we have time and can see the bigger picture - the impact we have on others and the planet. It is in resting that we can contemplate balance. What resources do we need to use and what can we conserve for ourselves and for the planet? Where can we be of most service to the people and creation?

Pastor and Poet Steve Garnaas Holmes reflects on the Mark scripture in this way:

Not subservient, not inferior to others,
but helpful, in support, in service.
You're not indentured or obligated;
you serve in love that is yours to give.
Your task today is to serve others--
not necessarily to please them,
not to save them or “fix” them,
but to offer grace, to bless them,
to set before them wholeness of life,
to open doors that set them free,
to speak a word that heals
and does not dishonor them.
Your task today is not to use or conquer others,
but to offer what love or joy you can
in service to their new life.

Today, for everyone you meet,
God is the chef of grace
and you are their server.

And even as you serve others remember the need for balance. Remember to take a break, to rest, to help yourself and the planet. 

Even Enjoli recognized the need for that. At the end of the commercial, there is a voiceover of the husband saying, “I’m going to cook dinner for the kids tonight”.  Amen.

Pastor Michelle Fountain

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