LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 71

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Convention Sermon

❻ “The Wait Staff Has Been Notified”
Acts 6:1–7 • Tuesday Morning

The Rev. Bernhard Seter, Pastor of Zion English Lutheran Church, Grafton, N.D.,
and Chairman of the LCMS Board for International Mission
65th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod | July 23, 2013

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint
by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were
being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the
full number of the disciples and said, “It’s not right that we should give up
preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from
among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom
we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the
ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and
they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and
Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte
of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their
hands on them.
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of
the priests became obedient to the faith.

S

o i went to a restaurant, and they took me to my table. I
wanted water, and they said, “Your server will be right with
you.” I went to another restaurant, and they took me to a table.
I asked for water, and they said, “The wait staff will be notified.”
I was ticked. I was upset. Are you so compartmentalized, unionized,
task-oriented, set in your ways, or just plain lazy that I can’t even
get a glass of water? Are you so set in your little silos or labor
allocations that I can’t get water? Or is it the title thing?

You are the maître d’—you have a title, and you can never condescend
to bring me water because that would place you with the wait staff,
with the servers and, well, with people like me. You have a title,
and never let it be said that someone with a title will condescend
to wait or serve on the likes of me.
And really, that is why I was upset. Because I believe that I should
be waited on and served whenever I want to be waited on and
served. I also believe the whole world should wait on and serve me.
I believe I am the center of the universe, and it bothers me when
someone won’t acknowledge how great I am. And you are the same.
You believe that you’re the center of the universe too. It’s hard for
folks like us to fear, love, and trust in God above all and love our
neighbors as ourselves because we think of ourselves pretty highly.
So, you know how I felt when I read this text. How did you feel?
The apostles act like uppity maître d’s. We’ve got hungry widows?
Inform the wait staff. Sorry, ladies, your servers will be right with
you as soon as we find some.
I felt something like that when I read about One who spoke with
authority. He had authority over demons and diseases. He healed
the sick, raised the dead, made the blind see and the lame walk.
He had a name: Jesus, Savior. He had a title—Christ, the Anointed
One—and He was anointed to be my Prophet, Priest, and King. He
C o n v e n t io n se r m o n s

had compassion on the crowds because they were like sheep without
a shepherd. And one day on a lonely hillside after He preached and
the day was long and hot and the crowds were hungry, the same
disciples who would one day appoint the seven to serve heard
Him say, “You don’t have to send the crowds away. You feed them.
You serve them. You wait on them. There may be no food to feed
them, there may not be enough money in this entire crowd to buy
enough food, but you serve them.” The wait staff has been notified.
He took some bread and fish and prayed and broke it, and from
this simple gift all were blessed. Hungry people and confused,
dumbfounded and, some would say, just plain dumb disciples
were fed and served.
He preached, He equipped, and He blessed. And He waited on
those disciples for three long years. He waited on them to get it.
He waited on them to understand that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, but it would not be like that with them. Instead,
the greatest among them would be a servant, a waiter.
He waited on them for years to get it. To understand that the least
of His brothers, even children, were greatest in the Kingdom. He
waited on and served them. And even on the night when He was
betrayed, He waited on them. He waited on them to understand
what He was doing when He took a towel and washed their feet.
He waited on them to get it when He served them His body and
His blood, waiting on them to watch and pray.
He waited on them even while He was dying. He served them and
us. He served His mother and gave her another son. He served a
thief, inviting him into the life everlasting. He served His heavenly
Father, a broken body and shed blood as an offering that would take
away the sins of the whole world. He died. His life was an offering
of service as He waited for all to be accomplished.
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