Claiming the Power of Servanthood

Proper 24, Year B; Mark 10:35-45; St. Paul’s, Smithfield, NC – 10/21/2018

Jim Melnyk, “Claiming the Power of Servanthood”

Have you ever said something and, even before you finished your sentence, known you should have kept your mouth shut?  The last word hasn’t finished reverberating in the room and your brain says, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t said that!”  And then another part of your brain says, “Aw, what in the world were you thinking?”  But by the time you think it; it’s too late. 

James and John knew what it was like to make that mistake.

“Teacher,” they say to Jesus, “We want you to do whatever we ask of you.”  What a set up! Ever try that with your parents?  Jesus, much to his credit, responds, “What do you want me to do for you?”  I’m afraid I would have answered differently – I rarely respond so graciously to such manipulative questions.  Obviously, this incident of glory seeking doesn’t reflect well on the disciples James and John.  The Sons of Thunder, as they’re known about the region, come across with more of a selfish whine than a rumble on this one.  Worse than that, they don’t even realize what they’re asking of Jesus – in spite of all Jesus has been telling them since Peter had acclaimed him as the Christ.

Remember that ever since Peter’s confession, Jesus has tried to teach his disciples that the way of Messiah is sacrifice, not sovereignty; and that the deliverance to be sought was not so much freedom from Roman rule, but from the power of evil.  Jesus has been trying to point out that such a battle can’t be won by ladder climbing, power brokering, or the amassing of wealth.  The power of evil finds its ultimate defeat at the hands of faithful people serving one another with the compassion and love of God held firmly in their hearts, and the justice and mercy of God as the foundation of their souls. 

This kind of attitude by Jesus doesn’t seem to make sense to his disciples.  It’s one of the primary things that has Rome, Herod, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees both perplexed and anxious.  But then again, even knowing the story centuries later, actions that embody words like compassion, mercy, justice, and love still make little sense to those who seek status, authority, and power.  The goal we are taught from day one is to get ahead and to stay ahead.  We learn as kids in games like King of the Hill and Dodge Ball.  Flinch and they’ve got you.  “Don’t let them see you sweat!”  It’s the world’s M.O., and most of the world seems to have it down pretty pat.  We play to win…we play for keeps…take no prisoners…we’re number one!  It’s the American way.  At least that’s what Madison Avenue and much of Corporate America would have us believe.

“There’s nothing wrong with the question asked by James and John,” today’s Spin Doctors might say.  “Somebody’s got to sit at the side of Jesus, why not James and John?  Why not us?  Why not me?  They simply didn’t use the proper tact in asking – they just didn’t set the stage properly – they just miss-phrased their thoughts.”  And true, James and John, for all their fumbling, glory-seeking ambition, are faithful followers of Jesus.  They’ve stuck with him through the tough stuff as well as the good.  They just don’t always seem to get what Jesus is trying to teach them.

Three times to this point Jesus has talked about what lies ahead in Jerusalem – the cross and certain death.  It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to read the faces and body language of the religious and political power brokers of the day – they’re not exactly the leaders of the Jesus Fan Club.  Jesus has already told his disciples to let go of worldly understandings of greatness – remember the rich man from last week’s gospel?  Had James and John truly understood what Jesus had been saying all along, they would never have asked to be at his right and left hand – the places ultimately taken by two criminals who were crucified along with him.

Yet this is the one place in Mark’s gospel where Jesus lays his purpose out for all to understand – his words sound clear as a bell.  The Son of Man has come, “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  This is where discipleship and Christology meet.  These are the guts of what it means to follow Jesus.  This is the icon of God’s call to each of us.  Can we break with the world’s understanding of power and glory?  In fact it’s easy to imagine that Jesus saw both himself and Israel mirrored in the Isaiah passage about the Suffering Servant we just heard this morning.  Can we find our purpose and power in following Jesus – by living into and by the teachings of this One we call Christ? 

Henri Nouwen once wrote that ever since humanity’s eyes were opened in the garden, the people of God have been tempted to “choose power over love, control over the cross, being a leader over being led” (Christian Century, Oct. 8, 1997).  The church has never been immune to such temptation – and throughout history people who have claimed to be sitting at God’s right hand have orchestrated some of the world’s most dastardly and even deadly deeds. 

The problem, as I see it, stems from the alluring shine of worldly power over and against the simple beauty of servanthood.  Power, as the world sees it, is a bright, shiny bobble.  It glints and gleams in its own precious light and entices us to take it up and use it – often telling us such misuse now will ultimately empower us to do great good later.  You can fudge things a bit – or even fudge them a lot now, because your ultimate goal is good.  After all, hasn’t somebody said somewhere that the end always justifies the means?

Sound familiar?  It reminds me of the great Ring of Power in Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.  In his story, Tolkien tells of the alluring power carried by the Enemy’s One Ring – a power that can tempt even the greatest leaders of the free world to use it to save – and yet the One Ring has within it a power that would ultimately turn against them and corrupt their hearts to its evil purposes.  The Ring has a power that almost wins the day, as it seeks to control and abuse all that stand in the way of its dread Master.

Yet there is another power in Tolkien’s epic story.  Faithful people from many lands stand together against the Enemy’s assault – rejecting the power of the One Ring.  Together they claim the power of both friendship and servanthood.  Friendship and Servanthood both have a power that comes from one’s willingness to stand alongside one’s neighbor so that he or she might find honor and dignity, respect and peace, in the face of the world’s corruption.  Such power and authority has a quieter, alluring call of its own, and one must seek with courage to find its power coursing through one’s veins.  As the wizard Gandalf recounts, “It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.  Small acts of kindness and love” (The Hobbit, theatrical version of the story).

Where the world seeks power over others; the power of servanthood honors human dignity.  Where the world seeks to corrupt and control; the power of servanthood seeks to transform and make new.  Where the world seeks power over others, servanthood seeks power shared with one another.  Where the world builds barriers of all sorts, servanthood reaches out.

It might make us mindful of the work we do as a parish with Habitat for Humanity, where we team up to work side-by-side with a family, building their new home together – something we’ll have the opportunity to do twice in Selma in early in 2019.  We are called, as children of God and followers of Jesus, ever and always to embrace the transforming power of servanthood – making ourselves available to others in response to the One who laid down his life for us.

Jesus asks James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?”  We must ask ourselves, “Do we know what we’re claiming for ourselves when we take the name Christian?  Do we know what we’re truly asking for when we seek to follow Jesus?”  The cup, which we in essence drink, is the cup of servanthood – it’s the cup that awakens us to what it truly means to live our lives “in Christ.”  A cup that opens us to the transforming power of God’s love – and which ultimately calls us to see one another, and to see all our neighbors, as God’s beloved – and we, like Christ, are called to give our lives for the life of this world.  For we, the people of God, are each created in the very likeness of the Living God – and we are created not to be served but to serve – and to be Christ’s presence in this world.  Amen.