10/20/2024 ~ Proper 24 ~ Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time~ Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost ~ Job 38:1-7, (34-41); Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c; Isaiah 53:4-12; Psalm 91:9-16; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/1022244857
EXPERIENTIAL YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ekcbroadcast2982/streams

Service

“Anyone among you who wishes to aspire to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. The Promised One has come not to be served but to serve—….” — Mark 10:43a-45. [1]

I’m going offer two stories about my family. I have mentioned some of this narrative before but not framed it exactly this way. I do, however, need to offer a piece of background information. I am the first of three children. My brother is 14 months younger, my sister 4 years younger.

When I was 35, shortly before my mother died— and she knew she was dying— we had a conversation which I think was cathartic for her. She felt she had to say this to someone. In that chat my mother described her three children in this way.

She labeled me, her firstborn, as her experiment. The lone child of a single mother, she had not seen another child being raised, so I was her experiment. She said my brother, the second child, was her baby; my sister, the third born— her enjoyment.

I am not saying these descriptions were good or healthy. I think she was trying to explain how she related to us as individuals and these words illustrated how much she loved each of us differently, separately, deeply. (Slight pause.)

Next, when I was five or so my father had what they called in the early 1950s a nervous breakdown. Today we would have been identified it as the onset of a mental illness known as Passive Dependency or Passive Aggression. As can be the case with mental illness, he remained functional in society but was clearly hurting.

One consequence was, as the oldest male in the family in this very different era, the 50s, family members looked to me or at least invested me with and groomed me for a leadership role. I could tell tales throughout my teen years about what that looked like but suffice it to say that my mother chose to have that conversation with me really illustrates my place in this family structure.

However, my particular place in that family structure is not the point. I am offering these stories to illustrate two aspects of family dynamics, not the dynamics in just my family but in any family.

One aspect of these dynamics could be labeled as relationship— that story about my mother. A second aspect of these dynamics could be labeled as structure, the story about my father and leadership. Relationship and structure are present in all families. In fact, relationship and structure are present in any organization, in any church.

That opens this question. “Which will be the driving force in any family, in any institution, in any church— relationship or structure?” (Slight pause.)

This is what we hear in the work known as Mark. “Anyone among you who wishes to aspire to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. The Promised One has come not to be served but to serve—….” (Slight pause.)

There are three scenes in this reading. First, there is the request of James and John for prominence. Then there is the anger expressed by other disciples at this audacious request. Last we have what Jesus says. (Quote:) “Anyone among you who wishes to aspire to greatness must serve the rest;….”

Please note, Jesus does not rebuke the brothers. We might want to— not Jesus. Jesus confronts them with reality.

And then there is the anger on the part of the other disciples. This likely reflects jealousy rather than indignation— jealousy about the proposed structure.

Again, Jesus resists administering a rebuke. Jesus instead uses the pagan authorities as models of how to not exercise leadership. So Jesus does it again: confronts with reality.

You see, the criteria for leadership is not the effectiveness of structure, who gets the job done the quickest, who has the better program, at which place you sit. Rather, in the Dominion of God we are called to be faithful. We are called to service.

The text even indicates this kind of faithfulness is a style of leadership, a style which runs counter to the prevailing wisdom of that day and the prevailing wisdom of today since effectiveness, speed, programs are highly valued. This idea may not make much sense to those who treasure effectiveness, speed, programs.

We also need to realize what effectiveness, speed, programs all consider: the bottom line is paramount. But as Christians we need to realize effectiveness, speed, programs go no further than a bottom line kind of thinking.

In the Dominion of God what is vital, central is the needs of people and how service can be rendered to meet those needs. In short, priority is given to interactions with others— relationships. (Slight pause.)

I want to go back to the discussion about my family. Clearly there was structure. But the problem with that structure was not even the fact that when I was young the family turned to me.

The problem with that structure is my family was not looking for structure or even looking for a leader. The problem of any structure which does not rely on relationship is it’s a structure which is simply in search of a fix, trying to find someone to fix things, a structure in search of a hero.

Let me substitute a theological word for hero. To be searching for a hero, searching for someone to fix things, is to be looking for… a savior. Jesus does not have a hero complex. In fact what makes Jesus Savior is a willingness to be a servant.

We call Jesus Savior because of the willingness displayed by the Christ to concentrate on relationships, explore relationships, be in relationships, a willingness to say we need to support one another. The reason we call Jesus Savior is because of the willingness displayed by the Christ to not be served but to serve. (Slight pause.)

One more observation. Did James and John or even all the disciples completely miss the point of the preaching of Jesus or the actions of Jesus? Did they completely miss the point when Jesus blessed the children who seemed a nuisance, miss the point Jesus made when Jesus spoke with the rich man about clinging to possessions?

My answer is ‘no,’ they did not miss the point. Rather, they willfully ignored the point. Why? You see, they were human. And yes, we are human.

We are imperfect and in our imperfection we believe structure and the rules related with structure will be or at least can be a perfect solution. The very thought of structure, rules gives us great comfort. Why? We assume structure and rules will be a solution for everything.

And we, therefore, do seek the comfort of structure and rules rather than what is often a haphazardness found in relationship. But relationship is what Jesus relies on.

Relationship is what Jesus teaches and acts out, a relationship with God and others. And you know what that is— that relationship with God and others? Yes— it’s that word you’ve already heard me use a lot: covenant. Covenant is about relationship. Amen.

10/20/2024
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “As you may be aware this church does have a committee working on revised by-laws. Despite what I said earlier, that’s not bad. We are human. Some structure is a human necessity. But there is an overriding human necessity. We are called to be one body in Christ, acting both individually and in groups, inspired by the Holy Spirit, infused with mutual trust. So that covenant stuff— love God love neighbor. It also means trust God, trust neighbor. After all, can there be love without trust?”

BENEDICTION: There is a cost and there is a joy in discipleship. There is a cost and there is a joy in truly being church, in deeply loving one another. May the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.

[1] This was the Gospel reading and the translation used.

Mark 10:35-45 [ILV] ~ INTRODUCTION: The Gospel makes a point like this quite often, so the sentiment addressed by this passage was probably a truth found in the communities of the early church: any kind of power structure was not welcome. Hear now this reading from the Gospel we have come to know as Mark’s.

[35] The Children of Zebedee, James and John, approached Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to grant our request.”

[36] “What is it?” Jesus asked.

[37] They replied, “Grant to us that we sit next to you, one at your right and one at your left, when you come into your glory.”

[38] But Jesus told them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I will drink or be baptized in the same baptism with which I am baptized?”

[39] “We can,” they replied.

Jesus said in response, “The cup I drink you will drink; and the baptism with which I am baptized, you will share; [40] but as for sitting at my right or at my left, that is not mine to grant; it is for those for whom it has been reserved.”

[41] The other ten, on hearing about this, began to be indignant with James and John.

[42] So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that among the Gentiles, those whom exercise authority, those who are domineering and arrogant, those who are perceived to be ‘great ones,’ they know how to make their own importance felt. [43] But it cannot be like that with you. Anyone among you who wishes to aspire to greatness must serve the rest; [44] whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. [45] The Promised One has come not to be served but to serve— to give one life in ransom for the many.”