Illustrations, Quotes and Lectionary Reflections
by Various Authors

The Measure of Greatness
Sermon Starter

Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. 
Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list 
to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: 
let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, 
and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man 
seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a glowing appraisal 
of William MacElvaney that he was selected President of St. Paul's School of Theology. 

Somebody on that search committee understood, in a flash of genius, that those who live close 
to Christ become so secure in his love that they no longer relate to other people according 
to rank or power or money or prestige. They treat janitors and governors with equal dignity. 
They regard everybody as a VIP. Children seem to do this intuitively; adult Christians have to relearn it. 

It is a telling little peace of scripture in verse 32: "But they did not understand." 
That's a picture that can be hung in the halls of the museum of mankind. 
When confronted by true greatness, we simply do not see it. That's what happens to the disciples. 
One day Jesus is passing through Galilee with his disciples. We are told 
that he did not want anyone in the area to know where they were? Why is that? 
Because, he had something important to tell them. It was a strategic part of his plan. 
"The Son of Man" he explains, "is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 
They will kill him," now listen to what he says here, "and after three days he will rise." 
There it was. The whole plan laid out before them. The crucifixion and the resurrection. 
They should have been curious. They should have asked questions. 
They could have seen the significance. But the best they could muster up 
was a blank stare and silence. They could not understand it 
because it did not meet the measure of greatness./ 

How do we grow to the point that we stop measuring people by their successes 
and start regarding people for their service, for their sacrifices? What is greatness in the kingdom of God? 

 Greatness Is Hardly Ever Recognized. 
 Greatness Is Never About Promotion. 
 Greatness Is Found In Service To All.




"John Pilch is helpful once again in shedding light on the customs  
and culture reflected in Jesus' actions and words. A child in our  
culture is much valued and is put first in our priorities (at least,  
we say so, regardless of the number of children in poverty). In the  
time of Jesus, a child was lowest on the priority list (no "women and  
children first" here). Even in medieval times, Mediterranean cultures  
put a low value on children; "Thomas Aquinas taught that in a raging  
fire a husband was obliged to save his father first, then his mother,  
next his wife, and last of all his young child" (The Cultural World  
of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle B). This is the reverse of our  
order today in Western culture, so it's easy for us to sentimentalize  
the action of Jesus in picking up a small child and exhorting his  
followers to welcome "one such child" in his name as a way to welcome  
him. Instead, we might hear it as a radical command, an upsetting one  
even. What? Welcome someone who doesn't have the power or ability or  
place to welcome us in turn? No reciprocity?"

Who could we use as an example from our cultural context of what  
Jesus is saying? What came to me is: a group of powerful leaders of  
industry and politics were meeting with Jesus and discussing who was  
the best leader and most powerful among them all - Jesus looks to the  
illegal immigrant cleaning person who is emptying the trash - and  
says -----



I wonder if their conversation might have sounded like this:

"Why does he keep saying that?  He knows the Messiah won't die-he'll
establish his kingdom here, throw out the Romans, and rule forever."

"Beats me.  Maybe he's slipping."

"Remember when he said this to us before," Peter might say, "and I tried to
help him understand what it really meant to be the Messiah-and he called me
Satan!  There's no way I'd ask him about it again after that."

"What if something does happen to him?  I suppose one of us will have to
take over as the leader, and keep this thing going."

"Yeah, but which one?"

And then maybe they fell silent, imagining what it would be like on that
last day, Jesus placing his hands on the chosen successor's head-and, of
course, each one thought it would be him who got the nod.

Then the conversation would resume.

"It sure couldn't be Peter.  He's too much of a loose cannon, always
speaking before he thinks."

Peter might answer, "But I'm the only one who knew he was the Messiah
without him telling us.  And I'm one of the few he had up on the mountain
with him that one day when Moses and Elijah showed up."

And John might chime in, "Well, James and I were there too on that day.  I
bet he'd pick one of us."

Then James might turn to his brother and say, "Well, it would have to be me,
not you, because you're too young to be in charge."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

And maybe Judas would interrupt this argument before it turned physical,
saying, "Well, you guys are all hicks from Galilee.  I think Jesus would
pick someone a little bit more sophisticated, someone who could relate
better to people in Jerusalem."

"So I suppose you think you'd get to be the leader, then, Judas," Thomas
might chime in.  "You're the only Judean.  But why would Jesus think a
Judean was better than someone from Galilee?  Remember that he's a Galilean
too!"

Then Matthew might jump in.  "I think he'd pick someone who's financially
secure, who maybe could support all of us.  Running all over creation
teaching people takes money, you know.  And I've got more money than any of
you."

