Woodlawn Evangelical Lutheran Church           

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’ll bet that quite a few of you, at one time or another, had to wear a uniform.  Uniforms are a regular part of being in the work force.  Maybe you think of those who serve in the military or as police officers.  We sit up and take notice when we see those uniforms.  Even for business people there are expected standards of dress.  It might not be a uniform, but everyone is supposed to wear a suit and tie, or skirt & jacket.  If you work at a fast food restaurant you have to wear a uniform.  Wal-Mart has the blue vest or Target the red one.  Delivery people, custodians, even garage mechanics – many of them wear uniforms.  Some might say that for the pastor it’s this preacher’s gown.  Uniforms give the message that here is someone who is there to help, to work, to carry out a specific task.  It sets them apart from others.

Now, you may not necessarily need a uniform to perform the task that’s required.  But the work still needs to be carried out, the service performed.  With that in mind, is there a uniform for you as Joe and Jane Christian in the pew, even though your dress may not be standardized?  Is there a difference between yours and mine?  Our three Scripture readings today relate for us the calling of seven men into full-time gospel ministry.  It seems only one of them had what we would call a uniform, an article of clothing that let everyone know that here was someone special.  We’ll talk about that, but we’ll also see how that concept relates to the private ministry that every Christian is called to do.  So I encourage you today to:

PUT ON THE “UNIFORM” OF A CHRISTIAN

First we’ll look at the uniform for those in public ministry, then at the uniform of every Christian.

            This portion of God’s word takes us back some 800 years before the time of Christ.  The situation among God’s people was very grim.  There had been civil war which had split Israel into two nations.  The kings in the north were entirely evil and idolatrous.  The most notable was a man named Ahab whose wife, Jezebel, had introduced the worship of Baal into Israel.  God had sent his prophet Elijah to stand up for the truth, to confront the wicked king and his wife, to plead with the people not to forsake the one true God.  When Elijah had slaughtered 450 priest of Baal, Jezebel put a bounty on his head and he had to flee for his life.  He was filled with despair, thinking he was the only true believer left in Israel.  But God had come to him in the wilderness and assured him that there still were 7000 in Israel who had not bowed down to the heathen idols.  So there were still lots of people for him to lead and minister to.  Elijah was to go back and find Elisha and begin training him to be the next prophet.  That’s when we come to the words before us.

            Elijah found Elisha plowing in the fields together with his servants.  Elisha and his family must have been rather well to-do if they could afford twelve teams of oxen and had the servants to do the work with him.  And obviously, Elisha and his family were among those who had not turned away from the true God to the idols.  So Elijah comes up to him and simply throws his cloak around Elisha’s shoulders.  That cloak was the uniform of the prophet.  Elsewhere in the Bible this cloak is mentioned by people as the mark of God’s prophet, so it was very recognizable as a uniform would be today.  We don’t have any description of it, but we know that Elisha also used it, wore it, during his ministry.  But this was his call into full-time public service for the Lord, a rather unusual one to be sure, happening out in the field with only the other servants to witness it, but Elisha knew exactly what it meant.  The mantle was being passed to him.

            And he responded.  Just as the men whom Jesus called in our gospel reading left their nets and followed him, so too Elisha.  He went back to say good-bye to his parents, slaughtered the team of oxen for a sacrifice, using the wood from his plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people of his village.  In this way he was showing that he was done with farming, that he was dedicating his life from that day on to being God’s servant, his spokesman among the chosen people.  He left it all behind to follow Elijah and to become his attendant, a prophet in training.  The cloak thrown around his shoulders was just the outward sign, the uniform, that here was God’s man among his people.

            Through the years God has called people into full-time public ministry in a variety of ways.  Here it was the throwing of the cloak around the shoulders.  In our gospel it came directly from Jesus, obviously something that can’t happen anymore as Jesus has ascended into heaven.  In our other reading, the Holy Spirit worked through the leaders of the congregation so that they chose Paul and Barnabas as missionaries, demonstrating that selection by what is called the laying on of hands. 

Today it’s much like that, where the Holy Spirit works through an assembly of Christians, whether at a voters meeting in a congregation, a delegated board or committee of the synod or other church organization, and by that process men and women are called to serve in many different forms of public ministry.  Our congregation has seven such individuals who are wearing the cloak of ministry done on behalf of the congregation – three pastors, three teachers and our congregation evangelist.  All of us, in one form or another, have accepted that call by God’s people to publicly proclaim the gospel message of Jesus Christ in our midst and in our community. 

That’s the work of a prophet, to serve as God’s mouthpiece, teaching and preaching and spreading the good news of salvation to you and your children, and to the people of our neighborhood.  Sometimes we may wear a uniform, as we pastors do when we are serving before you in the worship service.  But most of the time our “uniform” is simply the work that we are doing, the ministry we are carrying out as we work together to nurture the faith of those who already believe in Jesus and to reach out to those who are still lost in their sins.

