Christ Church Uniting
Disciples and Presbyterians
1300 Kailua Rd.
Kailua, HI 96734
262-6911

John 13: 1-5, 12-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and The Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for inviting me to share in worship with you.

Tonight I want to recommend The Third Sacrament, the sacrament of Servant Leadership. First, thank you Pastor Cho for suggesting I consider John 13. Of course, what I’m going to do with this scripture is entirely my own responsibility.

Can you name all the sacraments? Baptism, yes. The Lord’s Supper, yes. Those are the Protestant Christian sacraments. Did anyone think of confirmation, anointing the sick, or marriage? In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian Church traditions, these are also considered sacraments.

You hardly ever hear about the Third Sacrament, the sacrament of Foot Washing, the sacrament of servant leadership. That’s the one to which I call your attention.

· What is a sacrament anyway? I will answer in a few words.

· What is the Third Sacrament? Why do I call Foot Washing the Third Sacrament? Good question.

· After the foot washing, Jesus said, "You should do for others as I have done for you." If we did that, what difference would it make in church life?

First, what is a sacrament?

During the time of the Roman Empire, officers took oaths of allegiance. The oath was called a sacramentum, a sacrament. It was an outward sign of inward commitment, of loyalty to their superior.

Early Christians kept the idea of sacrament as an outward sign expressing commitment, but they reversed the loyalty relationship. For Christians, a "sacrament" was an outward sign showing God’s loyalty. Baptisms, memorial meals, even rainbows could be celebrated as sacraments, as outward signs of an inner reality of God’s loyal and one sided love for humankind in Jesus Christ.

Sacrament is also related to the words "sacred" and "holy." When something functions as a sacrament, it reminds us to take off our shoes (as Yahweh reminded Moses to do) because we are on holy ground---because God is present as promised. Broadly put then, a sacrament is any event or experience in which we recognize, acknowledge, or feel God’s committed presence in some way.

If we are not too distracted, an intense sunset might cause us to feel God’s determined and loving presence, or the smile of a child at play, or the beauty of an elderly person moving slowly. In Easter Orthodox tradition, icons, are very distinctive pictures of persons from bible stories. Icons function sacramentally. Gazing upon the icon with anticipation, the Orthodox Christian feels blessed as if looking through a window into the face of God.

In sacramental moments, during communion, hearing scripture read, reconciling with one another, we may not only feel connected to God and reminded of God’s commitment to us in love, but we may also feel called by God as the disciples were called by Jesus, "Come beloved. Follow me into a deeper fellowship."

The Roman Catholic and Easter Orthodox Christian teaching is that there are seven sacraments. Three sacraments have to do with growth. They are baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist (what we call The Lord’s Supper). Two have to do with healing: anointing the sick and reconciliation (formerly, this was called confession). There are two sacraments of vocation or life calling: ordination and marriage. Three plus two plus two equals seven total sacraments. According to this teaching, these sacraments were instituted for the church by Jesus himself.

Presbyterians have a slightly different tradition. We teach only two sacraments: baptism and The Lord’s Supper. We still do the other things in our churches. We confirm our youth in their church membership. We pray for the sick and sometimes, following the biblical injunction, we anoint them with oil. We confess our hurts and (sometimes) our sins to one another. We make our marriage vows before God. We, too, ordain persons to ministry in the church. We do all these things in our tradition. We thank God every time we do them. We just don’t call them sacraments.

Why don’t we call them sacraments? The reason is interesting. We say it’s because Jesus only actually set forth two sacraments for the church. There’s some merit to this claim. I must confess, however, that unbiased biblical scholars have a hard time interpreting what Jesus said and did as instituting what we call sacraments.

It’s just as likely that our Protestant ancestors decided to have only two sacraments in order to distance and distinguish their church renewal movement from the old Roman Catholic Church. In any case, a sacrament is thought to be something Jesus has given the church. A sacrament is believed to convey the blessing of reminding us of God’s unwavering loyalty and love for humankind.

Foot Washing As Third Sacrament

And this brings me to what I’m calling The Third Sacrament. After Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, Jesus really did say to his disciples, "OK, now you do this." Jesus said, "See, I’m your Lord and Teacher. I’ve washed your feet. You go and do likewise." Seems like an open and shut case to me. Foot washing really was given to the church by Jesus. Don’t you think it should be observed as a sacrament?

