Greatness Through Service

This is the message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday, February 21, 2021.  The Bible verses used are Mark 10:32-45.

            Do you ever get confused about your faith?  I mean, not necessarily in the sense of doubting God or Jesus, although that can certainly happen to us, too.  What I mean is, getting confused about how it all works.  Why things are the way they are.  Why things in Jesus’ life happened the way they did.  Why things in our lives happen the way they do.  

            There can be a lot to process in regard to our faith.  The “why” questions can drive us crazy.  We know that we should trust.  We know we should have faith.  And we do, but still...it would be so nice if we could just understand more about it.  I always tell my confirmation students that I don’t just want them to believe, I want them to know why they believe what they believe.  I think that’s important for all of us.  And yet, sometimes it seems like the more we read, the more we study, the more confused we get.

            Well, if it makes you feel any better, know that the gospels are full of examples of the disciples not understanding and getting confused, too.  And the disciples had advantages we don’t have.  They were right there with Jesus.  They heard these things from his own lips.  They had the chance to ask Him questions, to get clarifications.  And yet, so many times, they did not even get the basic concepts of what Jesus was doing.

            We have an example of that in our reading for today.  Jesus and the disciples were going to Jerusalem.  This was the last trip Jesus would make to Jerusalem, the trip that would end in his death on a cross.  And as they go, Jesus tells the disciples what’s going to happen.  He tells them that he’s going to be delivered to the religious leaders.  They’re going to condemn him to death and give him to the Roman rulers to execute the sentence.  And he will be killed.  And then, in three days, he will rise.

            And the disciples listened.  And they probably nodded their heads.  Yes, we understand.  Jesus is going to be arrested and killed.  And then he’ll rise three days later.  

They heard it all.  They knew the facts.  But they had no clue what it actually meant.

You can tell that by the next thing that happens.  As soon as Jesus tells them all this, James and John come up to Jesus and ask Jesus to let them sit next to him, one at his right and one at his left, when Jesus comes into his glory.

Now, that’s obviously a pretty arrogant and selfish thing for them to ask.  To think that they deserve to sit next to Jesus in His glory.  We think sometimes about how they’re putting themselves ahead of the other disciples, but it’s more than just that.  They’re putting themselves ahead of Moses and Elijah and Isaiah and Joshua and every other great leader and prophet Israel ever had.  That’s quite the position they’re asking Jesus to put them in.  You’d have to have a pretty high opinion of yourself to ask for something like that.

But the thing is, you’d also have to have a basic misconception of what Jesus was talking about.  When Jesus said he was going to rise in three days, they must have thought that Jesus was going to take over at that point.  That Jesus was going to return to lead the nation of Israel back to its former glory, and even more.  They must have thought that Jesus was going to establish his kingdom on earth right then.  And they wanted to get in on the ground floor and have the top spots, to be Jesus’ number one and number two assistants when he became king of the world.

I would think Jesus must have been pretty disappointed when this happened.  After all he’d tried to teach the disciples about love and about humility.  After all the times he’d tried to show them that we need to put others ahead of ourselves.  After all the time they’d spent together.  And then they come to him with a request like this.  Jesus must have just shaken his head when he heard that.

But Jesus had incredible patience.  He used this as yet another learning opportunity.  He tells them, first, that it’s not up to him who will sit as his right and his left, that God has that all worked out already.  But then he says this:  “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I suspect that the disciples still did not get it.  And I wonder how many of us get it now.  I wonder if I do.  The idea that whoever wants to become great must be a servant.  Whoever wants to be first must be a slave to all.  Even today, that idea really does not make a lot of sense to us.

Becoming a slave, or even a servant, is not exactly a popular lifestyle choice.  It’s not something very many people aspire to.  And yet, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, that becoming a servant and a slave is the path to greatness.

It’s confusing.  It certainly is not how most of us would define greatness.  I mean, we might praise it in theory.  We might admire someone like Mother Teresa, who spent her life helping the lowest of the low.  We admire people like that--but very few of us actually want to be like them.  People like that stand out precisely because there are so few of them.  

Now, don’t misunderstand.  I’m not saying that we’re all a bunch of selfish jerks who never think about anyone else.  I’m aware that there are people here who are very generous.  And not just with money, although some of you are generous with that.  But you’re also generous with your time, with your abilities, with your talents.  This church, and this community, would be much poorer if you were not that way.

But can we really say that we’re slaves of all, the way Jesus put it?  Can we really say that we’re even servants?  I mean, some of us are at times, but probably not all the time.  And yet, that’s how Jesus defines greatness.

It’s a tough standard.  And it’s not one that makes a lot of sense to us.  But Jesus said it.  And what’s more, Jesus lived it.  As he said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus would not have had to do that, you know.  I mean, he was Jesus.  He could’ve been the sort of king the disciples expected.  He could’ve taken power on earth.  He could’ve ruled the world.  He could’ve made everyone worship him.  He could’ve made them worship the disciples, too.  James and John probably would’ve loved it.  So would the other disciples.

And you know who else would’ve loved it?  Satan.  Because that’s exactly what Satan tried to get Jesus to do when he was tempting Jesus in the wilderness.  In Matthew Chapter Four, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.  And Jesus turns him down, because Jesus knows that’s not how it’s supposed to go.  Jesus knows he’s not supposed to seize power.  He’s supposed to be a servant, not a ruler.

But the thing is, there are times when Satan makes that same offer to you and me.  Not exactly, of course.  None of us is likely to be offered all the kingdoms of the world.  But we’re offered other things.  We’re offered money.  We’re offered an easier life.  We’re offered various pleasures.  If only we’ll just focus more on ourselves, and less on others.  If only we’ll stop thinking about being servants.  If only we’ll be a little more selfish.

But of course Satan does not want that word--selfish--to occur to us.  We know we’re not supposed to be selfish.  So we think of it as just getting what we deserve.  After all, we work hard.  We’re good people.  We deserve good things.  Other people have them, and they’re not as good as we are.  Why should we not have them, too?  It’s not selfish.  It just making things fair.  We’re not getting more than we should.  We’re just getting our fair share.

We’re in the period of Lent.  At the Ash Wednesday service, we talked about how this period of Lent is one in which we need to take an honest look at ourselves.  We need to see how far short we fall of who we should be.  We need to repent of our sins and ask God to help us make real changes in our lives.

This is one of the changes we need to make.  It’s one of the changes I need to make.  To put away our selfishness.  To truly become a servant of others, and by doing so be a servant to God.  

It won’t happen overnight.  But are we willing to try?  Are we willing to make this change in our lives?  Are we willing to put others ahead of ourselves, to become a servant to others?  Are we willing to serve God in that way?

It may not make sense to others.  It may not even make sense to us.  But Jesus said to do it.  And what’s more, Jesus did it.  By doing it, Jesus achieved greatness.  If you and I follow His example, that same greatness is available to us, too.