A member of the church I grew up in was very proud of being a servant. Her job was cleaning, dusting and tidying rooms – in Buckingham Palace, home of Queen Elizabeth. She was proud to be a servant of the Queen. On retirement she received a duster with the royal monogram, which she showed proudly to visitors. The apostle Paul was happy to describe himself as a ‘servant’ of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1), or of God (Titus 1:1), or of other people ‘for Jesus’ sake’ (2 Corinthians 4:5). What does it mean for a Christian to be a servant?

At Jesus’ baptism the voice from heaven declared that he was ‘the beloved, with you I am well pleased’ (Mark 1:11), words echoing the opening of the first ‘Servant Song’ of Isaiah, in which God addresses the servant as ‘my chosen, in whom my soul delights’ (Isaiah 42:1). Jesus no doubt pondered on this during his forty days in the wilderness, and it shaped his ministry. He described himself as having come, ‘not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many,’ echoing the fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 53:12), as he did at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:25). At that Supper he acted as a servant, washing his disciples’ feet, reminding them that he had told them, ‘Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant’ (Mark 10:45).

In the second Servant Song, our Old Testament lection, the Servant presents himself to the world and speaks of his experience of seeking to fulfil the mission God has given him. This has strong parallels in the life and ministry of Jesus and, as those called to follow Jesus’ example of servanthood as we fulfil the mission that he has given us, it has much to say to us.

The servant sensed that God had prepared him for his ministry since his conception (verse 1). This isn’t only true of ‘special’ people. After speaking at a university service, two students approached me. Each had recently become a Christian. Both asked whether they should change their course (geography in one case, a science in the other) and do theology. I replied, ‘You have only recently discovered God, but God has known you since your conception. God gave you your gifting and interests. Unless it becomes very clear you should change, I suggest you ought to work to be the best geographer, or scientist, you can be, and discover how you can serve God and humanity in that role.’

Being God’s servant in any role is not easy. People often assume that a servant is there to help by speaking words of comfort, but sometimes God calls us to have a ‘mouth like a sharp sword’ (verse 2) to expose and confront untruth and various forms of evil in a way that glorifies God and defends and enhances the humanity of people who are affected by those evils. Jesus did this when addressing some of the religious leaders of his day whom he described as ‘blind guides’ who made it harder, not easier, for people to find and follow God (Matthew 23).

Sometimes there are periods in our service when we are discouraged, maybe approaching despair, feeling like the servant in Isaiah that ‘I have laboured in vain’ (verse 4). The Gospels record seven occasions when Jesus warned his hearers of the impending disaster that would befall them if they did not heed his words, most poignantly in his lament over Jerusalem, ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were unwilling’ (Matthew 23:37-38). His words express sadness and frustration. At such times we need God to give us the assurance expressed by the servant, ‘yet surely my cause is with the Lord and my reward with my God’ and ‘my God has become my strength’ (verse 4).

After coming through such experiences we may find, to our surprise, that God opens up for us a form of service that is bigger than we could previously have imagined, just as God extended the servant’s calling not just to restore Israel but to be ‘a light to the nations’ (verse 6). If we find this daunting, we need to heed the assurance the apostle Paul gave the Corinthians, that God would equip them in Christ with all the gifts that they needed to serve him (1 Corinthians 1:4-9).