Discipleship’s Demands
Rev. Emily Wilmarth, First Presbyterian Church of Highlands
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Mark 10:35-45
Parker Palmer is a writer, educator, and activist whose work focuses on issues of community, education, leadership, and spirituality. In his book, Letting Your Life Speak, he describes being offered the presidency of a small educational institution.[i] Palmer wanted the job and thought he should take it. Before accepting the offer, though, he engaged in a process important to his own Quaker tradition. He gathered a group of trusted friends and advisors, called a “clearness committee” to ask honest, open-ended questions and to listen to Palmer as he discerned this call for himself.
Well into the hour-long meeting, one participant asked Palmer what he would like most about the position of president. He answered with several aspects of the job that he would enjoy, but after several moments of deeper thinking, he replied with a more honest answer. “Well, I guess what I’d like most is getting my picture in the paper with the word ‘president’ under it.” A few minutes passed, and the friend replied, “Parker…can you think of an easier way to get your picture in the paper?”
We find James and John vying for their own proverbial picture in the paper in today’s gospel story. “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you… Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” At this point in Mark’s gospel narrative, Jesus has told the disciples three times that he will be rejected, condemned, killed, and raised up on the third day. And now for the third time, his twelve devoted followers have failed to understand what he is telling them. They completely miss Jesus’ point: that the savior of the world is not a mighty king but a humble servant, and that life in God’s reign is about serving others not having power over others.
I think that the predominant reason the disciples repeatedly fail to understand Jesus is that the message Jesus brings contradicts their mindset. They understand that Jesus is the Messiah, the savior of the world. But, in their minds, the Messiah is a powerful hero who will overthrow the RomanEmpire and reign supreme. He is to be crowned King of the Jews, and to them, this means his power is the mightiest in all the land. What Jesus has to tell them again and again, though, is that his kingdom is not of armies or tyrants who lord their power over their people. His throne is not the same throne the Emperor occupies. His kingdom is so far from anything the disciples had ever imagined. His is a reign of peace. Jesus comes to not to conquer the nations of the world, but sin and death. His job is to teach the world to love and care and serve. The disciples cannot open their mindsto grasp not only the truth that Jesus is a servant, but that Jesus is calling them to live with the same humility.
Time and time again, we see how Jesus must realign the disciples’ perspective on what his ministry is all about. When they try to block children from disturbing Jesus, he scoops the little ones up in his arms to bless them. When they argue about whom among them is greatest, he again shows them how even a little child is welcome in the kingdom of God. The disciples often appear stuck in a traditional perspective about leadership and status, and Jesus must repeatedly correct them.
We could read Mark’s portrayal of the disciples as closed-minded fools. But the truth is, we all get stuck in our own particular mindsets, or worldviews, that dictate what we believe, how we encounter others, and how we behave in the world. These mindsets are a product of our upbringing, our cultural setting, our education, our religion, even our politics. For good or for bad, our mindsets often determine our priorities and values. And they shape how we perceive the world, especially the world outside of our particular circles. Problems arise when our worldviews limit our capacity to see or understand realities beyond our scope.
These mindsets keep us from following the commandments that Jesus lays out for us. For example, our limited perspective might make us wary or suspicious of our neighbors, instead of loving them by serving them. Or we might spend more time concerned with our own egos, rather than working to solve the real social problems in our own communities.
When Jesus responds to James’ and John’s request for seats beside him in glory, he is working to stretch their limited perspective. Jesus’ answer reflects the kind of lives he calls us to live. We hear pure humility when he replies, “…whoever wishes to become great among you must be your 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.”
How many times does he have to say it, and how many times do we need to hear it? In God’s reign, being great means being humble. Being first means being last. Giving is the only way to receive. Truthfully, he needs to say it over and over because the disciples need to hear it over and over…and we need to hear it over and over.
Discipleship is demanding. Giving of ourselves for the sake of others doesn’t always come naturally. Jesus asks, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Are we able, faithful disciples, to bear all that Jesus bore for the sake of God’s holy reign? James and John don’t hesitate with their enthusiastic, “YES!” They sound like the young siblings begging their parents for a new puppy. “Will you walk the dog? And feed it? And clean up after it?”
“YES! We will do EVERYTHING! Please, can we just get the puppy? Pleeeeease?”
But what Jesus asks of the disciples, what Jesus asks of us, is more than our promises. I think that sometimes the Christian life gets summed up with the assumption that if we go to church and say we believe, we’ve covered our bases. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Going to church makes you a Christian as much as going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.”
There is a misconception that discipleship is a path to prosperity, and that if we simply adopt the title “Christian,” life will snap into place, good things will come our way, and all will be well. But as Will Willimon writes, “Jesus is not a technique for getting what we want out of God; Jesus is God’s way of getting what God wants out of us.”[ii]
Discipleship demands all of us. A friend put it beautifully, “True discipleship is characterized by a deep cost – pouring one’s life out for another. Jesus came to serve and to give his life.” Are we willing share that cup? Are we willing to pour out our whole lives for the sake of another? The text demands that we look at our lives, our baptism - or our belonging in this holy body, and our work following Jesus to see if we’re really walking the walk Jesus asks us to. Are we willing to give it all up – glory, power, acclaim, honor, comfort, security, acceptance, reputation – to follow Jesus Christ?
