So You Want to Be Great?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
September 23, 2012
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Mark 9:30-37
“So You Want to Be Great?”

            Jesus is going to die.  This is probably as much as the disciples truly understand.  Jesus is going to leave, so a succession plan is in order.  Our future and the future of the movement are important so we need to plan.  The key question in all this is who is going to take Jesus’ place.  Or at least who is going to lead us when Jesus is gone.  And that is where the trouble starts. 

            Who is going to be in charge?  Well, Peter, James and John went with Jesus up to the Mountain.  It was these three that Jesus entrusted with the opportunity to see Elijah and Moses, and to hear the voice of God.  But among these three who is the logical choice?  Peter seems to always take the lead but often messes things up.  And if it were not for Andrew, Peter would never have met Jesus.  And before long you begin to hear each one of them making a case for their ascendency to leadership.  And this was all very important and serious business which needed their attention.  However, it devolved into an argument about who was worthy to take over when Jesus was gone.

            The disciples have finally put together that there is a problem.  And they compound the problem by addressing it before they fully understand and can even name the issue.  They think the problem is succession when the problem is about priorities and ministries.  The problems of the church are never really about power and control.  The problems in church are always, always, always based in a misunderstanding of priorities and mission.  Instead of worrying about gaining power or controlling the outcome of whatever is the most recent power struggle, Jesus’ followers are supposed to be focused on imitating Jesus.  It is a perennial problem for the followers of Jesus. 

From the congregation throughout our denomination and in every flavor of Jesus’ church we are still struggling with the same issue.  There are more arguments over who is worthy to lead.  We still argue about the arrangement of power.  Sometimes is it out front, but more often than not it is in the subtle ways we try to assert our control over others and the church.  This pride and hubris is alive and well.  The followers of Jesus – in every age – give lip service to mission while using vast resources on institutional arrangements and who is going to have the last word about how the money is used.  But the good news is that Jesus doesn’t beat us up and tell us what fools we are. 

With a question, Jesus reveals our foolishness, our egotistical nature, and our misguided energy.  So, what were you are talking about?  What is that discussion that was taking so much of your energy?  The silence of the disciples speaks volumes.  It is as if they received their wake up call.  Jesus did not need to tell them what they were doing was foolish.  All they needed was a little nudge, a reminder that the energy about [fill in the gap with your favorite argument] was a foolish waste of time.  But Jesus, like any good teacher, does not end there. 

Jesus recognizes that this is a teachable moment.  This is the time to drive home something truly radical for the disciples.  Whether they fully grasp what Jesus does next is another story all together but that does not stop him from teaching.  Using a live prop, Jesus says, welcoming a child is the same thing as welcoming God.  We know this story.  It is why we spend so much energy making sure there are events and activities for children.  But in doing so we have actually missed what Jesus was after.  It is not that we should not do these things.  It is that Jesus was after something even bigger than children.

In the ancient world children did not have the same social status as they do today.  In the ancient world children were lower in the social strata than slaves.  Slaves had a more prominent place than children.  Until they were of the age of majority they were non-entities.  So when Jesus picks up someone lower than a slave and says welcoming them is welcoming me… he is going way deeper than whether there is money in the budget for children’s programming. 

When Jesus says “welcome” he is saying that the disciples should treat those at the bottom as though they were equal or of greater status than themselves.  The normal social behavior in the ancient world dictated that you would only offer hospitality to those of equal or greater social status.  So Jesus is saying in these moments that we are supposed to throw the whole social structure on its head. 

In other words, God could care less about our arguments about who is worthy enough to be a leader in the church.  God could care less about our political games and attempts to control.  God could care less about how much money we have or don’t have.  What God cares about is how we are treating those who are truly at the bottom of the social structure.  In God’s world the poor are not victims to be scapegoated nor are they to be used for political power.  How we treat them is how we are treating Jesus. 

What were you discussing on the road?  Where are you spending your energy?  It is time we hear that question again.  Where do we need to hear that question?  Where do you need to hear that question?  The truth is that it is all about welcoming the powerless.  It is about turning the world upside down.  Those at the bottom will be brought up… there is a reckoning coming.  So what are we to do in the mean time?  The disciples of Jesus are called to live that reality right now.  Welcome the children… and anyone else who does not receive a welcome by the world.  Amen?  Amen!