Year B
Mark 10:35-45
The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn
To Serve Christ’s Way
Have you ever watched the game show, Who Wants to be A Millionaire? If you are like me, when I know the answer and the contestant is not sure, I find myself almost yelling the answer at the TV and wondering how this person ever got to be in the “Hot Seat.” Of course, it’s much easier and a lot different when you are sitting in front of the TV and not sitting in the “Hot Seat” with cameras zooming in on you and everyone watching and waiting for your answer. Today, in the texts, Job, James, and John have been drawn into the “Hot Seat. They and the author of Hebrews, remind us that we too are drawn into the “Hot Seat” and are not uninvolved spectators to the scriptures drama and action.
From the moment of our baptism, we were drawn right into the “Hot Seat,” of which James and John in today’s gospel find themselves in when they ask Jesus if they could have seats of honor when he comes into his glory. The gospel reading today comes from a section of the gospel of Mark called “the way of the cross.” It is so named because the journey of Jesus described in chapters 8-10, of which we have been reading from for the last month, is a journey toward Jerusalem and the cross that awaits him there. It does seem that Jesus knew his foot was set firmly on this path and he attempts to instruct the disciples, who cannot truly understand, that the kingdom of God comes not through power but through suffering love.
Immediately, before the reading today, Jesus had said to the disciples” “We’re going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.” Instead of responding to what just Jesus said, James and John ask if they could be in positions of authority when he comes into power. When asked by Jesus; don’t you get it? James and John on the “Hot Seat,” profess that they are able to drink the cup that Jesus drinks and be baptized with Jesus’ baptism. Jesus agrees but refuses to grant their request for power and tells them that “whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave or servant of all.”
In a world where success is largely measured by outward signs such as what you earn or own, people need to know that success in God’s eyes is different than success in the world’s eyes. The pressure to succeed is felt by all of us from the oldest to the youngest. However, the gospel and the other texts today communicate a different message. We won’t find the success that gives us true joy from the world. We can only find lasting fulfillment and purpose by trusting in the power and authority of God to provide and are willing to share Christ’s cup and baptism in service to our neighbor.
The text from Job today highlights God’s power. God has allowed Satan to destroy all of what Job possesses and yet Job remains faithful. Job does plead with God to respond to the loss of his family, household, and property and today we hear God’s long awaited speech from Job’s many passionate pleas. In this whirlwind speech, God speaks poetically now asking the questions. This is God’s turn to put Job in the “Hot Seat” to cross examine him, and God’s questions speak to God’s creative power that is beyond Job. Job is to trust that things will work out in God’s good order of the creation. The bottom line here is that God is in charge and will provide for all of creation, including humanity. It may not always turn out as we want it to, like Job, but in the end God does attend to Job’s pleas as God does to ours.
The psalm today paints a picture of creation’s deep dependence on God. Using majestic images from nature, the psalmist praises the powerful God, Lord of everything on heaven and earth whom we serve and can trust to provide for our needs. God’s creative wisdom that the psalmist speaks about loves humanity so much that God came to earth in Christ and was willing to live as one of us and to die for us. The author of Hebrews reminds us that Christ’s service is the perfect sacrifice. Jesus is worthy to be the high priest of all Christians because he has suffered as humans continue to experience pain and discomfort. Through Christ, we are empowered to follow his example of obedience and service. Hebrews reminds us that we need Christ to help us to follow in our Lord’s path of service to the cross.
And Hebrews gives us advice on how to be a disciple and on how we are to do our ministry in the world with Jesus as our example where we work, live, and play. We are to deal gently with each other; constantly be in prayer; learn to trust God and be obedient, and refrain from seeking honor for our service. This was something James and John needed to learn. Imagine how those other apostles must have felt when they learned that James and John had asked for special places in the kingdom. Yet, some dangerous work lay ahead for the men and women who followed Jesus and the self-confidence they displayed would be necessary. That may be why Jesus didn’t scold them.
Oh, he firmly informed them that they had the wrong idea by pointing out that in the world leadership did involve power and rewards, whereas in the kingdom of God, the kingdom that Jesus came to inaugurate, the opposite would be true. It is in service that one is made important. And so far as we know from the scriptures, James and John kept the faith as they continued in their journey with Jesus and then after. Behind their self-confidence lay the qualities of character which would enable them to remain loyal to the Lord they would follow. Therefore verse 43 is the heart of this passage: whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant. Discipleship is serving rather than receiving privilege.
The only sort of power Jesus’ followers have to rule or judge others is the power to serve them, in his name and according to his example. We have full authority to give our lives in loving service to our neighbor. We have the absolute right to allow Jesus’ way of exerting power and authority to shape our lives, our decisions, and our actions. Is this practical in our world? Not at all! Does this play havoc with the normal routines of power, success, and authority? It certainly does! Most people don’t get it but God willing, many will, including us. What it means, is that we’re always going to be in the “Hot Seat” of our Lord’s devising. Humble service, self-giving love, and forgiving again and again…definitely the “Hot Seat”!
Jesus’ way of power will always be shaped by a cross until he returns at the Last Day. And the question he is forever asking us is, “Do you get it? Do you get how I do things? Your life is also to be shaped by this cross and a Roman soldier “got it” in the moment of Jesus’ apparent defeat. Seeing the way in which Jesus died, he exclaimed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” The Kingdom of God is at hand! Believe the Good News and go live your lives as if “you get it” in thankfulness to God’s goodness, to love and serve the Lord. We may not always have all the right answers or get everything we want while in the “Hot Seat” but we can certainly give it our best and thank God for the rest.