The Message, October 17, 2021, "Great Service"
Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
October 19, 2021
“Great Service”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Mark 10:35-45
I am not a mind-reader … but I may be able to guess what
some of you are thinking.
“Service again?! Pastor Scott … did you not just
preach about being servants a couple of weeks ago?! We get it. Whoever wants to
be great must be willing to serve.”
I hear you, but do not talk to me. Talk to Mark. Talk to
Jesus! Apparently, Jesus felt that this was an important enough topic to talk
about it over and over again. And Mark’s whole Gospel is about what it means to
follow Jesus. So …
Just think of it as one of those lessons that you heard
repeatedly from your parents:
“Drive safe. Be sure to buckle your seatbelts. Look both
ways when crossing the street. Play nice. Share your toys.”
As often as those lessons were repeated, we knew that
they were intended to keep us safe, and also to help us be good and caring
people.
We are pretty sure what Jesus expects of those who seek
to follow him, but clearly the disciples were a little slow to catch on. And it
never hurts us to hear his instructions another time.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We jumped to the
end of the passage. Let us back up so that we can understand what brought on
this lesson on discipleship.
Actually … we need to back up to a point a couple verses
before we began.
Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem,
and Jesus had just foretold what was awaiting him and them when they arrived.
He said: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will
be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They
will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him
and spit on him, flog him and kill him.” (Mark 10:33-34)
This
was the third time that Jesus foretold his death, and this third telling was
more graphic and detailed than the previous occasions. Those who were traveling
with them on the way were shocked and afraid. Who would not be shocked and
afraid?! What Jesus was saying was terrifying! It was awful to consider that this
is what awaited their friend and their teacher in Jerusalem. And it had to make
them stop and wonder what it meant for them. If their teacher, the leader of
their group was to be mocked and spat upon, flogged and killed, what would
happen to them?!
And
that is where our passage picks up this morning. After Jesus shared that
shocking prediction, James and John stepped forward. James and John, part of
Jesus’ inner circle approach Jesus and say: “Oh my Jesus, that is terrible
news. What can we do to help you? What can we do to support the rest of the
group?”
Actually
… no. That is what you and I might have said, but that is not what James and
John said.
“Hey
Jesus, we want you to do whatever we ask of you.”
I
have to give it to them. They are pretty nervy. That would be a pretty bold
requests in any circumstance, but to make it as they are on the pilgrimage to
Jerusalem is pretty audacious!
Of
course, James and John did not understand that Jesus and the disciples were on
a pilgrimage. They believed that they were marching to Jerusalem for Jesus’
coronation. They were marching to Jerusalem so that Jesus could be crowned
‘King of the Jews’! And they were going to be right there by his side.
And
Jesus did the most Jesus-y thing … he went along with them. “Oh, James and
John, what is it that you would like me to do for you?”
“Well,
Jesus, when you are crowned as king, we want to have those two seats of honor.
We want to sit up on the dais and either side of the throne, at your right hand
and your left. We want those good seats right down front!”
Jesus
continued to pursue their request: “Okay. So, do you really think that you
can handle that? Do you think that you can drink the same cup? Do you think
that you can experience the same baptism?”
“Oh
yeah, Jesus. No problem. We got this!”
“You
know not what you ask.”
Do
they know? Do they truly know what they are asking of Jesus? Do they truly know
what Jesus is asking of them?
And
the related question: Do we know? If you are to follow Jesus as he intends, do
we know what that means of us?
Not
only was this the third time that Jesus foretold his suffering and death, this
was also the third time that he taught this lesson regarding discipleship. Here
is the lesson:
The
cup of which he spoke, was understood in Hebrew scripture to refer to the
totality of someone’s life and experience. It could also refer to God’s
punishment and wrath.
When
we think of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we do not typically think of it in terms
of God’s punishment. God had no reason to punish Jesus. However, we can think
of in terms of Jesus being willing to endure that punishment … punishment at
the hands of human authorities … in order to accomplish the fulfillment of
bringing the Kingdom of God into its fullest expression.
The
baptism of which Jesus spoke was not the baptism that we think of in terms of
our own baptism into the life of the church. Again, in ancient usage, the word baptism was understood to mean fully submerged.
We
know and understand that the Kingdom of God does not adhere to the standards of
this world. God turns the world upside down. Jesus follows suit. Jesus rejects
the status quo. The last shall be first. The meek shall inherit the earth.
Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and the humble will be exalted.
Those who wish to be great must be willing to serve.
Those
who seek to follow Jesus, must be willing to be imitators of Jesus. They must
be willing to drink of the same cup and receive the same baptism. They must
understand that their lives must be fully immersed in the life and the Way of
Jesus Christ. They must be willing to suffer the pain that comes along with it.
There
is no such thing as a part-time disciple.
There
should be no such thing as a fair-weather follower.
To
be clear, to serve and follow Jesus does not necessarily mean martyrdom. But it
does mean the willingness to deny the human demand for honor, power, and
privilege.
Jesus
made the point over and over again, he framed the lesson in different ways to
help the disciples understand.
“You
are not like the Gentiles; you are not like the rest of the world. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be
first must be slave of all.” (Mark 10:43-44)
Just
like the ways that our parents taught us, Jesus teaches as well. He leads us
and instructs us along the way. He gives us multiple occasions to consider:
How
do we love and who do we love?
How
do we serve those who we love, as well as those who we struggle to love?
How
do we prioritize our time? Are our lives centered around God? Or is there
something more earthly around which we orbit?
True
discipleship is characterized by a costly pouring out of one’s life for
another. But the reality of our world today means that most of our lives and
attention are directed at things other than serving our neighbors.
Our
society is not structured around a servant model. We tend to think of things in
terms of the corporate model. Success is defined by how much money we make, or
how many people we have working for us, or how many perks we enjoy, or how much
stuff we have accumulated. Very often, serving is somewhere near the bottom of
our ‘To Do’ lists.
It
is often the same within church circles. When clergy get together, they
typically ask things like: “How large is your congregation? How many people do
you have in worship?” They may be genuinely curious, but they may also be
looking for opportunities to brag about themselves and their churches.
The
questions that we should be asking ourselves are:
Who
have we helped?
What
more can we do to help?
And what are we willing to give up in service to
others?
These questions are humbling. They should inspire
some serious self-reflection. They may also sound condemning and critical. They
may discourage those who think that they cannot possibly live up to Jesus’
expectations for us.
So, let me offer some words of encouragement. The
disciples struggled to understand, and we may too. We may not get it right
every time. We may not ever get it right. But we try.
Remember, despite all of their flaws and their
missteps, the disciples remained faithful. They were not discouraged; they did
not throw up their hands and walk away. And Jesus did not give up on them
either. Jesus did not fire them and recruit a new group of better disciples. He
did not trade them in for a newer model. He accepted them, warts and all.
Rather than reject them, Jesus continued to guide them, direct them and teach
them. He never stopped and he never will.
God is still speaking.
Jesus is still teaching.
Let us listen. Let us learn. Let us follow. Amen.
BACK