"Well," Peter might say.  "I think your past would probably come back to
haunt you.  There's no way the Pharisees would listen to a former tax
collector.  As far as they're concerned, you're still a filthy
collaborator."

Now, I don't know how long this argument might have gone on, with each of
the twelve giving their reason why he should be the leader, and each one of
them getting shot down by someone else, but you get the idea.  Maybe it went
on until they got home, as Jesus walked ahead of them a few paces, and they
all figured he was lost in his own thoughts, or even in prayer, and
probably-hopefully!-not listening to them.  Because they must have known
somewhere in their heart of hearts how ridiculous the argument was.

But no such luck.  When they got home, Jesus asked, seemingly innocently,
"What were you guys talking about?"  I remember my mom asking similar
innocent questions when I was a kid and doing something I shouldn't have
been doing-and knowing full well she knew the answer before she asked.

Sharla Hulsey
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Sac City, Iowa  USA
e-mail: revsharkie@mchsi.com
website: http://godsightings.blogspot.com



David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, 
and eastern Pennsylvania. He was born in Connecticut in 1718 and died of tuberculosis 
at the age of 29 in 1747. Jonathan Edwards preached the funeral sermon 
and published the diary that David kept.

In his diary, David wrote: "It is impossible for any rational creature to be happy 
without acting all for God. God Himself could not make him happy any other way... 
There is nothing in the world worth living for but doing good and finishing God's work, 
doing the work that Christ did. I see nothing else in the world that can yield any satisfaction 
besides living to God, pleasing him, and doing his whole will."

Brainerd once said to Jonathan Edwards: "I do not go to heaven to be advanced 
but to give honor to God. It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, 
whether I have a high seat or a low seat there. My heaven is to please God and glorify Him, 
and give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His glory."



Craddock and Boring in the People’s New Testament Commentary suggest the significance of children 
in this story is that they’re without entitlement. To be like a child is to deserve nothing 
and receive it anyway. Whoever welcomes one who’s not entitled, then, reflects the kingdom  of God



Passing by the Children

A persistent judgment leveled against parents today is this: they gladly provide their children 
with every resource: Leaders, coaches, teachers, tutors, and youth workers. 
Certainly children should be happy and well-adjusted. They have everything money can buy. 
But they do not have the listening ear of Mom and Dad. "Too busy, later, not now, 
I'm working hard for your good." Recall the old saying:

"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for the want of a shoe the horse was lost;
for the want of a horse the rider was lost;
for the want of the rider the battle was lost."

It is still true. For want of a quiet, caring intimacy, a child's primary sense of self-worth is lost. 
And for want of security and self-worth, the child is lost. In most churches I've known, 
members find it quite easy to pass a youth by; they are more timid to engage a child 
than a stranger in conversation. Frequently, when youth are on committees, 
little sensitivity is expressed toward making them comfortable and enabling them to contribute.

(by Thomas Peterson from The Needle's Eye, CSS Publishing Company)



Something Which Time Cannot Efface

Life is a matter of building. Each of us has the opportunity to build something -- 
a secure family, a good reputation, a career, a relationship to God. But some of those things 
can disappear almost overnight due to financial losses, natural disasters and other unforeseen difficulties.

What are we to do? Daniel Webster offered excellent advice, saying, "If we work on marble it will perish. 
If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. 
But if we work on men's immortal minds, if we imbue them with high principles, 
with just fear of God and love of their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something 
which time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity.

(from Morning Glory)



Teaching

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. 
The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

(by William A. Ward)



Carry Someone with You

There was a tribe of Indians who lived a long time ago in the state of Mississippi. 
They lived next to a very swift and dangerous river. The current was so strong 
that if somebody happened to fall in or stumbled into it they could be swept away downstream.

One day the tribe was attacked by a hostile group of settlers. They found themselves 
with their backs against the river. They were greatly outnumbered and their only chance 
for escape was to cross the rushing river. They huddled together and those who were strong 
picked up the weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick, 
the old and the infirm, those who were ill or wounded were carried on the backs of those 
who were strongest. They waded out into the river, and to their surprise they discovered 
that the weight on their shoulders carrying the least and the lowest helped them 
to keep their footing and to make it safely across the river.

Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, 
about leadership. He is saying to them and to us, "Have you lost the childlike joy and love 
and faith that once were yours?" He is also saying to them and to us, 
"If you want to walk on secure ground in this world it helps to carry someone with you."

(by King Duncan from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



Mastering the Virtue of Humility

"What do you think of the candidates?" That's what a reporter for a news magazine 
asked a young woman at Dartmouth University after a debate among presidential hopefuls. 
She didn't say a word about their positions on the issues or their skill at debate. 
She simply remarked, "None of them seems to have any humility."

