Mark 10:35-45
The Rev. Joshua Rodriguez-Hobbs
“I want to just tell you one thing.” I hear these words
frequently in our preschool chapel services on Tuesdays. It’s never just one
thing. It’s usually three or four, and none of them really make sense. For some
reason, I can’t seem to convince the three and four year olds that we’re on a tight
schedule. I’ve gotten pretty good, over
the years, at deflecting their attention from whatever it is they want to tell
me—and that, for the record, is something they don’t teach you in seminary.
I bring this up because I wonder if Jesus felt like this when
James and John came up and asked him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us
whatever we ask of you.” Whatever comes after this, you already know that it
can’t be good. I can’t imagine Jesus not sighing as he replies. What is it now? Don’t you know we’re on a
tight schedule? We have to get to Jerusalem. Just before our reading begins
this morning, Jesus has predicted his death and resurrection for the third
time. He has just told the disciples—again—that he will be handed over to the
chief priest and put to death and will
rise again on the third day. And all James and John can think about is whether
Jesus will let them sit on his right and left hands—be his number two and number
three guy—when he goes to Jerusalem to become king. Haven’t they been
listening?
Of course, the other disciples haven’t been listening,
either. Mark tells us that they’re upset with James and John—not because James’
and John’s request is inappropriate—because they want to be first in the
kingdom themselves. The way Mark tells the story, the disciples never get it
right. Clearly they don’t today. So Jesus tells them: “Whoever wants to become
great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.” It’s the culmination of what we’ve been
hearing for the last month: the first shall be last, and the last shall be
first. So, let’s be honest, where are you in line? Who have you served lately?
Today is the first day of our God the Giver stewardship
campaign. We’ll spend the next six weeks acknowledging that God is the source
of the many gifts we enjoy as a community. And we’ll respond to those many
gifts by offering our time, talent, and treasure in gratitude. For the next six
Sundays, we’ll be highlighting some of our ministries, some of those good gifts
God has given us. Today, we begin by highlighting our Outreach ministry, the
ways in which we seek to serve the community around us. That’s appropriate,
given today’s Gospel. The fact is, it isn’t really a question of whether we
will serve. The question is who we will serve. Will we serve others or will we
serve ourselves? Will we reach out in generosity and bless others with the
blessings we have received or will we hoard them all for ourselves?
You can only do one of those and follow Jesus. Remember,
he’s just told us that he came not to be served, but to serve. The author of
Hebrews describes Jesus’ entire life as a form of service. In
the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud
cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was
heard because of his reverent submission. What prayers and intercessions did Jesus
offer up? Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing. The Son of Man came not to serve, but to
be served, even on the cross. For that is what Jesus did on the cross: he
interceded with God for the whole world. In everything he did, Jesus sought to
serve others, to give his life in service to others.
Now, I’m sure all of you know this by now, but I’m not Jesus.
None of you are Jesus, either. We are human. We are fallible. We are not going
to live lives of perfect service. But we can serve. We aren’t called to be
Jesus, but we are called to be like him, because the first will be last, and
the last will be first. Because you can’t take it with you. You can’t hoard
blessings, God’s good gifts, for yourself, at least not if you want to be
blessed by them. You have to give them away. You have to serve others.
We can’t always put other’s needs before our own. We’re
human. We have legitimate needs. But we can practice a habit of service. We can
pick up a hammer one weekend a month with Sandtown Habitat for Humanity. We can
sew one quilt for Project Linus. We can bake one casserole for Our Daily Bread.
We can put together one Thanksgiving basket for the Assistance Center of Towson
Churches. We can spend one morning serving lunches at Paul’s Place. We can help
one person learn about making a budget with Neighbor to Neighbor. We can reach
out to one person who needs a little boost through our Micro Lending Program. And
then, next week, we can do it again.
Being like Jesus means interceding with him for the whole
world. Being like Jesus means serving instead of being served. God has given us
all so many gifts. How are you being called today to give back?
Amen.
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