Foot washing is the outer form of the sacrament. But what is its inner meaning? The experience of leaders humbly serving others in love reminds us of God’s love for us. It reminds us of God’s loving commitment to each of us and to the church.

We can say more. Let’s come back to John 13. In the Gospel of John, there is no Last Supper. As you know, in the Gospel of John, when Jesus meets with his disciples the last time, he says, "I give you a new commandment." (The name Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin word for commandment: mandamus from which the English word "mandate" is derived. Maundy Thursday means "commandment Thursday.")

In John’s gospel, on the night that Jesus was arrested, Jesus gave a new commandment—that we love one another. Then, to show how he meant this new commandment to be understood, he took a towel, wrapped it around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet.

They go together: the new commandment (that you love one another) and the illustration of the meaning of the new commandment (the image of the Teacher/Lord washing the feet of the students/followers.) When he was done, he said, "Now see what I have done. Go and do likewise." You are leaders. Become servants. Become servant leaders.

An Assembly of God congregation meets at Christ Church Uniting on Sunday afternoons. A few years ago we invited them to participate in a Maundy Thursday worship service with us. Both congregations were nervous. Both congregations learned something. We learned that our Assembly of God Christian friends usually do foot washing only on New Year’s Eve and that’s also the only time they celebrate the Lord’s Supper. They learned that we never do foot washing, and that we have communion every week.

That night we followed Jesus’ invitation: We prayed for each other. We washed one another’s feet. We celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. We were all leaders. We all served each other. We sang together. "Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place." The evening was a sacrament. We were aware of God’s love for us and we were aware of our love for each other in Christ. It was a night of the new commandment: that we love one another.

Presbyterians have always known that it isn’t the outer form of the sacrament that conveys the blessing. It’s not the actual baptismal water that washes away our sin. It’s not the grape juice or the wine or the bread of the sacrament of holy communion that nurtures our souls. The blessings of sacraments come by faith, in hope and love. The blessings come, not because we perform correct ritual, but because God gives them to willing and open hearts.

So now back to the Third Sacrament. I know that even though Jesus said to go and wash each other’s feet, Presbyterians are not likely to suddenly start teaching three sacraments rather than two. It could never get through General Assembly. If, by some slim margin, it did pass, a majority of the presbyteries would probably not go for it. The weight of tradition is too heavy.

But Gospel is more important than even tradition. So, suppose we honored the inner meaning of the Third Sacrament? What if we did love one another and treat each other as equals, as esteemed colleagues, or, better still, as honored guests? How would our life be different in church when we practiced servant leadership?

Korean culture, being shaped by Confucian teachings about the Five Great Relationships, has an advantage over western culture when it comes to understanding the inner meaning and the blessing of The Third Sacrament. Of course, I am only an outsider looking in. Please forgive me if I speak foolishly. What I think is helpful in Korean culture is the Confucian insight that a society becomes healthy by paying respectful attention to relationships in that society. It’s true in the church also. Relationships matter. Health arises from respectful and loving relationships. "Love one another," says Jesus.

Where Confucian teachings do not help is in the notion of hierarchy: specifically that some persons are superior to others. The lower placed person on the hierarchy is expected to yield to the higher placed person. The younger serves the elder. Women serve the men. Children serve the adults. This is cultural tradition but it is not particularly Christian.

In Christian teaching, the notion of higher and lower is turned upside down. Things are reversed: The higher serves the lower. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Jesus, the Teacher, serves the students. Jesus, the adult, says "Bring the children. Do not keep them away." Jesus, the male, welcomes women into his company. They become leaders."

Jesus says "do not lord it over one another." Others do that, but that is not to be our way in the world. "A new commandment I give you," says Jesus, "that you love one another." Later Christians went on to say, "see and honor Christ in your neighbor, your children, you servants."

The PCUSA Book of Order is a book of traditions for church leadership. It’s part of our church constitution. It has evolved over many years of trial and error. We want it to be true to scripture. However, some things not covered explicitly in scripture. For example, Jesus says nothing about "automobile expenses" in the terms of call for pastors. Still, they are a good idea. "Automobile expenses" are included in the Book of Order.

