The Sphere Of The Between: Serve Somebody | Faith | greenevillesun.com – Greeneville Sun

Youre gonna have to serve somebody. Bob Dylan wrote that, but I believe its more than a line from a song. I am convinced that we must serve something or someone. I think we have a need to serve because we want to connect with other people. And we want to connect in order to make community. And in community, we find salvation. Youre gonna have to serve somebody.

I cant prove it, but I believe service is critical to a healthy life. If you adopt some aspect of service in your life, youll bring yourself into contact with people and youll feel better for it. I cant prove that either, but Im willing to bet on it.

Do you know the story from the Bible about the Golden Rule? Jesus said to his disciples, Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Thats Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12. Jesus was not the first smart guy to think of that. It was first expressed about 5,200 years ago in India. The Golden Rule shows up in all the religions of the world and nearly every ancient culture.

Service is not something Im gonna force you to do, but in my opinion, you must do it anyway. I like to say its voluntary, but not optional. Service to humanity in some form is voluntary, but not optional.

Youre expected to support your friends. Youre expected to support and encourage your family. By virtue of the role you play in life, a lot is just plain expected of you. But think about exceeding expectations. Think like Naschon ben Aminadav.

I guess youve never heard of Naschon ben Aminadav. But I guess you know the story of how Moses led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. As Paul Harvey would say, heres the rest of the story, as told by Miriyam Glazer.

After they busted out of jail in Egypt, the Israelites camped out on the shores of the Red Sea, wondering where theyre going next, worrying that Moses talks to himself too much and how they would evade Pharaohs army. Suddenly, a sentry announces the imminent arrival of a phalanx of infantry backed up by charioteers armed to the teeth. A nearpanic ensues as they break camp, load up and look for Moses, who is nowhere to be found.

As the Egyptians appear on the horizon, Moses finally shows up with his long staff in hand, acting cool as a cucumber. Relax, gents, he says. God tells me that were gonna cross the Red Sea.

Right, Mo, says Jacob. Were here with nothing but our pajamas and some Matzoh balls because you said we had to leave in a hurry. Nobody brought a boat or a bandsaw to make a bridge. And nobody had time to learn the backstroke while we built the pyramids.

Moses looks stern, as every picture of him will attest. God knows what hes talkin about, he says. And he goes down to the shore of the sea, picks up a sea shell, mumbles a few words into it, looks heavenward and closing his eyes, he holds up his staff.

The people scream at Moses and call him all sorts of names. The hoof beats of the charioteers are louder now, and Moses tries again, carefully reciting the words God said to him. He holds up his staff and ...

At that moment, on the shore, Naschon ben Aminadav, a prince of the tribe of Judah, got it. He understood that God was waiting. Until then, everything was done by God. The plagues, the speech of Moses and Jacob, the softening of Pharaohs heart, the escape, the manna everything was provided by God.

Now God was waiting; waiting to see if anyone would take a risk for the sake of the promised land. God was waiting for just one person to jump in. And thats what Naschon did.

He jumps in the Red Sea and wades out until the water is around his armpits. He turns and looks back as his family cries for him. He continues and the water rises up to his nostrils. Now he can hardly hear anything. He holds his breath. The water is up over his ears and soon covers him completely. He disappears.

Absolute silence on the shore. The Israelites are stunned. Moses is quiet.

Only then does the sea open. Only then can the Israelites cross to safety. Only then can the world be saved.

Naschon ben Aminadav got it. He understood that he had to jump in. He understood that he could not remain on the shore forever, waiting for God to fix everything, because God couldnt do it all.

You gotta wonder sometimes why God created people. And then you realize that God needs help. God cannot do it all. Someone has to jump in and help.

God is waiting today. God is waiting for anyone any one person to jump in.

So I encourage you to jump in and use what you have in the service of others; give yourself, certainly if you can, but if not, give something else in the service of humanity. For as Zig Ziglar observed, you can have everything you want in life if you will just help other people get what they want.

The Rev. Jeff Briere is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister.

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The Sphere Of The Between: Serve Somebody | Faith | greenevillesun.com - Greeneville Sun