domestic worker sunday
Thanks to a great idea from my friend Thomas (check out his urban ministry blog here), we’re dedicating this Sunday to all the domestic workers who attend the Nicosia International Church. Coming from countries like India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Ethiopia these women have left their homes and families to work as maids in the homes of Cypriots. In addition to honoring them, hearing their testimonies, and allowing them to plan the service, some of them have invited their employers to come as well.
They asked if I would speak on Joshua 1:1-9 about God’s word to Joshua as he prepared to lead the Israelites through the Jordan into the Promised Land. While working on the message I was struck by the similarities between this scene and Christ’s commission of the twelve to make disciples of all nations in Matthew 28:19-20. Here are some of the common themes:
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Authority
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The promise of God’s presence and faithfulness
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Crossing borders
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Obedience
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Baptism (through the Jordan, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit)
The Church is standing on the eastern shores of the Jordan, and Christ is telling us to enter the Promised Land. But our Promised Land is not defined geographically. Instead, we enter it by crossing borders to make disciples of all nations. May God give us the strength and courage to move forward!
I remember discussing the promise of God’s presence in Matthew 28 with an international group that included Americans and others. The Americans (at least in this group) viewed the promise of God’s presence as conditional upon obeying the comission. The others viewed it as unconditional resulting in courage to obey the commission. Though I hadn’t thought about it before, I suspect that I would have held more to the former than the latter. But that discussion opened my eyes to another way of viewing it, a way that is probably more in keeping with the rest of Scripture.
We can enter the Promised Land – obey the Great Commission – not *so that* God will be with us, but *because* God is with us. Obeying *so that* God will be with us is just another form of legalism. Obeying *because* God is with us is the fruit of faith.
This may help us in the ‘definitions’ discussion as well.
Actually, Rick, I think the great idea was that I ENTERTAINED it. I think it originally came from a domestic worker named Jane, who also happens to be our Church’s Honorary Secretary. She works for a Jewish family. I asked her to write up her duties for me, which she recited during our own Domestic Workers’ service. She gave me a slip of paper: “Duties of a domestic worker: She becomes a mother, cleaner, launderer, secretary, afternoon class teacher, and a chef.” Not to mention counsellor, comforter, encourager, and witness to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Who knows, we could be launching World Domestics’ Sunday. It’s already an international event! I look forward to a report-back on your blog.
With regard to your response above, the latter is the way I always saw it. The former is new to me! The former rests on a legalistic understanding of the gospel I think — an emphasis on character, values, law. And that tends to exclude any greater role for God. It tends to diminish Him.