Also, The Book of Order is changed from time to time. Presbyterians realize that sometimes we cannot tell the difference between what our tradition and culture says and what the bible really says. Sometimes we cannot tell the difference between what the bible says and what we think it ought to say based on common sense or unseen prejudice.

In my childhood, some Presbyterians were still teaching that people of color were created inferior to white human beings. We thought that was in the bible. We don’t teach that anymore. It was only in my lifetime that most North American Presbyterians realized that in fact God calls and equips women to serve as officers in the church. We thought the Bible told us No. Most of us don’t teach that anymore. Our Book of Order has been changed.

Limitations and flaws aside, The Book of Order does reflect the biblical insight that relationships matter. Moreover, it reflects a biblical understanding that Christians must treat that each other as an friends and co-workers in Christ. We cannot treat one another or expect to be treated with differential respect due to any human condition: whether it be age, wealth, gender, or disability.

An example of the biblical reversal of traditional hierarchies is that even a young person who has confirmed their membership can be elected to the office of elder in the PCUSA. This is biblical. Even "out of the mouths of babes" may come God’s wisdom for the church. "A young child shall lead them."

Our PCUSA book of leadership traditions also takes seriously Jesus’ invitation to all disciples to be servant leaders. No one is an absolute authority for the whole church. We all have different jobs, different but equally important ministries. The Pastor has a role. The Elder has a role. The Deacon have a role.

Each church member has a role. No one is an absolute authority. No one is permitted to lord it over anyone else. We are called to love one another and to serve one another while each of us performs a particular role for the building up of life of the church community.

What if someone doesn’t respect the division of labor, proper roles and mutual relationships in the church? What if someone doesn’t want to be a servant leader? What if someone only wants to boss others around, of course, for their own good? What if someone only wants to supervise but and isn’t willing to be a servant?

It’s always OK to step up to such a person and say, "Excuse me. That’s not how it is here." Even a child can step up to an elder and say, "Here we are servant leaders. Here we wash one another’s feet---in a spiritual sense, of course. Here we love one another." "Out of the mouths of babes."

If a church becomes chronically unhealthy in its relationships, it’s never just because there are a few trouble makers present. It’s always because the rest of the church hasn’t stepped in to speak up for and support a division of labor and mutual love in the church. It’s always because good church members have chosen to keep quiet, to pass by on the other side, like the priest and Levite in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. When someone is acting out, or acting out of line in the church, it’s never OK to keep quiet, to pass by on the other side,

The pastor is a Minister of Word and Sacrament. His or her job and exclusive responsibility is to study, teach and preach the Word, administer the sacraments, pray with and for the congregation. He or she is accountable to Presbytery for his ministry. He or she is expected to share in the work of presbytery, synod, General Assembly and in ecumenical relationships.

In partnership (I emphasize: in partnership) with the Elders, the Pastor is to encourage people in their worship and service of God, train people for ministry, exercise pastoral care and devote special attention to the poor, sick, troubled and the dying, govern the church and reach out in concern and service to the extended human family.

In partnership (Again: in partnership) with Deacons (or Elders if there are no Deacons), the pastor shares in ministries of sympathy, witness and service.

There are only a few but important things for which the pastor has exclusive responsibility. In most of the work of the church, the pastor is a partner with others. The Third Sacrament reminds us that regardless of our office or roles in the church or the world, in relationship to one another, we are to be servants. Together we are the church. And together we are all called to servant ministries, which is the meaning of The Third Sacrament.

I remember the towel I was given that beautiful afternoon when Rev. Cho was installed as your Pastor. I think it must show that this church is already thinking about servant ministry. When we are servant leaders to one another, we grow in the spirit. When we have mutual regard, God’s love is evident among us. When we practice the spirit of The Third Sacrament, people look and see the face of God. They say, "See how they love one another." People hear a call to discipleship, "Come beloved, follow me into deeper fellowship." People will be drawn to your place and people will be drawn to your practices of love.

Friends, you may need more towels.

Thank you and God bless Korean Presbyterian Church of Honolulu.

The Rev. Fabian M. "Buddy" Summers, Pastor

Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians,

Kailua, HI 96734, preached September 30, 2001 at

Korean Presbyterian Church of Honolulu

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