Good and faithful servant

Back in the 90’s one of my favorite comedians was Mike Warnke. He was a Christian comedian, in that a lot of his humor was from the perspective of Christian belief and practice. He usually used the humor to get across a Gospel related message. It was sort of a cross between standup comedy and good preaching. In 2001 he got caught up in a scandal regarding some of the claims he made in his books and comedy routines, as well as financial accountability regarding the ministry that served as a vehicle for his performances. Apparently, he got too far into the excesses of some of the more popular televangelists of the period and got burnt as a result. He had his faults, but I still enjoyed his comedy.

Before he got into comedy he served as a Navy corpsman in Vietnam. One of the stories he tells is of the insanity and suffering that his squad experienced while on patrol in Vietnam. I believe that the basic story is factual, even if a bit exaggerated for comedic effect, as I have spoken with other Vietnam veterans who had similar experiences.  In any case, after the tale of suffering and horror, Warnke offers the image of Christ welcoming a soldier who went through such an experience into heaven with the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.” (Matt.25:23)  It was a moving image that Warnke created with his stories of Vietnam and the quote from Scripture.

One of my responsibilities at present in the Diocese of Erie is to serve as associate director for the Deacon Formation Program. In this role I oversee the academic formation component of the program, making sure that the candidates are adequately prepared in their knowledge of Scripture, ministry and theology to be able to preach, teach and effectively minister to the people of the Diocese. Recently we had the ordination of four men who had participated in our five-year formation program and successfully completed all of the requirements. During the homily the bishop used the image of the “good and faithful servant” as a goal for deacons; indeed, for anyone who takes their Christian discipleship seriously. That reference dredged up the Mike Warnke memory and got me thinking about what it means to be a good and faithful servant.

In the Book of Genesis (24) the story is told of Abraham’s servant. We don’t know his name, as it is not given in the account. Abraham trusts this servant and gives him important tasks to perform, one of which is to travel to a distant land and find a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. The servant, in turn, trusts Abraham, who tells him that God will be with him and make his efforts successful. The servant travels a great distance and almost as soon as he arrives at his destination, he does what he was told, and everything came to pass. God was able to bring about great blessings for everyone because the servant trusted and acted upon that trust. God was able to work through that good and faithful servant.

Abraham’s servant wasn’t merely an employee or a slave. The servant was part of Abraham’s household, someone that Abraham considered a friend; someone upon whom Abraham could rely. The servant clearly considered Abraham a good master, someone who impressed the servant and for whom the servant wanted to be of use. The servant felt honored to be associated with Abraham.

In the story that Mike Warnke tells about the good and faithful servant, the main character is not some Hollywood hero but a simple soldier who is wounded, exhausted but keeps going. He doesn’t have the strength to take another step but keeps moving forward, nonetheless. When a wounded Marine needs help, the exhausted soldier gives that help even though he is not much better off than the one he is helping. He doesn’t give up.

It seems to me that the criteria by which one identifies the “good and faithful servant” is not wealth or power. The criteria are not what great tasks one accomplishes or what fame one achieves. Rather, the criteria are doing what one has been asked to do, trusting in God to give you the strength and wisdom to accomplish the task, and never giving up until the goal has been reached. This applies to the deacon who is ordained for service to the Kingdom of God, as were my students a few weeks ago. Yet, it equally applies to everyone of us who is moving through our journey of life. We know what God asks of us, at least in the broad strokes. We know that our path leads through what is best and most noble for us and for the common good. Yet, at times, we are afraid and consider turning from the path. We consider giving up. We lack the level of trust in God that is asked of us. It is just at times such as these that we must listen to our hearts and hear God calling us.  It is at these times especially that we must trust.