Sermon – The Greatest! Rev. Sandy Lacey September 22, 2024
Let’s see if you can figure out where these quotes come from. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you . . . It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe . . . Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth . . . It’s not bragging if you can back it up . . . Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee . . . <everydaypowerblog.com/greatest-resistance-comes-facing-greatest-opp ortunity/> I am the greatest! I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.” Have you figured it out? Muhammad Ali, of course! For a humble man, he sure could talk a good game, especially when it related to his sport and to following your dream. In today’s passage in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is not particularly concerned about the disciples’ boxing career or whether they had the fortitude to follow through on their dreams. He had something else on his mind and he gave the disciples an object lesson to help them remember it. We love children around here and I have had some interesting children’s moments in worship over the years. Many times, I do not know what new insight will occur to the children and the adults who hear them. It could be anything from “you need a really good pair of earings when you are going on a fishing trip” to “the sound of God’s voice is kind of like a barking dog.” We also see God’s love demonstrated in front of us when a child offers his toy to another child who does not have one, so she does not feel left out. My former coworker in Dothan, AL, Joe, tells the story about Jack at a young age. Jack had asked his mom a very puzzling question. He wanted to know who had created God if God had created the world and everything in it. Jack’s mom was good at passing the buck, so she suggested he ask the pastor. When Jack asked Joe, Joe gave him some sort of explanation about how God created everything and that remarkably, God was God even before that. Joe does not really remember all the things he told Jack, but he felt pretty good about what he had said. Jack left his side and went back to his mom. He was quiet for a while and then his mom asked him if he learned anything from Joe. Jack said, “nah, he doesn’t know either.” You cannot fool kids. Most of you know that each week I lead a chapel service for our 3- and 4-year-old preschool classes and I never really know what is going to be said to various questions I ask. I enjoy doing the chapel service even though we do not do much. We learn to pray; we learn to sing and do hand motions to songs; we learn about the Bible; we learn that we are a child of God and that God is always present with us and always loves us. I have always been impressed by the work our teachers do in helping the children learn how to take turns, share, etc. I never see our four-year-olds fighting over who gets to be first in line because they all get to be first at one time or another. I guess the disciples and early Christians, (and maybe even us today), could learn a thing or two from our young friends. What is it about children that drew Jesus’ attention and caused him to use them as a role model for the disciples in his day and for us in our day? Last week we heard about Jesus taking his disciples to a Gentile area filled with statues of gods and monuments to power. He asked them a poignant question in that context – “who do you say I am?” After Peter’s pronouncement that he is the Messiah, Jesus continues the discussion by declaring that Peter is correct and that he will be arrested, persecuted, and put to death soon. It was not what the disciples wanted to hear. Today’s passage includes Jesus repeating the same information that he will be put to death and then will rise again. Apparently, the disciples learned their lesson from what happened last week. Even though they did not understand what he was talking about, they chose to remain silent this time. In between last week’s passage in Mark and this week’s passage, Jesus began heading toward Jerusalem and toward the fate that awaits him there. On the way, he and three of the disciples headed up a mountain where they witnessed Jesus being transfigured before them. When they came down the mountain, they were filled with wonder and awe at who He was – maybe for the first time they have an inkling of the holy that is in the man who walks with them. So, they came down the mountain, hoping to bask in their euphoria for a little while. Instead, they immediately came face to face with harsh realities and their inadequacies. They could not perform a simple healing without Jesus helping them. Following that reality check, we come to today’s passage with the disciples arguing in the background about who, among them, is Jesus’ favorite – about who gets to be first in line. (Can anyone say, “missing the point?”) “If you want to be first, you’ll have to be last,” Jesus tells them. “Being my follower means being a servant.” To further illustrate what he meant, he picked up a child as an example of what it means to welcome and serve all people. Now in our day, we think children are cute, sweet, and we have set up all kinds of protection for children (and rightly so.) You harm a child, and you are likely to go to jail. In that day – over 2000 years ago, however, children had no status whatsoever (except as property.) They had little to no protection. They were considered nothing, except as they continued the family name. So perhaps the older male child had some value to the family in that he could carry on the name and inherit wealth . . . but everyone else had no status and very little value. They were truly the least and the last. So, for Jesus to pick up a child and say, in effect, “see this no-status person? You must be willing to serve this one in order to be first in my book. You’ve got to be willing to give everything up and have no power, no status. If you can learn to welcome and value all people in spite of their status, then you can be my follower. I don’t think you heard me before – let me tell you again: I am going to die; I am going to give up my life – that is what it means to be great.” Jesus turned everything upside down – to be powerful, you must be willing to give up everything and you must be willing to die. To be powerful means being a servant and welcoming/caring for the least and the last. And today, it is as if the Epistle writer James is adding chapter two to what we hear from Mark’s Gospel this morning. James says, “Those of you who are struggling to be first, struggling to be the greatest – you are doing so with selfish ambition and bitter envy.” James tells us that such wisdom does not come from God but is unspiritual and devilish. (It is as if we are hearing Jesus call Peter, “Satan” all over again.) One of our theological founding fathers, John Calvin, reminds us that the “deeply corrupting power of sin” causes us to focus on the surface stuff of money and status verses Jesus’ values of servanthood and welcome.