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When I was growing up we always said the same prayer before eating. Maybe you know it.
“God is great,
God is good,
Let us thank God for our food, Amen.”
A simple little ditty. But it struck me this week that there was a lot more in that prayer than meets the eye. Last week Dad talked about Jesus deflecting the comment “Good teacher” and saying, “Only God is good.” This week, we are talking about what it means to be “great.”
Dad, in the interest of time, didn’t read the verses that lead into our scripture for today. It isn’t a very uplifting message. For the third time in a few chapters Mark has Jesus preaching the message
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; 34they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.” (Mark 10:33-34)
So they are on the road. And Jesus is making another passion prediction. But James and John haven’t been listening. I can see them now, “You ask him.” “No, you ask him.” And they siddle up to Jesus, pull him away from the others, and ask their incredible question.
“Hey, when everything goes down, and you are in glory, can we sit on your right and left hand? Huh, Jesus? Come on. You know you like us best.”
And they had some reason to think that Jesus might have liked them a lot.
--They were some of the first people that Jesus called, even though Peter and Andrew were the very first.
--They had gotten to go special places with him, like up the mountain, oh, yes, Peter was there too.
--And no, they hadn’t been the one to blurt out “You are the Christ.”—that was Peter, but he went lording it over everyone anyway.
It never hurt to plead your case. You needed to ask for the good spots before anyone else did, right? That was the way of the world.
But it isn’t the way of Jesus. If we have heard the message from last week: that the path to eternal life requires being near Jesus, they are at least in the right ballpark. They want to be near Jesus, but for the wrong reasons. They want to be near Jesus because they think it will be about power and prestige (they really weren’t listening to that litany: mocking, spitting, flogging, killing!). And you wonder whether they have been listening to anything that Jesus has been saying. Their desire to be near Jesus is right. But their focus is all wrong. They want to know what THEY get out of it. They are looking out for #1 (and #2). They say they are willing to do ANYTHING—and Jesus takes them up on that. But, that doesn’t mean they will get their way. Shockingly, Jesus says the seating arrangements aren’t his decision. It will be “for those for whom it has been prepared.”
By now the conversation has gotten loud enough that the other disciples understand what James and John have asked. And they get mad. You can imagine all kinds of boasting about who should be on the right and left, who is better than anyone else. It becomes a competition. Who is going to be picked as the apprentice (and not hear those dreaded words “You’re fired.”)? Who is going to perform so well that all the judges turn their chairs around and beg for you to be on their team? Who is going to be the Galilean Idol?
I can see Jesus rolling his eyes. Or maybe even shaking his head, wondering how they could have learned Nothing from him! They are acting like children, but not exhibiting the traits that might get you into the kingdom of God. He compares them to “the Gentiles”—the ones who have no relationship to the God of Abraham and Sarah, Issac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah and Rachel. These Gentiles include the Romans who were occupying their land. Look at how they know who is the greatest, says Jesus. “Their rulers lord it over them. Those who are great are tyrants over them.” Is that how you think it works?
Stand close, says Jesus. Let me whisper the secret into your ears. That is not my way. “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant—whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
I bet that stopped the conversation!
Being near Jesus requires a lot from us. It asks us to listen to Jesus, even when he is talking about tough stuff—like the cost of discipleship.
Being near Jesus requires a lot from us. It means replacing the world’s standards of achievement with something that others might consider foolish.
Being near Jesus requires a lot from us. It questions all we think we know, about goodness, about greatness, about how to live in this world.
James and John were caught up in a focus on themselves. And the other disciples weren’t far behind. So how do we make sure we don’t follow in their behavior? What does it mean to be a servant, to be slave of all?
I don’t think Jesus meant for us to lose sight of ourselves—for he did ask us to love neighbor AS we love ourselves.
I don’t think that Jesus meant for us to go out looking to be walked on, or to revel in how low can you go! (Isn’t that just another form of competition to be on the right and left?)
No, I believe Jesus wanted us to struggle with this new way of being in the world. This childlikeness. This letting go of having to always be at the center of attention. This mania with “winning.”
What would it look like to be servant, and slave of all? Maybe like this…
It was a beautiful day at the Seattle Special Olympics. There were nine contestants assembled at the starting line for the hundred-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the excitment to run the race to the finish and win. And then it happened. One little boy stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. You could hear him all over the stadium.
First one, and then another, and another of the “runners” slowed down and looked back. One turned and started back toward the boy, and another followed, until they all were surrounding the crying child. A girl bent down and kissed him, saying “This will make it better.”
Then they picked him up
and the nine linked arms
and walked together to the finish line,
to the cheers of all in attendance.
And I think Jesus smiled.
Being near Jesus might give us the courage to stop in our tracks to help a friend.
Being near Jesus might shake us loose from always needing to be first.
Being near Jesus is what goodness and greatness are all about.
May we find ways to be near Jesus
Today and every day
Alleluia. Amen.
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