Be Not Afraid of Greatness

A sermon preached by
The Rev. Janice Ford
October 18, 2015
Mark 10:35-45
One of the biggest frustrations in America todayand one that I certainly shareis that
many of the individuals who have been elected to serve the country and protect the
Constitution, seem to have forgotten that they work for us. Prior to Election Day, we
hear a lot about what folks plan to do for the country, but more often than not, the
promises remain just promises that rarely come to fruition. The reason is that the
partisan nature of our political system allows groups to focus on ideology rather than on
service to our nation. Hence, the government gridlock we hear so much about. I think
we can agree that if average people did their jobs in that way, we would all be on the
unemployment line.
In spite of the fact that our government leaders are paid for their work, Americans
expect that the concept of service remains paramount in the exercise of their duties.
This line of thinking emerges from the very earliest days of our nations history when
men were asked to take on certain governmental duties in addition to whatever other
work they did. It was a sort of rotation of responsibility. People believed in the value of
their new found democracy, and they shared in the duty to preserve and protect it. I
fear we have deviated quite a bit from that original concept over the past 239 years.
Even the word service has morphed over the decades. As consumers, we tend to
focus on customer service, meaning, what we expect to receive from individuals or
companies to whom we pay money for a product or activity. Service that we do not pay
for is often relegated to charitable organizations like the Peace Corps, VISTA, religious
and other non-profits, etc. The concept of service in those instances is one of giving of
self or resources without expectation of payment or reward. This is exactly the kind of
service Jesus was referring to when he said, Whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all.
James and John were probably motivated to ask Jesus if they might sit one at your
right hand and one at your left, in your glory for several reasons. They were human,
after all, so perhaps there was a hope of individual recognition for their service to Jesus
ministry. They may have also wanted to show Jesus that they were intensely serious
about his ministry, to the point that they wanted to function as his lieutenants. They
may have also been so captivated by Jesus charisma that they wanted to be as close
to him as possible. Whatever the motivation, Jesus response was fitting. He could
have justifiably responded with the old adage, Be careful what you ask for. You just
may get it. Jesus knows what their future holds as his followers, so he warns them that
they will drink what he drinks and be baptized with his baptism, but that is where he
stops. He does not promise to grant their request because only his Father in heaven
can do so. They, and we, are left to wonder who will fill those sacred positions.

The remainder of this bit of Scripture is truly the focus of Jesus lesson. One does not
come into favor with God simply by asking for it. There is no hierarchy with God.
Rather, Jesus turned upside down everything the disciples know about the human way
of being in the world. No longer would position and power be given to those who simply
took it from the weak. In Jesus world, only those who are servant and slave to all are
truly first in Gods eyes. This revelation must have hit his disciples like a thunderbolt! It
was the complete opposite of their lived experience. As first century Jews, all theyd
ever known was that the powerful took what they wanted from the weak. The social
hierarchy was simple: there were the haves and the have nots. All anyone could
hope for was to have been born into the first category because there was little chance of
your life changing if you were born into the second. Now Jesus was offering them a
different kind view of greatness. This was greatness not of this world, but of the next. If
they served others in this life, they would be great in the next. Jesus demonstrated this
with his own life, and he expected it of his followers as well.
In the play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare wrote: Be not afraid of greatness:
some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon
them. I think that we, as Jesus followers, fit into all three situations of greatness. We
are born into greatness when we are baptized. We achieve greatness when we do
those things that make us worthy of our baptism, and we have greatness thrust upon us
when we enter Gods Kingdom at the end of our lives. So, our situation is not unlike
those who heard Jesus speak of greatness with their own ears. Our main concern is in
identifying when we face things that make us worthy of our baptism. In other words,
responding to the call to serve.
True service to others does not require payment of any kind. It does not expect
accolades or awards. Would any of us ask to be rewarded for caring for our children or
parents? It is that same kind of generous and loving spirit that God asks us to embrace
as his hands and heart in this world. Jesus said, Love one another as I have loved
you. This is what he expects of us as we live fully into our baptismal vows.
Last week I spoke about giving our resources in support of Gods work through this
parish. Now, I ask that we consider how we are providing service to Gods people.
Many folks say that their time is more valuable than their money. In this manic and
materialistic world in which we live, it is no wonder that people feel stressed and
stretched to the limit. Yet this is the world that WE created, and so we must take
responsibility for the negative results as well as the positive. Part of that responsibility is
carving out time to care for Gods church and its people. When we say we are too busy
for ministry, we are missing the point. We become like those political figures who have
forgotten that they are serving the people of this nation, and who have made position
power and authority an end in itself.
Let me be clear: for Christians, service to others is not optional. It is mandatory.
It is what God expects. Granted, each of us has a different level of ability to provide
service to others, but whatever that level is, we must achieve it. To do less is to be like
those who seek greatness over those whom God has commanded they serve. May
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God help us find the will to serve to the best of our ability, as well as the courage and
stamina to implement that service for others, no matter the cost or inconvenience.
Amen.