A sermon preached at Old South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Hallowell, Maine, October 22, 2006.
The Rev. Susan M. Reisert, Minister
When Jesus first predicts his passion (Mark 8:31), the disciples "just don't get it." Simon Peter strongly rebukes Jesus. Jesus makes a second prediction (9:31), and the Twelve jostle for position, arguing with one another over who is the greatest. When Jesus responds, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all," we can imagine the disciples beginning to argue overt who is last!
And now, after the third and most detailed prediction of the passion, James and John approach Jesus on the sly and say, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." It is an annoying and self-serving ploy, akin to the question, "Will you do me a favor?" Jesus sidesteps this ill-disguised trap by responding with a question: "What do you want?" They respond, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."
Jesus has just laid before the disciples an unflinching account of what lies ahead-the condemnation, the mockery, the spitting, the flogging, the death-and these two seem to have heard none of it. Jesus did not promise them a triumphant parade when they arrived in Jerusalem, but a lynch mob. It goes without saying that when James and John made their request they did not envision that the ones who would end up on Jesus' right and left hand would be hanging on crosses.
This may seem an odd welcome on a day of so much celebration-two baptisms, three new members joining the church and a special coffee hour for the capital campaign. But, on such a special day of festivity, it also seems appropriate to lay everything out in all of its stark and uncomfortable reality. This life, this life in the church, this life as followers of Christ, is a life that draws us into a life that asks much of us. This life draws us into a life where we must confront the painful truth that what we want as human beings is, at least most of the time, not what God wants. This life draws us in and speaks to us, but it is a demanding life that reminds us that the world does not function how God intends. This life draws us in, the Holy Spirit of God speaks to us, and tells us that all is not well, but, also, that God seeks us to do what is right, to live in faith and in truth, and to try to steer the world onto the path of hope and justice and peace and love.
Mark tells us that Jesus laid it all out, with no fanfare, or catchy phrases or slogans: "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be our servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Still, the disciples-James and John and all the rest-- had a hard time comprehending what Jesus was teaching, where Jesus was leading them. And, so do we.
Everybody wants to be somebody. Since the dawn of history, human beings have been trying to move up the scale of importance. The clincher used by the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve was "when you eat of [the tree of good and evil], your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:5) Henri Nouwen says that ever since then, we have been tempted to replace love with power.
We should not be surprised nor excessively judgmental with James and John. Although their brazenness may not be our style, the motive underlying their request is not strange: "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." Shared glory; honored positions, closeness to powerful people-these are popular means of being somebody.
Religion is fertile soil in which the seeds of ambition subtly grow. Being close to God has deadly dangers. Some of history's most horrible deeds have been done by those who have claimed to be sitting on God's right or left hand. It is easy for those of us who deal daily with holy things to be presumptuous.
It is easy to assume that relationship with God translates into some kind of entitlement. The world's image of greatness is hierarchical, with the greatest at the pinnacle of the pyramid and God hovering over the top. The closer one gets to the pinnacle, the closer one is to greatness and the image of God. Success, upward mobility and being served are signs of faithfulness to a hierarchical god.
The way of Jesus leads in another direction. Jesus has a different idea of what it means for everybody to be somebody. It is not about being served, but about serving.
Ultimately, that is actually what we are recognizing and appreciating today. Two children have been baptized, welcomed into the mysterious grace of God and the Church, the whole Christian Church. Although we welcome all children, we have taken a moment today for a formal ceremony to welcome these two particular children, to invite them in a special way into God's grace, and to offer ourselves as servants to them-- to participate in their lives of faith and in hope as they grow and as they grow in faith. We offer ourselves to them, to be as servants to them.
Two people are joining Old South today for the first time. A third person is re-affirming his membership at Old South, after being confirmed here almost twenty years ago. These people are making a public declaration today of serving this church as this church seeks to follow and to serve Christ. These three have found their way today to make a public statement about following the path laid out by Christ and to share that and nurture it in this local church. They have found a place of welcome, a place to utilize and to explore their gifts and talents, a place of support and encouragement as they learn what it means to be of service to our Savior.
We also celebrate the campaign to maintain and strengthen our physical meeting place. Through that celebration, we recognize the countless hours that have been given in serving this church-countless hours in determining the needs of our buildings, of gathering bids and quotes, supervising the work that has been done here. We also offer our appreciation for the giving of financial resources to make many of these projects become a reality. And, we look to the future, as we continue to be of service in completing the projects that have been outlined.
In focusing on our servanthood, we are mindful of following where Jesus leads,
as we bring our hearts and our hands to the right place. We gather in hope
and in faith, resisting the temptation to create our own kind of hierarchy,
our own order of things.
We who would follow will find our purpose and the power to live in the teaching
of Jesus: Whoever wants to be first must become slave of all, and we'll have
the power to do it because of the One who did it first for us.
Today, we are reminded of the stark reality of what it means to gather together as a motley group of Christ followers-sometimes misguided, sometimes mistaken, sometimes destructive, sometimes miraculously right on target. We have been given a glimpse of the world according to Christ-a world where a throne will be exchanged for a cross, a crown will be traded for thorns, and criminals will take the place requested by ambitious disciples. More often than not, we are too blind to the grim reality of what it means to follow Jesus. But, the One who healed the blind beckons us to follow, calls to us to take our place.
This journey isn't a smooth path. This life isn't easy. But, this life, this life that calls us to be servants, to love and to serve God: this is the life that leads to the kind of peace, the kind of hope, the kind of love that no earthly achievement can bestow. So, let us follow. Let us be as servants to the One who showed us how to serve. Amen.
[The beginning of this sermon, the first three paragraphs, is borrowed from an article, "Jostling for position, Living by the Word," by Martin Copenhaver, Christian Century, October 5, 1994.
Also, thank you to Kenneth L. Carder, for his article "The Call to Downward Mobility," also from the Christian Century, October 8, 1997. And, to Stacey Elizabeth Simpson for her article "Mark: The Move," the Christian Century, October 11, 2000.]