[1] Both congregations – the one James is writing to and the one in Mark’s context – apparently have problems with conflict. And conflict, according to James, can be traced to power plays, arguments over who is first. You want to know who is wise, who has it together? The wise and understanding one is peaceable, gentle, willing to give in, full of mercy. One of the exercises I do with younger couples about to get married is to have them both complete a “top 10” list in which both of them list ten things that the other could do for them that would communicate to them that they love them. Items on the lists range from him doing the dishes for me or her watching football or my favorite movie with me, etc. The idea is for both of them to hear what is important and helpful to the other person and to commit to doing one of those things each day simply as an act of loving generosity for the other person. It does not come naturally to us to be selfless – even with people we love. Just like small children can be taught to take turns and do for each other, we adults can learn over time to place someone else’s interests and well-being above our own. If we do not ever learn it, our relationships become even more challenging than they naturally are. The Epistle writer James describes wisdom as “peaceable, pure, willing to yield, full of mercy, without trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” Conflicts and disputes come from the opposite; they come from the desire to have our own way, from enviousness, from boastfulness, from selfish ambition, from the desire to be first. Resisting the temptation of selfish ambition and resisting the urge to insist on our own way, James gives us a final instruction: submit to God, draw near to God. And how do we do that? We welcome the least and the last of our culture – that is how we submit to God. Unlike in Jesus’ culture, children may not be the best example in our culture of the least and the last because we do pretty well welcoming children (except when it comes time to volunteer for their programming needs.) But are there others that we do not do so well at welcoming? Is it the undocumented alien or immigrant who are trying to make a way for their family? Do we have trouble welcoming them? Or is it the criminal in prison? Who is the least and last in our culture? Is it our neighbors who want to put in a new business near us? Is it the homeless person who cannot find or keep a job? Is it the addicted person who is not ready to deal with their powerlessness over their addiction? Is it the transgendered youth or adult? Who is the least and the last in our culture that Jesus wants us to serve? If you want to be great in Jesus’ eyes, you must be willing to be last and servant of all. James asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” It will take all of us working together to be this great in Jesus’ eyes. Won’t you join us and help? AMEN.
[1] Quoted by Martha L. Moore-Keish, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 94.
Let’s see if you can figure out where these quotes come from. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you . . . It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe . . . Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth . . . It’s not bragging if you can back it up . . . Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee . . . <everydaypowerblog.com/greatest-resistance-comes-facing-greatest-opp ortunity/> I am the greatest! I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.” Have you figured it out? Muhammad Ali, of course! For a humble man, he sure could talk a good game, especially when it related to his sport and to following your dream. In today’s passage in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is not particularly concerned about the disciples’ boxing career or whether they had the fortitude to follow through on their dreams. He had something else on his mind and he gave the disciples an object lesson to help them remember it. We love children around here and I have had some interesting children’s moments in worship over the years. Many times, I do not know what new insight will occur to the children and the adults who hear them. It could be anything from “you need a really good pair of earings when you are going on a fishing trip” to “the sound of God’s voice is kind of like a barking dog.” We also see God’s love demonstrated in front of us when a child offers his toy to another child who does not have one, so she does not feel left out. My former coworker in Dothan, AL, Joe, tells the story about Jack at a young age. Jack had asked his mom a very puzzling question. He wanted to know who had created God if God had created the world and everything in it. Jack’s mom was good at passing the buck, so she suggested he ask the pastor. When Jack asked Joe, Joe gave him some sort of explanation about how God created everything and that remarkably, God was God even before that. Joe does not really remember all the things he told Jack, but he felt pretty good about what he had said. Jack left his side and went back to his mom. He was quiet for a while and then his mom asked him if he learned anything from Joe. Jack said, “nah, he doesn’t know either.” You cannot fool kids. Most of you know that each week I lead a chapel service for our 3- and 4-year-old preschool classes and I never really know what is going to be said to various questions I ask. I enjoy doing the chapel service even though we do not do much. We learn to pray; we learn to sing and do hand motions to songs; we learn about the Bible; we learn that we are a child of God and that God is always present with us and always loves us. I have always been impressed by the work our teachers do in helping the children learn how to take turns, share, etc. I never see our four-year-olds fighting over who gets to be first in line because they all get to be first at one time or another. I guess the disciples and early Christians, (and maybe even us today), could learn a thing or two from our young friends. What is it about children that drew Jesus’ attention and caused him to use them as a role model for the disciples in his day and for us in our day? Last week we heard about Jesus taking his disciples to a Gentile area filled with statues of gods and monuments to power. He asked them a poignant question in that context – “who do you say I am?” After Peter’s pronouncement