15th Sunday after Pentecost Mark 9: 30-37
Greatness Redefined
By: Vicar Doug Schmirler
Grace and peace be to you from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
As you begin to get to know me, it will not take long for you to find out I’m a big sports fanatic. I love to golf in the summer and curl in the winter. Having said this, I have to admit that my main claim to fame in the world of sports is that I consider myself to be a gifted arm chair athlete. There is nothing I like better than to sit in my easy chair, sip on a beverage, dive into a big bowl of popcorn or potato chips, and watch my favourite hockey, baseball or football team. Anyone who has been in the same room as me during these games will attest to the fact that it is not uncommon to see me jump out of my seat and yell at the top of my lungs when a great play has taken place. I can’t seem to help myself. I can really get caught up in the excitement of the surroundings. There is just something about the thrill of it all that gets my heart pumping. The thrill of competition can be all consuming.
In our gospel reading this morning the disciples appear to be in competition with one another. Thinking they are out of ear shot from Jesus they debate as to who, among them, is the greatest. We have been hearing Mark tell us, the past few weeks how the disciples seem to be climbing over one another to get to sit with Jesus. They appear to show no regard for anyone but themselves. By being in competition with one another they are more concerned with power and status than about trying to understand what Jesus is teaching them. Mark’s narrative in our text is intriguing because of the role played by the disciples. Called and commissioned by Jesus, given special instructions at various points in their association with Jesus, and privileged to share in intimate moments in His ministry, they always seem to draw negative press. They often say inappropriate things. They keep children away from Jesus. They are anxious when they should be sleeping and asleep when they should be anxious. Continually they misunderstand what Jesus is teaching and doing. When Jesus queried them about the argument, they were so embarrassed they had nothing to say. They may not have understood much, but they knew enough to realize that their argument over power and status was completely out of line with what Jesus had been talking about. It has to be one of the lowest points in the history of their relationship with Jesus. They are baffled and humiliated.
There can be little doubt that competition, power and status are synonymous in today’s society. Competition can bring out the best in people. Competition can give you the impetus to run faster, jump higher and throw longer. Competition can compel individuals to dress up in team colours and crazy costumes, sit in the stands and yell at the top of their lungs as they cheer and urge on the home team. Competition can fill you with a sense of pride and accomplishment in a performance well done.
Unfortunately, competition, power and status can also bring out the worst in people. I read an article in The Star Phoenix the other day that more than illustrates this point. The article indicated that a man had been charged in Ontario with assaulting his daughter after she was allegedly grabbed by the facemask as she stepped off the ice at a minor hockey tournament last Sunday. The story states that the father, as they left the rink, started shaking, yelling and screaming at the 10 year old girl because he felt she hadn’t played well enough. Fortunately the young girl did not require medical attention. It was later discovered that this family had actually to Canada moved from the United States so the child could play at a more competitive level of hockey.
Television, this summer, has been inundated with a number of reality shows. None was followed more closely, in this country, than Canadian Idol. Over 15,000 hopeful individuals auditioned five months ago for a chance at being great and popular as Canada sought out the best singing talent. The entire nation was swept up in this competition. The series of shows ended up being the most watched television series ever produced in Canada. It was a competition that was to be decided by Canadians who were to phone in each week to vote for their favourite performer. Each week one or more of the individual singers, the ones receiving the fewest number of votes, were kicked off the show. The last person standing was the winner and was sure to go on to better things. They were sure to be destined for greatness.
Human beings seem so concerned with keeping score. Our craving is for status. Just like the disciples, we all seek out a certain amount of greatness; a certain level of status in our lives and in our communities. It seems we all want to be well known for something. A popular TV commercial states that at Speedy you’re a somebody. I wonder if that means we’re nobody the rest of the time. Do we ever remember who finishes second in a championship? What does it take for a person to be considered great?
Jesus addresses this question as He continued to teach His disciples. Jesus begins his instruction by saying, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. He then goes on to use a little child to affirm His statement. To see the full benefit of this you need to understand something. Unlike our society, children were the least important people in ancient cultures. In fact, children actually had the status of slaves. People had children to serve them and provide financial security during their elderly years. And they had many children because the mortality rate for children under the age of 16 was 50 percent. Childhood was a precarious time in the ancient world. To serve someone as lowly as a child took an act of extreme humility. By using the child as an example Jesus seems to define greatness by contrasting the word great with the words nobody much. New categories are proposed for determining success and failure, winning and losing, achievement and unfulfillment. To teach the disciples about servant hood and discipleship Jesus actually reaches down to the nobody and announces that God’s kingdom is about a different kind of greatness. Jesus seems to be saying that greatness is about inclusiveness and being in community with one another. It is about welcoming and giving a voice to the silenced, the underprivileged and the outcasts. It is about giving a place to every person. It is about the one who wants to achieve greatness by being the servant to the lowly among you. Jesus is saying that it really isn’t about us. It’s about God’s grace as a free gift to all people.
God’s grace is first given to us in our baptism. As you know, it is our tradition to baptize infants. In this sacrament, the water and the word, empowered by the Holy Spirit, joins the child with the Christian community. In baptism we are made a child of God, and are welcomed as a fellow member of the body of Christ. Baptizing infants can remind us that children, who have done nothing to deserve a high place in life, are in fact already given the highest place in God’s world. Infant baptisms are really about God’s unearned and overflowing grace to all people.
God has promised to be with us always. It is a promise that was first given to Abraham and a promise reinforced with Moses and David. It is a promise that was sealed with Christ’s blood on the cross. Christ’s ultimate service to the lowly and the undeserving came to fruition when Jesus died on that cross. Jesus never looked to be called great. He even refused to be called good. Jesus only wanted to bring all of us into the presence of God; to fulfill the promise that God gave to all people and continues to give to those who believe in God’s name. Every time we are invited to the Lord’s Table to receive the body and blood of Christ we are reminded that God welcomes all to this feast. We are all invited to sit at the head of this special table. As Jesus welcomed that little child into His arms He redefines what it means to achieve greatness in the sight of God. We are challenged to be a welcoming presence for all of God’s people especially those we have often been taught to ignore. At the end of today’s service we will be invited to go and serve the Lord. As we reply “thanks be to God”, let us take that response and go into the community and serve our God with gladness. Let us reach out to welcome all into God’s presence knowing that the Lord will go with us in this life and beyond. Amen.