NOTE: I am putting my weekly sermons on the church website. It will be on for two weeks (usually posted on Friday) and then placed in the Archives area by date. You can download in a matter of seconds.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766

March 24, 2002
"Leaping Into Service"
Phillipians 2:5-11
Reverend Larry Gerber

Rodd Millner's an Australian ex-commando. Sometime within the next few weeks, he will perform a stunt that will either stretch the frontiers of science or the boundaries of insanity.

He's going to sky-dive from space.

Millner intends to climb into a spacesuit and ride a balloon to a height of 130,000 feet, up to the very edge of the atmosphere. That's an altitude higher than four Mount Everests stacked on top of one another. Once he gets there, he will jump. Plummeting toward earth, he will reach a speed of between 700 and 900 miles per hour within a minute of leaping from the balloon. If all goes well, he will be the first human to break the sound barrier without a vehicle.

He'll slow down as he falls down. He'll reach what's called "terminal velocity," a steady speed created by the collision of air molecules with a falling body. At higher altitudes there are fewer air molecules to bump into, so a body can travel at velocities of 900 miles per hour. But as divers approach the earth they encounter thicker and thicker air, and their speeds are reduced to about 100 or 200 miles per hour, which is really a huge advantage when you are trying to deploy a parachute.

As for where he'll land, the official guess is within 50 kilometers of the launch site in central Australia. "But I'll be basically aiming for the planet Earth," Millner says, "and trying to hit it." If he reaches 130,000 feet, he will certainly hit it. The only question is: how hard? Millner expects the thickening atmosphere to slow him down to a little over 120 miles per hour by the time he pulls the cord, allowing him to pop his chute at about 5,000 feet. "My decision to do this is based on the fact that I want to come back safe and alive," he explains.

Safe and alive. It's a wonderful wish. But it wasn't the outcome that Jesus experienced when he took his plunge to Earth almost 2,000 years ago.

No, when Jesus aimed for the Earth, he hit it. Hit it hard. Although he was in the form of God, preaches the apostle Paul to the Philippians, he "did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited" (2:6). He did not use his divine nature as an opportunity to make a safe and smooth landing on the rocky terrain of a hardhearted world.

Instead, he "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!" (v. 8 NIV).

Bam! The cross marks the spot where Jesus hit the Earth. Hit it with arms outstretched, for us and for our salvation.

Jesus achieved a kind of terminal velocity as he plummeted to the Earth, a self-emptying plunge that teaches us that his ontological descent was in no way either senseless or insane.

The name for this terminal velocity: humility.

Humility is the steady speed that controls our movement through the atmosphere of life on Earth. It is created by the collision of God's Spirit with our own falling bodies, and it keeps us from spinning wildly out of control. When we take the form of servants, humble ourselves and become obedient to God, we know that nothing in all creation -- neither death nor life, neither height nor depth -- will be able to separate us from the supremely supportive love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

Humility keeps us moving downward at the proper speed -- at what we might call "Godspeed." It's our terminal velocity.

Of course, it's not easy to take this plunge. It involves a leap of faith from the heights of selfishness and egocentrism. But if we want to model the life of our Lord, it's a jump we need to make. If we desire the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, it's a dive we are duty-bound to perform -- a dive that involves leaping into service and plunging deeply into the needs of others.

Of course, on Palm Sunday, the citizens of Jerusalem could not know that this Jesus, riding bareback into the city on a young donkey, was actually entering the city to embrace his death only five days hence. They welcomed him as a conquering hero in the tradition of David. He would solve their problems. Every time they cried "Hosanna," they were basically thumbing their noses at the religious establishment who had tried unsuccessfully to rein in this exuberant young crowd-pleaser, and they were also sticking it to the political scions of Roman society who at this point were clueless.

But the apostle makes it clear: This isn't what Jesus was about. He "humbled himself," he was concerned about the needs of others, rather than himself. He had a different mindset, and Paul says, it's a servanthood mentality we all should adopt. On Palm Sunday, we're reminded that lording it over others doesn't cut it. Following Jesus to the cross means getting into the tuck-position of humility ourselves, it means leaping into service.

Today, we not only commemorate that great entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, with the Palm branches waving,and the little children singing, we also celebrate the commitment of those in our midst, who have entered the gates of cimmitment.

Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to ride into the city on a donkey, instead of a white horse with gleaming armor. He was paving the way for others who would make a leap of faith, into service for God.

We have already presented the names of those who chose to do a 34 week study of the Bible, spending several hours each week in preparation for the wekly bible study. These 18 persons not only studied the Bible, but they studied and examined their own personhood. They were given the challenge of leaping into faith, and into service. It was not only a bible Study, it was a self-examination of their faith journey. And, at the end of the 34 sessions, each one was given the opporutnity to tell his/her classmates what gifts they saw in each other. And then they were given the opportunity to state what they were going to do in the way of commitment to a Christ filled life, especially in the year ahead. They join thousands of Disciple students around the world, who have studied the Word, made self-examinations, and have mad the leap of commitment to service.

Jesus set the stage for self-examination when he rode into Jerusalem. he also allowed others to examine Him and His journey. They lauded him, praised him, followed him, and cheered him on, as if he was the long awaited Messiah, until the cross of commitment. Jesus went too far for the majority. He made the leap of service. He made a total commitment to His Father.

We have also, this day, commissioned 7 Stephen Ministers. These 7 persons have taken the leap of faith, and the leap of service as well. They set aside 50 hours of class room experience, along with many hours of preparation each week, in order to leap into service for this church and its members. For the 12th year in a row, this church has offered The Stephen Ministry Program, and for the 12th year, persons have responded to God's call into service. This years class of Stephen Ministers joins over 125 others from this congregation, who have taken the leap of service, ready and able to reach out as a Caregiver to those in need.

God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, whom we call our Savior, sets the stage for each of us. Each of us is called each day, to make a commitment, and to make a difference in the lives of others. Today, God offers you the opportunity to answer His call. Will you take the leap of faith, commitment, and service? Will you listen to His call? Will you answer?

True success belongs to those who have truly accepted the self-giving of Christ as the model for Christian behavior. It belongs to those who do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than themselves. It belongs to those leaders who define themselves not in terms of position and power, but in terms of usefulness to God and an ability to serve.

The surprising truth of humility, you see, is that it brings honor upon all who practice it. Paul tells us that God highly exalted Jesus after he humbled himself, and the same is true for all who achieve Christ's terminal velocity.

So go ahead. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.

Take the plunge. Leap into service.

As we bring this service to a close, let us prepare to carry our services into the world. Let us stand and sing our closing hymn: "All Glory, Laud and Honor"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sources:
Kenneally, Christine. "The man who fell to
earth." FEED-Science. March 9, 2001,
Feedman.com

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766