Proper 24
17 Oct 2021
When I was young, I wanted to have super powers. As I remember it, I thought that if I could beat every evil person in a fight, goodness would prevail in the end. I even prayed about it and for it. As you might have guessed, I did not turn into Wonder Woman or any other superhero. God was, I now know, a lot smarter than me. When I realized that I was just going to remain me, I decided to figure out another way to be a force for good in the world. I hope that, more or less, I have tried to be that force. While movies and TV shows would make you think that evil is defeated by either super human powers or by people with more weapons than the villains, I have come to believe all of it misses the point.
To a certain extent we are all motivated by Power, Pleasure, Profit, or Prestige. Who does not want to be seen in their best light? And less face it, most of us would rather have money than not. The reality of our leadership, whether in our families, our churches, our communities and businesses, or higher government, is all a dance between the four P’s. Or is it??
Jesus has just predicted his suffering, betrayal, and death. Literally in the paragraph before today’s reading begins. Mark says that his followers were afraid and that he took the twelve aside and made his prediction. Like any piece of shocking news, it seems the part about flogging and killing passed right over James and John and they just looked to the end game. I wonder what they were thinking when Jesus said he would rise again. Were they ignoring the suffering? Really, who would want to choose a life that entailed that kind of danger?
People who obtain power and who are leaders often find a crowd around them, especially when money is involved. We see it so often that it is easy to gloss over the stories of abuse of power by those who hold it and those who would like to hold it. It has been an allure since recorded history, and I would daresay even before. Stories abound about the lives of pharaohs and kings and emperors and queens, their rise and their inevitable fall. After all death is the common end for all of us.
When we baptize a child, or an adult, it is a time of joy in the Christian community. When we celebrate the Eucharist, drink the cup, it is also a time that brings us closer to God and to one another. And yet Jesus is saying today, “Beware; this is not what you think it is.”
What is placed in front of us is the vision of the leader who is a servant of all; one who will give his or her life for others. It is simply and plainly what we are called to do. Are you rich in material goods? Then it is likely the barrier that keeps you from eternal life. Do you want to be in control? Then that is your stumbling block.
I keep trying to imagine a world where the servant leader is the norm. My wife is a retired nursing home administrator. When she asked what the readings were for today, and what my as yet unwritten sermon was going to be, I said the Gospel reading was about Jesus’ idea of leadership. She said when she was an administrator she believed in the idea of the leader as one who looked out for everyone as best as they could and went on to give me examples of what she tried to do for her employees, many of whom where always one paycheck away from poverty.
What if we imagined a world where the main objective of the manager, the mayor, the governor, the president, and all the legislative bodies, were to ensure the wellbeing of everyone? The hungry fed, the naked clothed, the sick tended too, the foreigner welcomed. I believe in my heart of hearts that is what the Gospel is all about; it is not that all of us are the same, but that every life has worth and that no live is more valuable or important than any other.
We have been working at this kingdom of God thing for 2000 years and I do not see us any closer than when James and John asked their question. We still think we need to have power over and control of others; we still have hierarchies based on domination and submission. At this present moment I feel that the system of domination is becoming worse. It would be easy for me to call it a day and say that Jesus really failed in his mission. But I don’t and I won’t because in my baptism I was joined with him, and I remember that pledge each time we celebrate Eucharist. It’s real; far more real than becoming someone with superhuman powers.
If you think about it, you were given at your baptism all the power you need. It is called the Holy Spirit and, if you allow it to do what it is supposed to do, you will drink the cup and you will, in your own way, become a servant leader. Just beware that God is not the God of any nation or people, but the God of all of us.
So be faithful disciples and join the resistance.
Commentaires