Answering the Call to Be of Service

On October 18, 2009, in Morning, Sermons, by Richard

YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() { YAHOO.sunshine.setBtn(“20091018_1″); }); Listen to Readings and Sermon The Good News Written The Light of the Tao te Ching “The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn’t cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no [...]

Listen to Readings and Sermon

The Good News Written

The Light of the Tao te Ching

“The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn’t cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no problem for her.”

Mark 10.42-45 (The Inclusive Bible, PFE)

“Jesus [called his disciples] together and said, ‘You know how among the Gentiles those who exercise authority are domineering and arrogant; those great ones know how to make their own importance felt. But it can’t be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. The Promised One has come not to be served, but to serve…’ ”

The Good News Proclaimed

Preached by the Reverend Robert L. Griffin at the Sunshine Cathedral in the first service on Sunday, October 18, 2009.

Our gospel reading today places us at the end of a conversation that Jesus was having with his disciples.

Jesus and his disciples are on the road on their way to Jerusalem. The road is crowded with folks all making their way up to the city for Passover; en-route, Jesus tells his disciples what he expects will happen to him once they arrive in Jerusalem.

Mark tells us in chapter 10:33 that Jesus is quoted as having said; “We are going up to Jerusalem, and there I will be will be handed over and condemned to death.” Despite knowing what Jesus had told them, Jesus’ disciples and others followed along anyway. Three times Jesus explained that he was going to suffer many things, and be killed and on each telling they failed to understand what he was saying to them.

Maybe the news that Jesus had shared shocked them; maybe they were in denial; Jesus had spoke in this manner often and maybe it didn’t seem relevant, maybe they were at peace about what Jesus had said. Maybe they thought he was over-reacting. Maybe Mark is trying to paint the disciples as dim.

On the road also is James and John, the children of Zebedee (vs 35) and Salome (15.40), presumable the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. They catch to up to Jesus and make a request, “Teacher,” they say, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Jesus simply replies “what do you want from me?” And one of them said, “Grant one of us to sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

Now I can image that is not something that I would have wanted to hear if I’m walking down a dusty, crowded road thinking I’m on my way die. James and John are thinking Jesus is about to be uplifted, glorified, honored… even though Jesus has said, “this could be the end for me!”

They didn’t say, “hey, Jesus, lets stop at next rest area, sit in the shade and rest for a little while before going on up into the city. Why don’t you turn some water to wine for us and let’s break out some bread and eat?” But rather than enjoying the moment which could be one of the last moments they share together, James and John want to pretend Jesus is on his way to establishing himself as a super-star, and they want to ride his coat-tails!

James and John make this selfish and insensitive request and when the other disciples hear this they became indignant with James and John (v41). Were they amazed that James and John could be so insensitive? Or, were they just upset that they hadn’t asked for the very same thing themselves. Whatever we might think of James and John, we must acknowledge three things about them:

