URC Daily Devotion Saturday 5th October 2024

Mark 10.45 

The Son of Man came not to be serve but to serve…

Philippians 2:5  

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…

Reflection

Bonhoeffer did a great deal of writing during his two years in prison, much of it published as ‘Letters and Papers from Prison’. It includes an ‘Outline for a Book’ of no more than a hundred pages, from July/August 1944. In the proposed third chapter he focuses on the role of the Church and says, 

“The church is only the church when it exists for others…(it) must share in the secular problems of ordinary, human life, not  dominating, but helping and serving…It must not under-estimate the importance of human example (which has its origin in the humanity of Jesus and is so important in Paul’s teaching); it is not abstract argument but example which gives its word emphasis and power.” 

At a time when church attendance and church membership are declining, and many churches closing, not least in the URC, it is tempting to focus on our own survival and to devote much time, energy and money to this end. Like all temptations, this one is to be resisted. Similarly, fellowship is an important aspect of the life of any church, but churches are not intended to be religious clubs. The Church is the Body of Christ, who was “the man for others”, to use Bonhoeffer’s phrase, and we are called to serve others as he did; showing the love of God, which was seen supremely in him, through our words, our deeds and our example, in the hope that people will both experience it and respond to it. 

In the words of the hymn writer, F Pratt Green,
 
Then let the servant Church arise, 
a caring Church that longs to be
a partner in Christ’s sacrifice,
and clothed in Christ’s humanity.

We have no mission but to serve
in full obedience to our Lord:
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread his liberating word. 
(Rejoice & Sing 636)

Prayer

Loving God, we pray for the help of your Holy Spirit, that we may live Christ-like lives as individuals and that our churches may be Christ-like communities. Separately and together may we serve people, not only in the name of Christ but also in the spirit of Christ. Amen.