Blessed to Be a Blessing

Text: Mark 10:35-45 [# 1 – Cross with rainbow] 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” INTRODUCTION Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. It’s great to have the chance to meet the people of our supporting congregations and to share with you all about the wonderful ministry that is Rainbow Trail. I also hope to offer you a chance to reflect and grow in your faith as well. 1

[# 2 – Guy with Hoodie] I have the incredible opportunity to work with some amazing college age staff through our ministry. They are a wonderful and diverse group, but the one thing that they would all agree on would be that the most maddening question that everyone is asking them is, “So what are you going to do with your life?” As much as this is a nagging question for any college senior, isn’t this a nagging question for all of us? Now, I’m not necessarily talking about our career or vocation, but this is a very real question, “What are you going to do with your life?” Often we just live life, go to work, surviving day to day, week to week, focusing on our own needs and the needs of our family, just hoping to make it. And even when things are well, we stay in our own routine where it is comfortable and not much more. So, it’s a great question: “What are you going to do with your life?” [# 3 – Stars] Is this life of just existing / the life that we have been called to? I don’t think so. Christ had much bigger plans for his disciples and for us. In our gospel text today, Christ says those who want to be the greatest must be a servant to all. Wow, that’s all we need – one more thing to do - one more thing crammed into the laundry list of things already packing each and every day! One of the greatest joys of my life is that I get to live at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp for three months every summer. [# 4 – High Ropes] And one of the things I love about camp is that it forces us out of our old routines, it forces us out of comfort zones, and throws us into a community of individuals that we’ve never met. But through the week 2

campers learn to work with, support and encourage, and even love people that are very different than themselves by the end of the week. It is a community where you start putting others’ needs before your own and when everyone is doing that, the whole community is better. We live where we truly serve, love, and care for those around us. 24/7. We learn to live life compassionately. [# 5 – Hammer] And it all comes out of the context of the blessings we have received from God. I’m not just talking about the “things” that we have, but also the individuals that we are. The gifts that we possess are the tools that we can use to serve the world. LET ME REPEAT THAT: The gifts that we possess are the tools that we can use to serve the world. It’s not about us anymore but rather Christ working through us. Blessed to be a blessing in the lives of others. THE MIRROR There is a story that is told by Robert Fulghum, author of “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned In Kindergarten” – called the Mirror that I would like to share with you. [# 6 – Sunrise on Ballfield] “At the last session on the last morning of a two-week seminar on Greek Culture, Alexander Papaderos rose from his chair at the back of the room and walked to the front, where he stood in the bright Greek sunlight of an open window and looked out. He turned. And made the ritual gesture: “Are there any questions?” Silence quilted the room. These two weeks had generated enough questions for a lifetime, but for now there was only silence. “No questions?” Papaderos swept the room with 3

his eyes. So, I asked, “Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?” The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos held up his hand, stilled the room, and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was. “I will answer your question.” Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small round mirror, about the size of a quarter. And what he said went something like this: “When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place. “I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible., so I kept the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. [# 7 – Staff and camper] I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine--in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.” “I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game, but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light is there and it will only shine in dark places if I reflect it. 4

[# 8 – counselor and baby] “I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world --into black places in the hearts of men-and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of life.” And he then took his small mirror and, holding it carefully, caught the bright rays of daylight streaming through the window and reflected them onto my face and onto my hands folded on the desk.” [# 9 – Girl on Zip line] This is our calling – to compassionately reflect the light of Christ in the dark places of our world. It not something we should do when we have time or just if we can squeeze it in. This is our calling for life! We need to live this calling boldly and without timidity. We need to really go for it and live this life of blessing and be Christ’s light in the world. Compassionately loving and serving people. We are going to make mistakes and that’s ok. The good news is that we also live surrounded by God’s love and grace. My wife tells of a time she walked past some street musicians in our home town of Canon City. There were only a few people listening, but the music was good. As she was listening to the band, she saw a little homeless man up near the band and he was moving to the music. It was obvious that he wanted to dance. She thought about it and then thought about it again. And ended up not asking him to dance. As she looks back, she sees that as a missed opportunity to be a blessing in the life of that man. Even if it 5

would have been for just one dance. And haven’t we all missed opportunities like that. Just as we prepare our campers to go home at the end of week, I hope that starting today, we can all go out to serve and live graciously in our world, stepping outside our comfort zones, ready to serve all we meet compassionately, and to be a reflection of the light of Christ. No regrets. No missed opportunities. Saint Paul says this better than I can. I would like to share two other scriptures with you today. The first one comes from Romans 12:1-3. This translation is from The Message. Place Your Life Before God [# 10 – Rafting] 12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops wellformed maturity in you. And finally, from 1 Peter 3:8-12. This is also from The Message. [# 11 – counselor w/little boy] Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless— 6

that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; So when the question of “What are going to do with your life?” ever arises again, the answer should be self evident by the way you are living out your life everyday. Jake Marty prayer [# 12 – Fall Mountain Scene] There is a prayer written by Jack Reimer that was shared by one of our summer staff members as he was telling his faith story. I think it summarizes what it means to live life compassionately and as one that is blessed to be a blessing. Please pray with me: We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war; For we know that You have made the world in a way That man must find his own path to peace Within himself and with his neighbor. We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation; For you have already given us the resources With which to feed the entire world If we would only use them wisely. We cannot merely pray to You, O God, To root out prejudice; For You have already given us the power 7

To clear away slums and to give hope If we would only use our power justly. We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease; For You have already given us great minds with which To search out cures and healing, If we would only use them constructively. Therefore we pray to You instead, O God, For strength, determination, and willpower, To do instead of just pray, To become instead of merely to wish. AMEN

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