James & John had remained faithful to Jesus so maybe they felt that they had the right to make such a request. They were among the first four disciples Jesus called. They were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They were with him at the Last Supper. In the Fourth gospel, when Jesus had given a particularly difficult teaching, some of his followers abandoned him. But James and John were among those who didn’t turn back: they carried on. We have often heard it said that one important thing is life is to remain faithful, and James and John were always faithful. They were, we’re told, the sons of Thunder! They were strong and loyal because they remained faithful. Their witness is thunderous. That’s the power of faithfulness.
They knew that they were special to Jesus. James and John had noted that Jesus had immense love and compassion for everyone he met. They knew that Jesus had chosen them to be his disciples, part of a special group of individuals. Jesus saw their potential when others hadn’t, he affirmed their gifts, their potential, their purpose even before they realized those things about themselves!
They also knew and acknowledged that out of their group Jesus was especially close to three of them, Simon Peter and the two of them. John was close enough to Jesus that he became known as Jesus’ “beloved disciple”. So, did this make them feel special, yes. Should they have felt special, who knows? If there was any misstep at this point of story, it was in thinking that they were more important than anyone else in the group of disciples AND that somehow their relationship provided them with a unique privilege that the others did not have. Yes they were special. Yes they had unique qualities that Jesus noticed, but Jesus saw something good in everyone! He praised Samaritans. He touched lepers. He associated with prostitutes. He acknowledged children. He forgave the people who killed him. He loved, affirmed, and uplifted everyone. Yes, James and John, Jesus loves you. But not because you are more loveable than everyone… but because Jesus has learned that God is Love and all people are children of God. Jesus sees God in everyone, and so, he loves everyone.
And third, James and John felt that Jesus had it within his power to honor their request. In Matthew 19.28, we find that Jesus had already made a promise to the disciples when he said, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the One sits on the glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” So, with that, James and John were merely claiming what was promised to them and I believe went one step further by asking for specific seats. The mistake here was that the disciples did not grasp the imagery for which Jesus used and was more caught up in the notion of earthly power rather that the power which Jesus was offering which was over and against that current political system. Jesus wasn’t going to Jerusalem to claim power, glory, and a political throne… but using political language to describe his mission confused the disciples. Throne represents authority, and Jesus was talking about spiritual authority, not earthly power and privilege. James and John just misunderstood Jesus’ metaphors… religious people often take religious metaphors too literally and thereby miss the spiritual meaning of those metaphors.

Jesus follows this entire conversation up by saying, look, “You don’t know what you are asking.” You think that greatness in God’s presence and kin-dom consists in a few miracles and maybe even a few acts of heroism, and then you are rewarded with glory. But the KIN-dom of God is not like the empires of this world. Here in the scene James and John felt that greatness is measured in terms of power, achievement, status, influence, and reputation. And Jesus says, “Not so with you.” That is not what I taught you; have you been with me all this time and learned nothing. Jesus turns to them and says, “anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all.”

And Jesus concludes this conversation by telling them, “The Promised One”, even I walking this crowded, dusty road, on the way to meet my fate in Jerusalem, “has not come to be served, but to serve.”

In our own words we here at the Sunshine Cathedral have adopted this value of servanthood through our acts of Progressive, Positive and Practical spirituality. When we live out this message lives are changed and spirits are renewed. Many say that we are living in a tough time (and on some level that might be true), but I choose to believe that we are living in an opportune time.

This is an opportune time to check the reality of our faith to see how progressive it is when it comes to the areas of inclusion of the other, to engage in healthy dialogue with those who believe differently than we do and at the same seek to make this world a better place that offers affordable housing, access to healthcare and food, and that refuses to allow those who would incite fear to have the last word of the day.

This is an opportune time to check the reality of our positive state of being. There are lots of places where negative energy can meet us, but that negative energy can only lay hold to our lives and situations if we feed it. When we find it within ourselves we can change our thinking, we can look for new possibilities. In our aspiration for a new day of possibilities we find hope for another day. We may give out; but I want to encourage us to never give up!

This is an opportune time to check in with the reality of our individual practical spirituality. What we practice, we live and preach through our daily actions; what we take in, we give out through our daily deeds. It is because of the ways we practice our faith that gives us depth to who we are and that is the nature of what will sustain in these opportune times.

We look at various ways to measure our success here, but I believe that the greatest way to measure our success is by how many we are able reach with our message of inspiration and aspiration. As we share this message of hope we are answering our call to be of service. In answering that call let us remember that:

Jesus, didn’t come to get; he came to give
Jesus didn’t give as little as possible; Jesus gave as much as was needed
Jesus didn’t give grudgingly; Jesus give willingly and abundantly
Jesus didn’t make a hopeful start and then give up; Jesus saw the task through to the end
Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve

Someone once asked how would they know when they had a servantlike attitude. Answer: “You’ll be able to tell you are a servant by how you react when you are treated like one.”

Jesus was an example we are called to follow: the example of humble self-giving; we are also encouraged follow our lived and shared examples of a Progressive, Positive and Practical spirituality. This is a message of Good News! Amen.

The Good News Affirmed

I am filled with hope!

I am filled with aspiration!

I am willing to live a life of service.

I will find new possibilities for my life!

And so it is…

Amen.