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“Fueled by the Son, Called to Serve”
A Sermon by Elder Cheryl Keimig
The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 10:35-45
Jesus and the disciples are still on the way to Jerusalem, and as we listen to Mark’s description of this scene, we sense the disciples’ sense “something” is going to happen when they get there, something big. Even though Jesus has told them on more than one occasion why he is going to Jerusalem, they still don’t seem to get it. In today’s passage they are nearing the end of the journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, and he actually just finished telling them why he is going a few verses ago! He has just finished a detailed explanation, and as he pauses to take a breath, they make it clear they still believe in a coming earthly power. They know Jesus is bound for glory – they just misunderstand what he will have to go through to accomplish it. They believe he is destined for great things and they want to be assured a front row seat, be a real part of it, sort of like riding the coat tails of people going places. They seem to miss the point that the greatness of Jesus in the kingdom of God depends on going through the cross.
James and John seem to completely misinterpret what their own calling will mean, and what will be expected of them. They seem to still be living in a fantasy world; they apparently have not been reading the same pages of the reality show script that Jesus is reading from. They seem to believe this trip to Jerusalem is going to have a glorious ending, that Jesus will be the grand prize winner, and that the grand prize will be a king’s crown. Talk about having blinders on! And, they want to be guaranteed a place in the spot light, a piece of the pie, a share of the anticipated power and prestige, able to rub shoulders with the top dog. But they have no idea as to what that might cost.
James and John were ambitious. They may have felt this request was well within their right to ask, their privilege if you will. They had been, after all, a part of Jesus’ inner circle for several choice and exclusive events. Their request might even suggest a slight, or not so slight, feeling of superiority to the other disciples, even though they have seemed to be a pretty close knit group. But, they were, after all, human. And, despite their “status”, most likely enhanced in their own eyes, they are just like the other disciples in their apparent inability to actually hear what Jesus has repeatedly told them about why he came and what is going to happen.
Jesus is not making this journey with joy in his heart. He will not choose to be acclaimed king by the crowds. The symbolic anointing will not bring him instant power, fame, the glory or riches one might expect an earthly king to receive. It will, in fact, become his death sentence. But,but…let us not overlook the fact that he will receive the power, glory and riches of God’s kingdom, and because he will be willing to empty himself and serve others, he will become great, he will be first in the kingdom. We, too, can become great, in God’s eyes, if we are willing to model Jesus and serve others.
The disciples have been with Jesus for 3 years. Have been right up front when he teaches and models how life is to be lived, and still they seem to view life through a lens that is distorted and shaped by the values of the world. But, let’s not be too harsh on them….don’t we do the same? Does the thought of serving others, putting other’s needs ahead of our own always seem appealing? Is it truly our way of life? We may give lip service to it, we may idealize and say “yes, I should do that, I want to live that way” – but are we actually willing to commit to what it takes to model Jesus?
The disciples were all imperfect, but they followed, and they were used. We are all imperfect. As we follow and allow ourselves to be molded and fashioned by Jesus’ life and example, and God’s will, we too can be used for God’s purposes. Thanks be to God for this good news!
Jesus goes to Jerusalem to pour out his life for many. In less obvious ways, we are afforded many opportunities to do the same. It’s not easy, it comes with a price. How can we serve? How are we called to serve? We only have to look around us to see the disparity between what society acknowledges as valuable or great and how Jesus defines greatness. Jesus is looking for service to the lowly, needy, those who have no way to repay us or improve our status.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell, an English medical missionary who lived from 1865-1940, sums it up this way: “The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth…the purpose of this world is not “to have and to hold” but “to give and serve.”
We are called to follow Jesus and serve others, not because that is our ticket to heaven, but because we are to model Jesus. Our Lord and Savior tell us, in his own words, that he came “not to be served but to give his life as a ransom for many”. We too, can give our lives for others – in small, possibly unnoticed, but meaningful, ways. If we have the financial resources, we can serve others through a grander scheme.