The disciples say, “YES!” but we know what happens as the story goes on. They turn their backs on Jesus in the moment it counts most. They fall asleep when Jesus asks them to keep watch. They don’t stand up and advocate when the soldiers come to arrest their teacher.
But we also know that this is not the end of the story. We know that Jesus returns to the disciples after three days, greeting them in peace and love, and sending them out to continue his work. When they fall, Jesus always extends another hand to help them up, and to gently push them on their path of discipleship again.
We walk this path, too. At least, we walk this path if we are willing to take our discipleship seriously. We learn, we try, we fail, and Jesus picks us up and sets us right again. But it is only in our willingness to look closely at our lives that we can even realize the work that Jesus does for us. Every time we make a choice, every interaction we have with a loved one or a stranger, every word we utter, every action we take, can be motivated, or not, by our desire to follow Jesus. What motivates us, what challenges us, what drives our being in the world reflects our decision to be disciples. I believe that when we realize this, and do our best to live into our calling, even in the minutia of life, we truly come to know what it means to live in God’s holy reign.
You may remember the name Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, the NBA point guard who enjoyed a highly successful basketball career throughout the 90s. Before a knee injury eventually forced him to retire, Hardaway, along with teammate Shaquille O’Neill, led the Orlando Magic to the NBA finals. He played four times as an All-Star, and won a gold medal with team USA in the 1996 Olympics. He earned more than $120 million, and was a household name, at least in basketball households.
There are a lot of things a retired basketball player – and one with a lot of money – can do with his time. Basking in his own glory could take a lot of time and energy, as we’ve seen of many a star who tries desperately to never fade away.
But not Penny Hardaway. In 2012, an old friend called on him. Desmond Merriweather and Penny Hardaway played basketball on the tough streets of eastern Memphis as young boys. They lived in a neighborhood Hardaway describes as “the Bowl.” Because, as he says, “Most guys get stuck there. You get to the top of the bowl, you slide right back down.”
The friends competed on rival teams in high school. Merriweather played Division II ball in college while Hardaway went on to become a college champion, leaving Memphis State a year early to go pro. They lost touch over the years, Penny with his shining career, and Merriweather going on to become a middle school basketball coach in eastern Tennessee. He was more than a coach, but really a father figure to so many students growing up in difficult situations. In 2011, at age 36, Merriweather was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Surgery to remove a tumor led to a life-threatening infection that left him in a medically induced coma. He came out of the coma after a few days, and when he came to, he could only write his thoughts as his speech was hampered by machines and equipment.
The first thing he wrote on a piece of paper: “1 Cent,” another nickname for his childhood friend and teammate, Penny. With only the thought of his team on his mind, he knew he needed someone to step in and help these middle school boys. He wanted someone to call on Hardaway to come back to the neighborhood, and he knew his buddy would rise to the occasion. And so began a journey of coaching together and winning together. With Penny as head coach and Merriweather as assistant, often having to sit out of practices and games due to his health, these two basketball stars led the Lester Middle School boys team to back-to-back state championships.
ESPN produced a video about this story, and interviewed both Merriweather and Hardaway.[iii]
Hardaway talked about the journey from Merriweather’s hospital bed to the championship. Reflecting on their championships, he said, “I’m happy because this has given him some peace and some happiness... He’s always been a fighter; he’s just not going to give [up].”
During a one-on-one with the interviewer, Merriweather had to ask for a break. After the camera began rolling again, the interviewer asked, “Did you start feeling bad?” He nodded his head. “Did you just get sick?”
“I did.”
“Why are you doing this?” She asked him, referring to his coaching, his devotion to the basketball team.
“It’s for the kids,” he replied simply.
“I mean, it’s taking so much out of you.”
“But it’s also putting so much in me.”
Desmond Merriweather literally poured his life out for the children of his neighborhood. He died in February of this year. Hardaway gave a statement: “Today is a tough day because we lost a guy that was so caring for this neighborhood...you know we grew up in this neighborhood and this is what he lived and breathed for. He is the main reason I came back and got into the basketball at Lester Middle.”[iv]
I love this story because it provides us with examples from two great men, one recognized by the world for his greatness, and one seemingly ordinary guy, who gave completely of themselves. No matter who you are, no matter what you can do, you can serve. Anyone can be a great disciple. It's not always easy work, putting others before ourselves. But it's God's work. And it will change our lives.
I leave you with these words attributed to Francis of Assisi as a way of closing in prayer:
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
[i] Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000), 45-56.
[ii]William H. Willimon, Pulpit Resource, Vol. 40, No. 4, October, November, December 2012, 15.
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