Pentecost 18 B: A Different Kind of Greatness

Posted by DJL on Sep 17, 2018 in Dear Partner | 13 comments

Mark 9:30-37

Dear Partner in Preaching,

I don’t think that the question of greatness has gone away since Jesus’ day. From Muhammad Ali’s signature boast a generation ago about being “the greatest” to the best-known slogan of the 2016 election – “Make America great again” – we continue to discuss and debate what constitutes greatness. And that question is at the heart of the passage chosen for this Sunday.

The scene has a familiar ring to it. Having just heard Mark’s account of Jesus’ prediction of his passion at Ceasarea Philippi, and Peter’s rejection of that mission, our hearers will likely note the similarity of this weeks’ account, as Jesus once again tells his disciples that he will be betrayed, killed, and raised on the third day. And, as with the last time, they again do not understand or believe what he is saying, even though this is the second time he’s told them.

By now, our hearers may detect that this is actually a pretty common theme in the Gospels, as the disciples regularly appear pretty clueless. (But if not, you can certainly point that out!) In this instance, not only are they confused by his words about his impending death, they’re also confused about greatness. Or at least Jesus seems to think so. Apparently, they were bickering while walking from one town to another so much that he could not ignore it. And so he asks, “What were you arguing about on the way.” And they are silent, embarrassed to admit they were arguing about which one of them was the greatest.

Perhaps they were boasting of which one of them spent the most time with Jesus, or maybe which one had seen the greatest miracle, or perhaps performed the greatest miracle. We don’t really know. What we do know is that Jesus…is not impressed. And so he tells them, “Whoever wants to be first – that is, greatest – must be last and be a servant to all.”

Though this isn’t as sharp a rebuke as the one he offered Peter last week, it nevertheless most likely stung. Because this is definitely not what they had been taught. And, let’s face it, it’s not what most of us are taught either. Greatness, we assume, implies power, accomplishment, fame, wealth, and all the other things that allow you to do things, to influence people, to make things go your way. But that’s not what Jesus says. And to drive his point home, he scoops up a young child into his arms and tells them that whoever welcomes a child like this welcomes him.

And suddenly it seems like Jesus has gone from saying something a little odd – to be first you have to be last – to saying something that sounds, well, kinda crazy. In the first-century world, as you know, children were of no account. Oh, of course, their parents loved them, but they had no rights, no influence, no standing. They were utterly dependent, utterly vulnerable, utterly powerless. So how could caring for a child count as greatness? It’s crazy.

Or is it? Think about it for a minute: What if Jesus is right? I mean, what if we imagined that greatness wasn’t about power and wealth and fame and all the rest, but instead we measured greatness by how much we share with others, how much we take care of others, how much we love others, how much we serve others. What kind of world would we live in? Can you imagine if people were regularly trying to out-do each other in their deeds of kindness and service? If there were nationally broadcast competitions to see who was willing to be last so that others could go first? If there were reality TV shows that followed people around as they tried to help as many people as possible?

What kind of world would we live in? I don’t know about you, but I think it would be a pretty great world.

The definition of greatness Jesus offers seems crazy initially because it is so completely, utterly counter-cultural. He calls us to imagine that true greatness lies in service by taking care of those who are most vulnerable – those with little influence or power, those the culture is most likely to ignore.

This without a doubt offers us a vision for our congregational life. But it also applies more personally. How are we doing, that is, with measuring our success, our greatness, not by what we take in but by what we give away, not by the influence we wield but by the service we offer, not by accumulating more but by sharing what we already have, not by being first but by being eager to work hard in order to see others move ahead?

Make no mistake. This is hard stuff, absolutely and totally different than what the culture – whether in the first century or the twenty-first – tells us. And so it was hard for the disciples and it’s hard for us. They didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and so fell into the trap of putting themselves ahead of everyone else. We will often do the same, looking out for ourselves rather than others, trusting less in God for our security than we do our wealth, shutting others out rather than inviting them in, seeking our welfare rather than that of those around us.

But here’s the thing: the road the disciples are traveling with Jesus when they fall into their petty arguments about who is the greatest…is the road to Jerusalem. Even while his disciples misunderstand, don’t believe, or just plain ignore what he is saying, Jesus is walking the road to Jerusalem and the cross willingly in order to sacrifice everything for them…and for us.

Sometimes I think there are three short prayers that pretty much sum up the Christian life, and they came to mind as incredibly helpful to pray when we consider Jesus’ teaching. The first is in response to his counter-cultural command that the first must be last and that true greatness lies in service. It is as short as it is simple: “Lord, help us.” The second comes when we fall short of our ideals, giving in to insecurity and fear and looking out for ourselves first: “Lord, have mercy.” And the third is when we realize that even as we fall short, yet Jesus still died for us, still lives for us, still loves us more than anything: “Thanks be to God.” For Jesus does not give up on his disciples – not then and not now – and still offers us a different vision of greatness that can lead us to imagine and work toward a whole different world.

So hear Jesus’ words once again, Dear Partner, and know they are still directed to Jesus’ disciples, both those gathered around him in Capernaum and those who will be gathering in your congregation this week. As St. Mark writes, “And so Jesus sat down, called his disciples and said, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last and be a servant to all.’” And all we can say in response is, perhaps, Lord help us. Lord have mercy. Thanks be to God.

Know how much I value your labor, Dear Partner. What you do makes a difference!

Yours in Christ,
David

PS: Thanks to all those who wished me a good time away, as well as to all those who have been asking when I’d resume. 🙂 I’ll do my best to get these out in a timely manner, but can make no guarantee. I’ve never enjoyed my work more than I do in my current call, but it is rather – and delightfully – all consuming, which makes all the other writing I’d like to do a little harder. Thanks for reading…and for understanding.

 

Post image: “Jesus Welcomes the Children” – Jesus Mafa