May 2008
I am just finishing a job (my second go-round) as a server at a restaurant. Although, I think a well-trained monkey could do what I do most of the time, I have come to be extremely thankful and appreciative of my time as a server. Let's just say, my eyes have been opened in many respects and I've had a deep breath of what the world is like. Not a few times, because I've been treated like a monkey. I've often wanted to ask
a guest (that's what we call customers in a restaurant), "What about this apron makes you think you can speak to me in such a way?" - usually like a well-trained monkey that has temporarily abandoned his training. My first go-round at a restaurant was when I first started seminary, the impetus for the sojourn as a server. At that particular restaurant I was struggling to find any semblance of meaning in my work other than to please the average hungry/thirsty patron. I didn't cook the food or grow the coffee beans, I just took it from one place to another. Yes, I was building good relationships with my co-workers and bosses, but it still didn't seem all that important. I was just treading water, paying the bills, while I did the "more important" work of Biblical and spiritual training. That was when I discovered it. I was reading my Bible, not really studying it, but just reading it to find some hope. I really needed to hear from God and sense that what I was doing was not a total waste of everybody's time. I was reading through the gospel according to Matthew and came across a conversation between Jesus and the nosey mother of two of his followers. She had asked for preferential treatment and honor for her sons, not an uncommon request and gesture in the culture of those days - but still out of line and backwards. Jesus' response was to turn the request on its head.
His response: "You know that the rulers of the pagans lord it over them, and great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way with you. Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your SERVANT, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your SLAVE." It hit me like a ton of forks. Making a parallel statement with two words that are meant to shine light on each other, Jesus said that the true goal of following Him was to become a servant and a slave, or better yet a WAITER. That's actually what the word most often refers to - giving service to another, waiting on someone, or helping someone in some respect. The most revolutionary aspect of this simple statement for me was two overlapping realities: I was currently a waiter at a restaurant, and this word is repeatedly applied and used of Jesus himself.
Now, I am not on a mission to be FIRST or GREATEST. Neither do I think Jesus was advocating some sort of competition of service for a gold medal of discipleship. But I did and do desire to follow Jesus and learn the mysteries and beauties of discipleship. I have come to see my two short stints as a waiter as supreme training in that regard. Yes, I refill glasses of nectarine iced-tea. I serve gourmet mash potatoes. I clean up afterwards. But, every once in a while, when I remember this discovery, a gentle smile creeps onto my lips as I think about the wonderful likeness to Jesus my menial secular job offers. And now as I move on to a different job, one that I have dreamt about for years, I pray that I remember these precious days and labor long over the lessons they have taught. For I always want to be a server first. It's been a school classroom I didn't expect.
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