Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
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.” 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.” 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.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 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. 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. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Sermon: “Mutual Service”
One day, 25+ years ago, I lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and I went to the supermarket to return some empty soda cans. I happened to be wearing old clothes, and I was carrying the cans in a green plastic garbage bag. In this particular supermarket, the can-return machine is located near the customer service desk. So, while I’m dealing with the cans, pushing them into the slot on the machine, out of the corner of my eye, I see a well-dressed, perfectly coiffed older woman standing in the customer service line watching me. As a pastor, I was used to seeing parishioners in the grocery store, so I glance over at her and smile, thinking maybe she recognized me from church or something. I didn’t recognize her, so I didn’t think much of it, until she came over to me a few minutes later, opened her purse, and held out a couple of dollars. Puzzled, I stopped pushing cans into the machine and turned to face her.
“Here,” she said, “Take this.” She looked me up and down, taking note, no doubt, of the holes in my jeans and the dirt on my sneakers. “I’m sure you could use it.” She pushed the money into my hand and walked away quickly, leaving me with my mouth gaping open. Now, the downtown Haverhill Supermarket is located near a homeless shelter, and I think she had mistaken me for one of the shelter residents. I wanted to run after her and tell her that she’d made a mistake. I wanted to say, “No, you’ve got it all wrong! I don’t need charity; I’m a professional. A minister! I have advanced degrees!!” But I didn’t run after her—because, honestly, I didn’t think she’d believe me, and I figured, “Hey, I actually could use the money.” So, I pocketed the 2 dollars she’d handed me, and I turned back to the can machine, which, at that point, I happened to notice had a sign on it that said something about “redemption.” So I laughed out loud.
But, I’ve got to tell you, although I found the incident to be rather amusing, I also found it to be a bit embarrassing. There were other people around who had witnessed her “gift,” and, although they were just a bunch of people I didn’t know, I still didn’t want them to think I was what my grandmother might have referred to as a “charity case.” (And, by this point, a crazy charity case, because I was standing there, by myself, laughing out loud for no apparent reason.)
So, all this to say, I sympathize with the disciples when they are concerned about how other people view them, what other people think of them, about their status in society. In chapter 9 of Mark’s this Gospel, we read about how the disciples were arguing with each other about who was the “greatest” among them. In today’s reading from Mark chapter 10 we read that James and John continue this discussion, asking Jesus to give them places of honor in his kingdom.
We might wonder why James and John and the other disciples seem to be so overly concerned with greatness, with status, with holding positions of honor. But when we look at their society, we can understand their preoccupation. Their’s was a very class-oriented society. There were people at the top, wealthy folks who held positions of power, mostly Roman citizens; then there were people at the bottom, lepers and poor people, women and children, members of minority groups, foreigners and slaves—many of whom were barely treated as human. (There were not too many people in the middle.)
The disciples, most of them, before they met Jesus, were hard-working, relatively poor fishermen, closer to the bottom of the class spectrum. They were looked down upon by the wealthy Roman citizens; they were avoided in the street. (With their old, dirty clothes, they could easily have been mistaken for homeless people in the supermarket.)
So, after having met Jesus, whom they believed would be taking on the Roman government and literally setting up God’s kingdom on earth, the disciples were extremely hopeful that one day soon they could jump from the bottom of the social ladder up to the top. They were no doubt looking forward to this because it meant that they’d finally get the respect and honor that they’d been denied all their lives. When they finally got to be rulers in God’s kingdom, then, instead of avoiding them, people would be seeking them out, asking their advice, valuing their opinions, serving their wants and needs, instead of the other way around. The disciples couldn’t wait! Especially James and John. They wanted to have the top places of honor in the kingdom.
But Jesus tells them all, in effect, “No. That’s not the way it’s going to be among you. Status doesn’t count in God’s kingdom.”
Now, I’ve just got to say, Jesus is always surprising me. At this point, I would have expected him to say to James and John and the other disciples: “Status doesn’t count because everyone has a place of honor in God’s kingdom!” But that’s not what he says. Instead of saying that everyone has a place of honor in God’s kingdom, he says, “Whoever wishes to become great among you, must be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first among you, must be slave of all.”
So, in other words, Jesus is telling them that they’ve got it all wrong. In God’s kingdom, they’re not going to be at the top—they, along with everyone else, are going to be at the bottom. Everyone is going to be a slave.
Can’t you just imagine James and John and the others looking at each other and saying, “What is he talking about?! We haven’t been following him for years in order to drop to the bottom of the social ladder--even lower than we are now. We didn’t sign on to become slaves!”
When you think about it, what Jesus is saying is quite radical. He’s saying to rich and poor alike—stop putting all that energy into worrying about what other people think of you, in working on your social status—either maintaining it, if you like where you are, or improving it, if you don’t. Rather, Jesus is saying, take the energy that you put into working on your status and put that energy, instead, into serving, supporting and caring for other members of God’s family.
It’s important to note that Jesus is talking about mutual service here. He’s not suggesting that some people are always the servants and others are always being served. He’s saying that God wants us all to serve our fellow human beings. AND to allow our fellow servants to serve us when we are in need, as our first hymn suggests. We are all in this together.
Which reminds me of an image that I once heard of the afterlife, of heaven and hell. The speaker described the afterlife as a feast, where everyone was given a very long spoon to eat with. However, in hell, people were starving, because no one could get the spoon to reach his or her own mouth. But in heaven, everyone was happy and satisfied, because they figured out that all they needed to do to eat was to feed each other.
So, my friends, may we ponder this analogy and apply it to our lives however God calls us to. Maybe there are new ways that God is calling us to serve, care and support our fellow human beings-- here in the Franklin area and throughout the world. As individuals and as a church community, I know that you are already involved in many avenues of service. We heard about some of those avenues today in the Missions Moment--and we’ll hear about some more next week.
There are many non-profit organizations and Missions Projects that need our support, and getting involved in them through hands-on work and/or by donating money are some ways we can engage in mutual service. And, paradoxically, as we serve as we’ve all discovered, we will receive back more than we have given in terms of joy and a sense of connection. So, may we be in prayer this stewardship season and listen for God’s leadership as we each consider how God is calling us to be involved in serving our neighbors in our church, our community, and our world.
Let us pray…
PHONE
SLIPS OF PAPER.
- Moment of silence…lifting up in prayer those we hold in our hearts... others in this room and in our livestream… [PAUSE]
- O God, bless the sick… those who are struggling… those who are grieving…caregivers… Give them strength and healing…. In Jesus name, Amen
PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE LORD’S PRAYER
- Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven
- Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors`
- And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
[First draft of this sermon was written by Marlayna and preached October 22, 2006]