II.

            Just as vital for the health of the congregation and the ministry of the word is the “uniform” of Christian service that every single one of us is to wear.  Look at Elisha’s example before he actually began serving as Elijah’s attendant.  He sacrificed of his wealth as a sign of his dedication to the Lord.  And he shared some of that wealth with the people around him.  Up to this time he had simply been a man who was faithful in his life to the Lord, not chasing after the false gods that had been introduced into his nation.  He went about his work as a member of the family, working to supply for the physical needs of those who depended on him.  But he also was someone whose heart belonged to the Lord.  And he showed it here by his actions.  He used the physical resources at his disposal, in this case the team of oxen, as a sacrifice and offering to the Lord.  And then he began his work as God’s prophet, adorned with Elijah’s cloak, but also adorning his life with deeds of service to God’s people, with a powerful call to repentance.  And God backed up the ministry of his prophet by allowing him to perform a number of miracles.

            So, as we sang (or will sing) we all are one in mission.  Our gifts and abilities may vary, but our ‘uniform’ is the same – to serve the Lord, growing in our own relationship with Jesus, our Savior, and reaching out to others with that message of love and forgiveness through Christ. 

Every single one of us is included because it goes with being a Christian.  Think of what Jesus has done for you.  He called you out of the darkness of sin and unbelief.  That’s the way each of us was when we came into this world.  By the warming, powerful light of the gospel, the Holy Spirit brought us to faith.  In place of the tattered rags of our own righteousness, now, through faith in Jesus we stand before God clothed in the garment of salvation.  We are wearing the robe of righteousness, the Bible says.  That’s a picture of what has taken place in our hearts, that our sins have been washed away and we are now dressed in white, the perfection Jesus earned for us by his perfect life and paid for with his holy precious blood on the cross.  So all of us have had the cloak of Christian faith draped over our shoulders.  Now it’s time for us to display that uniform to the world, to wear it proudly and live up to all that it stands for.

That means carrying out the ministry opportunities that God places before you.  Our motivation is love for the Lord.  Our purpose is to live in that love and share that love with others.  We will certainly do the things that unbelievers can’t do because of their unbelief, things they won’t do because they aren’t in such a relationship with Jesus.

Part of wearing the uniform is showing up here on a regular basis.  If you are wearing that uniform you’ll be here with your fellow soldiers in God’s army.  You’ll be here to worship and praise your Savior for making you one of his dear children.  You will give a generous, sacrificial portion of your wealth so that the ministry of the word can continue among us and our children.  You will feed your faith and grow in your appreciation for God’s love by being involved in Bible study here and at home.  You will pray for your fellow believers as we all face the joys and the challenges of living in this world.  You will use your time and talents to help in the ministry here at Woodlawn.  I took the time this week to tally up just how many people are involved in doing that here.  Just over 200 of our 475 communicant members are involved in volunteer ministry here at Woodlawn.  That includes ushers, cleaners, greeters, singers and musicians, council and committee members, Sunday School teachers and helpers, offering counters and so on.  There’s also a significant number of people who did a lot of those things but aren’t able to anymore because of health and disability issues.  The point is that there are lots of ways for you to serve your Lord, to wear the uniform, if you will, here at Woodlawn.  Let us praise and thank God for that service you render out of love for your Savior.  This congregation wouldn’t be able to survive without all those offerings and gifts of time, abilities and financial treasures. 

But also remember to keep wearing the uniform of your faith outside of these walls.  You don’t stop being a Christian when you get in your car and go home.  Valuable Christian service takes place in our homes and in our places of employment.  Carrying out your role as husband or wife, parent, citizen and worker, doing it with love and devotion to the people around you and especially to your Savior - that’s wearing the uniform.  Staying away from addictive behavior, watching your language, avoiding sexual sins, working hard at your job, those are the marks of people who know they are children of God. 

And don’t forget to share the message of Jesus with those people with whom you come into contact.  Maybe you don’t have the call to be full-time or public proclaimers of the gospel.  But each one of us has been called to share the love of Christ in our private conversations and contacts.  So always be prepared to give an answer to those who ask you about the hope that you have, the hope of being with your Savior in heaven.

So even though you may not have to wear an actual uniform at your place of employment, and even though there really isn’t one for us as Christians, we are all called to have the uniform of a Christian life.  Wear that garment of salvation, that robe of righteousness, for all to see.  It may not be as public and prominent as the prophet’s cloak that was thrown around Elisha’s shoulders, but it’s just as important and is a reflection of your calling as one of God’s children.  AMEN.