Benjamin Franklin, the early American statesman, made a list of character qualities 
that he wanted to develop in his own life. When he mastered one virtue, 
he went on to the next. He did pretty well, he said, until he got to humility. 
Every time he thought he was making significant progress, 
he would be so pleased with himself that he became proud.

Humility is an elusive virtue. Even Jesus' disciples struggled with it. 
When Jesus learned that they had been arguing about who was the greatest, 
He responded, "If anyone desires to be first, he should be last of all and servant of all" 
(Mk. 9:35). Then He took a little child in His arms and indicated 
that we need to humbly serve others as if we were serving Christ.

If a news reporter were to talk to our friends, neighbors, or fellow church members 
and ask them to describe us, would they use the word humble?

(from Our Daily Bread)



Clothed with Humility

The word "humility" means literally a low estimate of self. But this does not imply self-deprecation. 
When you hear someone deprecating himself, usually you can put it down as a sort of counterfeit humility. 
Someone has said, "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, 
but to stand at your full height before some higher nature that will show you 
how small your greatness is." "Walk humbly with thy God." Here is where we learn true humility. 
Walking with God, seeing ourselves by the side of His greatness, we see how little we are. 
And seeing how little we are is the first step toward becoming what we can and ought to be.

We never become truly great, we never do our best work until we are "clothed with humility"; 
until, like our Lord and Savior, we are willing to live to serve others. 
 
(by John R. Gunn in Facing Life)



The Ambitious Disciples

Jesus and his disciples were coming to the town of Capernaum. As they entered the house 
where they would be staying, he asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 
But they kept quiet, says the writer of Mark’s Gospel, because on the way they had argued about 
who was number one among them.

So, the disciples were human just like you and I are human. Who doesn’t want to stand out? 
Some of the greatest people who have ever lived were also among the most ambitious.

It is said that Michelangelo prayed: “Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.”

Abraham Lincoln often said to himself as a boy studying by the pine log fire at night: 
“I will study and get ready and perhaps my chance will come.” And, indeed, it did come.

Having an African-American president reminds us of other people of color who have succeeded 
against even greater odds. They, too, were driven to succeed.

Who can help but be impressed by the accomplishments, for example, of George Washington Carver? 
Carver was born to an African slave mother. He never knew his father. 
But he wanted to make a difference in the world, and he did! Carver became one 
of the greatest scientists in American history.

The disciples were human beings. They wanted their names to be in lights just as you and I 
want to stand out from our peers. There is nothing wrong with that as long it does not cause us 
to mistreat others or betray our values. My guess is Jesus wanted them to be ambitious 
because ambitious people get things done. He just wanted them to be ambitious in the right way.

(by King Duncan from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



He that is down needs fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride:
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.

(from the Song of the Shepherd Boy, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan)



Shortly after some physicians departed from Jim's (not his real name) room, 
I entered unaware of the purpose of their visit. It became rapidly evident. Jim was alone, alert, 
and sitting up speechless. He had been existentially blindsided and was reeling as he was told 
that no other restorative treatments were available to halt his aggressively terminal cancer. 
The physicians told him he would probably die in less than three months. 
The longer I serve as a chaplain the more I sense we instinctively repress this kind of information 
rather than deny it. We can't take it in and understand it. When the disciples did not understand 
what Jesus was saying and were afraid to ask him, I sense they had no choice 
but to speechlessly repress it. Before leaving Jim we prayed Psalm 40: that God lift him 
from his pit and put a new song in his mouth.



Big Men in Little Planes

There is an interesting story that comes out of the Second World War. England and Germany 
both had state-of-the-art fighter planes. Germany had the Messerschmitt, which was considered 
to be the world's fastest fighter plane. The British had the Supermarine Spitfire. 
The Spitfire was slower than the Messerschmitt. Nevertheless, German pilots were envious of their British counterparts.

You see, the Messerschmitt had been designed to hold the perfect German. Who was the perfect German? 
Who else but Der Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. Hitler was little more than five feet tall. However, 
the German pilots who guided the Messerschmitt were considerably taller than 5 feet. 
So the Germans had to fly in very cramped quarters. But who was going to tell Adolf Hitler 
that he was not the perfect German? The Messerschmitts were faster, but their pilots were not happy men.

It is an amazing fact, but many leaders fail because of big egos. Big men in little planes. Big egos in little men. 
"Pride goeth before a fall," says the ancient adage. And it's true.

(by King Duncan, www.Sermons.com)