PROPER 24B – Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b; Hebrews 5:1-10;

Mark 10:35-45 – A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

Serving a Master Who Serves

INTRODUCTION – Do for me whatever I ask you to do!

If I said to you, “___________, I want you to do for me whatever I ask you”, how would you respond?

What if I were your boss?

What if I were your father?

What if I were your spouse?

What if I were your teacher?

What if you were my boss?

What if I were your son?

What if I were your student?

What if we had just met?

What if we had been friends for 30 years?

Does your willingness to do whatever I ask depend on the relationship that you have with me? Or does it mainly depend on what I ask you to do?

JAMES AND JOHN

James and John, two of the disciples that Jesus had invited to come and follow him, came up to Jesus one day and said, “Teacher (Rabbi), we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (Mark 10:35)

It all seems backwards from the moment they speak. The teacher… the rabbi… the Master has the authority to tell them what to do, as when he sent them out two-by-two with instructions to cure the sick and cast out demons. Now James and John want to tell Jesus what he should do for them.

But Jesus is a different type of leader. He’s not like a football coach or a military general or a drill sergeant. So he says, “What is it you want me to do for you?” He’s open to considering it, whatever it is.

The answer comes back. “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” They wanted the places of highest honor – What might we compare it to? Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense? – when Jesus, as Messiah, was in full command, when Israel was free and reunited under his leadership.

They still didn’t understand what kind of Messiah he was. And he 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?” (Mark 10:38) You wonder what they made of that question. “Sure, Jesus, we’d be happy to drink whatever you are drinking.” Probably they didn’t realize that “drinking the cup”, in this case, meant following Jesus to the cross. Probably they didn’t realize that baptism, in this case, meant dying to a self-determined life, and doing whatever God the Father asked you to do.

And Jesus got a glimpse of the future – not only his, but theirs, too. And when they said, rather nonchalantly, “We are able”, he replied, with a poignancy that that must have totally missed, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized…” He was saying that they would die in a similar way to the way that Jesus would, as a result of being his followers.

But still he insisted that he could not satisfy their original request. “… but to sit at my right hand or my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” (Mark 10:40) Jesus was saying, “I have a Master, too, and this is his call, not mine.”

AMONG YOU AS ONE WHO SERVES

And then the real teaching moment came. The ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked for, and yes, they were ticked off. Didn’t he call all twelve of them to be disciples? Why did they think they were the greatest, that they should get the two seats of honor? Simon Peter and Andrew thought that, if anyone, it should be them! And Philip and Bartholomew thought that, if anyone, it should be them! Well, you get the picture.

So Jesus called them together. “Hey, huddle up. You know how it is with the Gentiles, how their leaders and rulers call all the shots and “lord it over” the people? You know how the greatest among the Gentiles are tyrants over their fellow Gentiles?” They undoubtedly got a picture of the occupying Roman forces as he said this. “Yes, Jesus, we know how the Gentiles do things.”

“But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” (Mark 10:44) The same Hebrew word can be translated either “slave” or “servant”. In any case, Jesus said, if you want to be great, if you want be #1, then be the servant or the slave of all.

And then, just to make sure they got it, he added, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

That’s why Jesus could entertain the preposterous question from James and John. That’s why he could say, “What is it you want me to do for you?” He understood who he was, and he understood that his calling was to serve others – period. So he could entertain their question because he was there to serve them, even though he was the rabbi, and they were the students.

Another way to put this, I suppose, is that Jesus had transcended his ego. He kept pointing to his Father in heaven. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) “… but to sit at my right hand or my left is not mine to grant…” (Mark 10:40) He would never usurp the power and authority of his Father in heaven. And then later, on the cross, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup [notice the cup metaphor] from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

He kept pointing to his Father in heaven, because Jesus had a Master, too. And his calling was to serve his Father in heaven, and serve the children of God – all of them. Even die for them, if that’s what his Father asked him to do. To pay the price for them, just like paying a ransom for someone who has been put in prison, or paying a ransom for someone who has been kidnapped.

“For the Son of Man came not be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

BAPTISM, THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST, AND SERVICE

Adam Rehn, ten years old, is being baptized today. There is this key moment, leading up to the baptism, when we ask a candidate who can speak for himself or herself three questions:

Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?

Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?

Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?

Being baptized means you have recognized the truth that only Jesus Christ can save you. You cannot save yourself. God has sent Jesus to do that for you.

Being baptized means that you turn your life over to God – completely. You don’t put your trust in money or in any earthly power or even in your closest loved ones. You put your whole trust in God – in God’s grace and God’s love. Only God can be God.

And finally, to be baptized means that you accept God’s ways as normative for your life. Being baptized means that you promise to be a follower of Jesus, and serve this One who is among us as one who serves.

We call him Lord and Master, for that is what he is. We must give our allegiance to absolutely no one else. That is what it means to call someone Lord and Master.

And this deep truth must not be lost on us. We serve and obey a Master whose entire identity is wrapped up in serving… serving both God and us. And since we are his followers, since He is our Lord, our whole identity is wrapped up in serving – both God and others. And Jesus makes it quite clear. If you want to be great, if you want to be first among your friends, be servant of all. Be slave of all.

I witnessed a nice little example of this on Friday. I went to be with Chris and Leanne Walther prior to Chris’ shoulder surgery. His surgeon was Dr. Eric McCarty. Perhaps that name rings a bell. Dr. McCarty’s father spent his career as a doctor in Boulder. Eric McCarty, the son, went to Boulder High, and played for the CU football team, and then became an orthopedic surgeon. He is the team doctor for CU right now. He came in to the pre-op bay to talk to Chris, prior to his surgery. After he explained the surgery, he looked at me and said, “Since you’re here, let’s have a word of prayer. I’ll start and you can finish the prayer.” He proceeded to pray for Chris and himself, and in the process, he acknowledged God as the One who would ultimately bring about Chris’ healing. When it was time for me to pray, there wasn’t a whole lot that I needed to add. After I concluded the prayer, Dr. McCarty left to go get ready for Chris’ surgery. In all my years of going to be with parishioners prior to surgery, that is probably the second or third time that I have seen a doctor pray with a patient. There was a certain humility demonstrated. Everyone knows that doctors can have big egos – in some cases, really big egos! I did not see that on Friday. I saw a man who understood that his gifts and training were being used in service to God and in service to others. Period. End of story.

CONCLUSION

One of my favorite sermons that I ever read by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was based on this passage from Mark 10. And what Dr. King said, in a nutshell, was this: “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve!”

When you are baptized, you are called to be a servant of all, and you are called into the service of the King. Not Dr. King, of course, but the same King that Dr. King served. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords – Jesus, the Christ.

If you want to be great, if you want to try and be #1 in this world, if you want to be honored by our Lord when he comes into his glory, then make the most of the countless opportunities that are put in front of you each day. Get to work! Serve somebody! Serve anybody – your spouse, your children, your parents, your co-workers, someone staying at the Homeless Shelter, your child’s teachers, your students, your patients, someone in prison, someone who is sick, someone who is hurting, someone living half-way around the world who needs a mosquito net or a well or a small loan for their business.

Do you want to be great? Well, to do that – to really do that – you must rise above your ego, and put feet to your faith, and serve somebody. Anybody can be great, because anyone can serve. We follow a Master who serves. And so, if we want to follow him, if we want to be great like him, we serve, too. Who will God put in front of you today? Who will you serve, remembering that Jesus is among us as one who serves?