(Note: This blog entry is based on the text for “How To Be The Greatest” originally shared on October 16, 2024. It was the 333rd video for our YouTube Channel, Streams of Living Water (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw), co-produced with my wife, Rev. Sally Welch.)
We all think we should run the business to
be the greatest. But what if the lowest paid worker is the greatest? Does that
seem right? Today, we’re going to find out.
Jesus’ disciples knew that, someday, he was
going to be a VIP, and they wanted some of that.
As part of his inner circle, two of his
disciples, brothers James and John, asked that, when the day came, that Jesus
would give them the highest honor.
They wanted to be the VIPs next to the VIP,
in the seats of honor, closest to Jesus when he came into his “glory”.
They asked like little kids. “I’m going to
ask you something, but first you have to promise to say, ‘Yes.’” 😊
We see it in the Gospel reading that will be
shared in the vast majority of churches in the world this coming Sunday, Mark
10:35-45, starting with verses 35-37,
35 James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you
to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he
said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And
they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your
left, in your glory.”
They wanted to be sure that when Jesus
came to power that all eyes would be on them. They wanted the positions
with the most power and influence.
But were they asking to be given this great
honor in Jesus’ heavenly glory?
Or did they, like many at the time, expect
Jesus to establish an earthly Kingdom? Raise a following that, at Jesus’
signal, would rise up against the Roman occupiers? One quick strike. Take them
by surprise. Drive them out and be the Messiah, the deliverer, the King of
Israel like his ancestor King David. Put Israel back on top of the nations
again, and not be the doormat of the nations as they had been for 1,000 years.
Did they even understand what they were
asking? No. Jesus had already told them that he was going to die. Three times.
Our reading continues in Mark 10:38-39a
38 But Jesus said
to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup
that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They
replied, “We are able.”
Yeah, it’s easy to be bold when you don’t
know what’s going on. 😊
Jesus is speaking about his suffering and
death, but the disciples, not knowing what is coming for Jesus, answer
earnestly, “We are able”.
It’s actually kind of comical, because we
know what lies ahead for Jesus. Maybe it was just too much for them to absorb,
given that they had left everything to follow him.
It’s not any easier for us. Many of us
expect Jesus to make us rich, or to protect us from harm, or to be our cosmic
servant ready to do whatever we ask.
But the Christian life is lived in response
to what God has already given us, not to get more.
What we offer the world is new life in this
world that begins now and is lived forever, a genuine expression of historic
Christianity, a transcendent experience of worship, an alternative realistic
worldview, a true sense of Christian identity, a living relationship with the
one true living God, mentors who model the way, and servanthood that is
rooted in Jesus Christ.
Mark continues in chapter
10, verses 39b-40
Then Jesus said
to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which
I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit
at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for
whom it has been prepared.”
James and John would be given great honor,
but not the kind they expected at this point in their lives. All the
disciples died as martyrs for Jesus, except one. But Jesus was fully God and
fully human being, and he was not to decide who would be honored. He was to
die, and on the third day be raised. James and John were, at this point, promoting
themselves.
One of my cousins is Pat Metheny. Pat is a
fine jazz guitar player, among the finest ever. He’s won 20 Grammys. He’s won
them in 10 different categories, more than anyone in the history of the
Grammys. He’s also a very generous and kind man.
He and his ensembles play in the major
venues of Los Angeles when he’s in town.
We are given complimentary concert tickets
and back-stage passes for the small gatherings that take place after those
concerts, and it’s always fun to go.
Lots of entertainment industry people are
there also, and it’s always amusing to me to be standing around, waiting for
Pat and the band to come out of their dressing rooms, scanning the room when I
by chance make eye contact with someone else at the gathering. In that instant,
I see that flash of disappointment in their eyes seeing that I was no VIP, and
their eyes keep looking for someone who can do their career some good.
The disciples James and John also wanted to
promote themselves. They would be martyrs, but at this point, they wanted
honor, and power, and glory without any trouble. They wanted reward without
sacrifice. Power without service. Prestige without discipleship.
That is not the Christian life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the few
highly regarded German Lutheran pastors and theologians who actively resisted
Adolf Hitler and his rise to power in Nazi Germany.
In his book on Christian community, written
when he was a professor in an underground seminary, Life Together, he
wrote:
"When Christ calls a man (or a woman, ed.), he
bids him (or her) come and die."
Bonhoeffer, who had been a pacifist, was
executed in prison by the Gestapo as the war was ending for his part in a plot
to assassinate Hitler.
But he didn’t say that Christians, to be
Christians, needed to physically die for their faith.
He said that Christians needed to die to
their old selves, to die in Baptism and be reborn as children of God. To be
born again. To be a new creation. To seek God’s will and live it as members of
the Church, the Body of Christ. To live in a way that is often the opposite of
the way of the world. Not in power as the world sees it, but in power as God
sees it, in service to God, to the Christian community, and to all those in
need.