that he is the Messiah, Jesus continues the discussion by declaring that Peter is correct and that he will be arrested, persecuted, and put to death soon. It was not what the disciples wanted to hear. Today’s passage includes Jesus repeating the same information that he will be put to death and then will rise again. Apparently, the disciples learned their lesson from what happened last week. Even though they did not understand what he was talking about, they chose to remain silent this time. In between last week’s passage in Mark and this week’s passage, Jesus began heading toward Jerusalem and toward the fate that awaits him there. On the way, he and three of the disciples headed up a mountain where they witnessed Jesus being transfigured before them. When they came down the mountain, they were filled with wonder and awe at who He was – maybe for the first time they have an inkling of the holy that is in the man who walks with them. So, they came down the mountain, hoping to bask in their euphoria for a little while. Instead, they immediately came face to face with harsh realities and their inadequacies. They could not perform a simple healing without Jesus helping them. Following that reality check, we come to today’s passage with the disciples arguing in the background about who, among them, is Jesus’ favorite – about who gets to be first in line. (Can anyone say, “missing the point?”) “If you want to be first, you’ll have to be last,” Jesus tells them. “Being my follower means being a servant.” To further illustrate what he meant, he picked up a child as an example of what it means to welcome and serve all people. Now in our day, we think children are cute, sweet, and we have set up all kinds of protection for children (and rightly so.) You harm a child, and you are likely to go to jail. In that day – over 2000 years ago, however, children had no status whatsoever (except as property.) They had little to no protection. They were considered nothing, except as they continued the family name. So perhaps the older male child had some value to the family in that he could carry on the name and inherit wealth . . . but everyone else had no status and very little value. They were truly the least and the last. So, for Jesus to pick up a child and say, in effect, “see this no-status person? You must be willing to serve this one in order to be first in my book. You’ve got to be willing to give everything up and have no power, no status. If you can learn to welcome and value all people in spite of their status, then you can be my follower. I don’t think you heard me before – let me tell you again: I am going to die; I am going to give up my life – that is what it means to be great.” Jesus turned everything upside down – to be powerful, you must be willing to give up everything and you must be willing to die. To be powerful means being a servant and welcoming/caring for the least and the last. And today, it is as if the Epistle writer James is adding chapter two to what we hear from Mark’s Gospel this morning. James says, “Those of you who are struggling to be first, struggling to be the greatest – you are doing so with selfish ambition and bitter envy.” James tells us that such wisdom does not come from God but is unspiritual and devilish. (It is as if we are hearing Jesus call Peter, “Satan” all over again.) One of our theological founding fathers, John Calvin, reminds us that the “deeply corrupting power of sin” causes us to focus on the surface stuff of money and status verses Jesus’ values of servanthood and welcome.[1] Both congregations – the one James is writing to and the one in Mark’s context – apparently have problems with conflict. And conflict, according to James, can be traced to power plays, arguments over who is first. You want to know who is wise, who has it together? The wise and understanding one is peaceable, gentle, willing to give in, full of mercy. One of the exercises I do with younger couples about to get married is to have them both complete a “top 10” list in which both of them list ten things that the other could do for them that would communicate to them that they love them. Items on the lists range from him doing the dishes for me or her watching football or my favorite movie with me, etc. The idea is for both of them to hear what is important and helpful to the other person and to commit to doing one of those things each day simply as an act of loving generosity for the other person. It does not come naturally to us to be selfless – even with people we love. Just like small children can be taught to take turns and do for each other, we adults can learn over time to place someone else’s interests and well-being above our own. If we do not ever learn it, our relationships become even more challenging than they naturally are. The Epistle writer James describes wisdom as “peaceable, pure, willing to yield, full of mercy, without trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” Conflicts and disputes come from the opposite; they come from the desire to have our own way, from enviousness, from boastfulness, from selfish ambition, from the desire to be first. Resisting the temptation of selfish ambition and resisting the urge to insist on our own way, James gives us a final instruction: submit to God, draw near to God. And how do we do that? We welcome the least and the last of our culture – that is how we submit to God. Unlike in Jesus’ culture, children may not be the best example in our culture of the least and the last because we do pretty well welcoming children (except when it comes time to volunteer for their programming needs.) But are there others that we do not do so well at welcoming? Is it the undocumented alien or immigrant who are trying to make a way for their family? Do we have trouble welcoming them? Or is it the criminal in prison? Who is the least and last in our culture? Is it our neighbors who want to put in a new business near us? Is it the homeless person who cannot find or keep a job? Is it the addicted person who is not ready to deal with their powerlessness over their addiction? Is it the transgendered youth or adult? Who is the least and the last in our culture that Jesus wants us to serve? If you want to be great in Jesus’ eyes, you must be willing to be last and servant of all. James asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” It will take all of us working together to be this great in Jesus’ eyes. Won’t you join us and help? AMEN.
[1] Quoted by Martha L. Moore-Keish, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 94.
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[1] Quoted by Martha L. Moore-Keish, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 94.