But, and this is important, our service must be purposeful, it cannot be unintentional, accidental or occasional. True servanthood must become part of who we are as followers. It must be like cotton – it must be a part of the fabric of our lives as Christians. Jesus lived the life of service he spoke about. His actions were evidence of a living sermon. We too have that opportunity. It is unlikely that we will make the ultimate sacrifice on a cross or be the next Mother Teresa, be we can still live it. Our actions, words, the way we approach the needs of others, the needs of the world, in big or small ways. We can be the conduit of the servanthood of Jesus as we touch the world.
Jesus refers to himself when he quotes from Isaiah about God’s servant giving his life as a ransom. Jesus understood his role in this light. He knows he did not come to fulfill the role of an earthly ruler. And truthfully…..we don’t need another earthly ruler. We have enough people vying for positions of power, jockeying to be the first, the best, ready to trample over anyone who gets in their way. There is no shortage of people who have achieved greatness, by the world’s standards! I am reminded of theT-shirt that proudly proclaims: “the one with the most toys wins”, as well as Michael Douglas’ famous line from the movie “Wall Street” that some people seem to take to heart, and truly resonates with many over the past couple of years: “Greed is good!” But, look around; there is also no shortage of people to be served. That being said, I am also reminded of these words from “The Diary of Anne Frank”: “no one has ever become poor by giving.”
Jesus gave his life, paid as a ransom, in order to secure our release from the power of sin. He will become great by being lowly and that truly flies in the face of the world’s yardstick for measuring greatness. God’s greatness will be measured by how we model Jesus’ service to others. His was a self-sacrificing ministry to others, putting needs/welfare of others ahead of his own wants and needs.
In most world orders, our culture included, leaders and rulers exhibit and thrive on authority and power over those who serve them, assign a lower social status, consider them further down on the food chain if you will. In God’s kingdom, Jesus exemplifies greatness by serving, by giving of himself, by actually givinghimself. He shows us the way to serve is by being humble.
Remember the response of Jesus last week to the young man who didn’t want to part with all his earthly possessions, who was looking for an easy way to be assured of eternal life? Jesus must have been disappointed, but Jesus loved him! And now, in response to James and John? It’s not a scolding, a strong reprimand, the tongue-lashing that we might think they deserve for not paying attention. We can easily imagine Jesus was more than disappointed that they still seemed to anticipate power and greatness, and the crowning of a king upon their arrival in Jerusalem. But instead of the harsh rebuke, Jesus loves them. He loves them and accepts them as they are. He does the same for us. This doesn’t give us a free pass to follow as we please. We are still called to follow as God intends. By responding as he does, Jesus tries to help them, and us, understand what they need to be willing to do if they intend to sit on the right and left hand of the king.
There will indeed be the crowning of a king in Jerusalem, and power and greatness will be conferred, but it will be done by God as the result of a great sacrifice. And the ones positioned on the right and the left of Jesus Christ as he is proclaimed king of the Jews, will not be James and John, but two common criminals chosen to accompany him to the cross.
Ambition is not all bad. Much would not be accomplished in today’s world were it not for ambition and wanting to succeed. But our culture seems to honor greatness in a way that is contrary to God’s way. God’s kingdom measures greatness with a different measuring stick. It’s not what the world has done for us, but what we have done for the world.
It’s true that in our culture, the belief that service should be a way of life is not unique to the Christian community. What makes it different for us is the knowledge that we are called to serve. So the question for today, actually the question for every hour of every day might be this ---am I going to let the quality/value of my life be designed according to the world’s standard or am I willing to let my life be developed according to God’s standards? In other words… am I going to live a carefree life of ease or am I going to ease the life of another so they can live a life free of cares?
The good news is God empowers us to live into our calling. The Triune God is the source of what might be called
“Son power” – not a solar energy, but a force even more powerful. The Spirit will infuse us with power as we seek to model the Son. Brothers and sisters, it’s in our mission statement! We proclaim Parkville Presbyterian Church to be a community of believers following Jesus Christ, by sharing God’s word, serving and welcoming all. We put it out there for the world to see. God expects it of us. May it be so. Amen.