Those who are great in the Kingdom of God
are those who walk humbly with God.
The VIPs in the Reign of God are those who
have shared the most, trusted the most, sacrificed the most, suffered the most,
been the most dependent on God, and lived their lives by faith in a living
relationship with the one true living God, as a new Creation in response to the
free gift of God in Jesus Christ on the cross.
Paul, reflecting on the outcome of his
prayers that God would remove an affliction, writes in 2
Corinthians 12:9-10,
9 but
he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect
in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that
the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I
am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities
for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
James and John wanted power. They wanted the
best seats, in positions of power.
In Mark 10:41, we get
the other disciples’ response,
41 When the ten
heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.
Why were they angry with them?
Were they angry because so little of Jesus’ teaching had sunk in with their
fellow disciples? Or were they angry with themselves because they hadn’t asked
first? Given Jesus’ response, I think it was the latter.
Jesus called all of the disciples together
to hear his answer, resuming with Mark 10:42,
42 So Jesus called
them and said to them, “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.
Jesus put their behavior in the context of
those around them. The Gentiles, the non-Jews of the world surrounding them,
were the Romans and those whose lives had been greatly changed by the occupation
of the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was highly hierarchical,
all the way up to the emperor. It started in the military. You couldn’t get a
highly sought-after job in the civil service unless you had first served in the
military. The primary way the Jews interfaced with the Empire was through the
military and the civil service, and Jesus knew how people behaved in a
hierarchy.
Among the gentiles, Jesus said, position was
power.
It’s different in the Kingdom of God, Jesus
said.
Jesus continues in Mark 10 with
verse 43,
43 But
it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become
great among you must be your servant, 44 and
whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
This is not your typical motivational
speech. You don’t see those words on a poster in anyone’s cubicle: “whoever
wishes to become great among you must be your servant”.
Who aspires to be a servant, or a slave? In
a household, their jobs were the lowest.
But it is a fact of life that we all serve
somebody. So, who is it going to be?
We are who we are because we
are defined by Whose we are.
I read a story about a time when immigrants
from Japan were asked, as they entered the United States, if they would like to
have an American name on their papers or keep their Japanese names.
“What do you mean?” a Japanese man asked.
“What would you like to be called in
America,” the immigration official answered.
The man said, “I would like to be called
‘Handsome”. Because I’ve always wanted to be handsome. 😊
We all have a name, but God makes us who we
are.
When we consider how we live together as the
people of God, how we accomplish the work God has called and equipped, and sent
us to accomplish, we call ourselves stewards, or managers, of everything we
have, because everything we have, our time our treasure and our talent, and
everything we are depends upon God.
Biblical giving is first fruits (we
give to the church first whenever we received something as income), proportional
(a percentage amount) and growth giving (starting with where we are
and then increasing it until we reach 10%, and even beyond).
I read a story once about a professor who
stood before his class with a large empty jar. He put large rocks into the jar
until he could put in no more.
“Is this jar full?”, the professor asked the
class. “Yes, it is full.”, the students replied.
He then put several scoops of small stones
into the jar, until he could put in no more.
“Is this jar now full?”, the professor asked.
“Yes, it is full.”, the students replied.
He them put several scoops of sand into the
jar, until he could put in no more.
“Is this jar now full?”, the professor asked.
“Yes, it is full.”, the students replied.
He then poured several quarts of water into
the jar, until he could pour in no more.
“Is this jar now full?”, the professor asked.
“Yes, it is full.”, the students replied.
“What is the meaning of this example”, the
professor asked the class.
One of the students raised his hand and
said, “Even when you think that you have too much to do in your life, there is
always room for more.”
“No,” the professor said. That is not the
meaning.
“The meaning is that if you take care of the
most important things first, there will be room for much more. But, if you fill
your life with the small things first, you will not have room for the things
that are the most important.”
Sally and I have seen again and again that
if we give money to our church first and live on the rest, there is always
enough. But if we wait to see what we have left over before giving, there is
never enough.
This is the greatness of life as servants of
God. We live for God as Jesus has died
for us. Jesus has already done the hardest thing for us through his death on
the cross. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. We were captive to sin, but
Jesus paid the ransom for us. Our salvation is not for sale; it has been paid
for with the blood of Jesus.
We live as a new Creation, as people who are
different, born again, in a living relationship with the one true living God.
That relationship expresses itself in service to God and to one another
naturally and organically in the Body of Christ.
Paul writes to the Church at Galatia, in Galatians
5:13-14,
13 For
you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your
freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become
slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single
commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Why? And how does this happen? As John
writes in 1 John 4:19,
19 We
love because he first loved us.
We are saved by Jesus Christ. We were lost
and condemned sinners, but now we are redeemed by God. We become the greatest
in the Kingdom by receiving the unconditional grace of God, and we live that
greatness by being the servants of all. This is the good news we have to
celebrate and to share.
As Jesus says, at the end of today’s Gospel
reading, in Mark 10:45, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
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