Loading...Sermon October 18, 2015
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Pentecost XXI Proper 24, Track 2
“…but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:44-45
A number of years ago, Hilda Solis, an Episcopalian and former US Secretary of Labor wrote an opinion column for the Washington Post explaining her responsibilities as Secretary. She referenced the work of a former Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins, who was also an Episcopalian.
Solis wrote:
On Saturday afternoon, March 25, a young social worker named Frances Perkins was having tea at the Washington Square[,New York City] townhouse of her friend, the socialite Margaret Morgan Norrie. About 4:45, the two friends were interrupted by clanging fire truck bells. Then they heard the anguished screams: “Don’t jump!”
They raced out of the townhouse and ran toward the commotion: a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, just off Washington Square. Flames and black smoke shot from the top floors, and as they watched in shock, young girls and women, some alone, some clutching hands, inched up to the windows’ ledges — and jumped to their deaths.
Perkins would describe the scene in lectures later: ‘I shall never forget the frozen horror that came across as we stood with our hands on our throats watching that horrible sight, knowing that there was no help.’
What a horrible thing to witness. It is something you would never choose…something you would hope to never see, but the working conditions and conditions for labor at the time in the early 1900s pretty much dictated that something like this tragedy would occur. It was only a matter of time. And Frances Perkins was there. As a result, she spent her life working for justice for all workers.
After witnessing the horrible events of the fire, she renewed her efforts to help workers. She had worked in Chicago in the Settlement houses with Jane Addams. She was working with the Consumer League in New York City. She set about changing the lives of workers. Never mind that she could not vote…She was able to get legislation passed in New York State before she was able to vote or hold any kind of elective office.
She was the first woman to serve in the US Cabinet and was the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in the United States. You may not know her name, but you are familiar and benefit or may benefit in your lifetime from her work. Prior to his Presidential inauguration, Franklin Delano Roosevelt summoned Frances to Washington to ask her to be his Secretary of Labor, she brought a laundry list of items and told him she would only take the job if he promised to back her on these initiatives, which included– 40-hour work week, minimum wage, Worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation, banning child labor, and social security to name a few. She also wanted health insurance for all people, which was the only item on her list not completed. She said, “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain, common workingmen.”
Likewise, Frances Perkins understood the reality of the politics of her time. For instance, when she became the first female cabinet member, she intentionally dressed like most mothers of the male cabinet members. She figured if she reminded the men of their mothers, she’d have an easier time doing the work God wanted her to do. You often see photos of her in unflattering dress. She was a realist.
Frances Perkins was a devout Episcopalian. We remember her in Lesser Feasts and Fasts on the May 13. She was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1905. She found great solace and comfort in her religious practice and regularly went on retreats. Her faith guided her. She believed she needed to work to bring the Kingdom of God here and now. I’m sure she read this passage from Mark that we read today. She took to heart the part about being a servant. She knew she was here on this earth to be a servant to others.
And get this, she didn’t really care who got the credit for it. She didn’t care if anyone ever remembered her. What was most important was that life changed for people…that life became better for people…that the justice she read about in the Bible became reality in peoples’ lives.
Many of you here at The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen understand this active servanthood. You serve here in the church and you serve out in our community and in our world. Sometimes you are known to others and other times, no one really knows it was you who was the servant. You’re not like James and John asking to be at the seats of honor next to Jesus. You understand the work of servanthood and that the most important thing is that God’s love and justice reign.
In your pledge packet, you received a Time and Talent questionnaire to complete. It includes just some of the ways you can be a servant in this community of The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen. You are a servant each and every Sunday when you come to this service to participate and witness to our common worship life and our Eucharistic meal. And you serve as you go out from here, whether it be in the many organizations working in our community or in your behavior that exudes love and care in your place of work.
In our servanthood, we may not be noticed. We don’t seek the place of honor. We serve, because God in Jesus Christ served and told us to do likewise. We serve, because we have God-given talents and gifts to share for the common good. We serve, because in the end we find peace and joy and meaning in the efforts of service. We serve, because in serving, we find life.
By next week, let us know how you will serve right here in this place by turning in your Time and talent sheet. And during the week, think about your own servanthood.
Amen
