James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we
have something we want you to do for us.”
“What is it? I’ll see what I can do.”
“Arrange it,” they said, “so that we
will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your
right, the other at your left.”
Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you
capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about
to be plunged into?”
“Sure,” they said. “Why not?”
Jesus said, “Come to think of it,
you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. But as to
awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements
for that.”
When
the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James
and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how
godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a
little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way
with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be
first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He
came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for
many who are held hostage.”
This week, I posted on Facebook a photo of myself and a
friend, at the big preaching festival in Denver last May. Diana Butler Bass has
written several books including “Christianity for the Rest of Us”, and
"Christianity After Religion". Her latest book, called “Grounded: Finding God in the World; A Spiritual Revolution" is also now in print, and Diana is out on the road, speaking about the process of writing this book, which is
completely different than anything else she has done before. And there we are
in the photo, arms around each other – me noting that I am being a Diana
Groupie, and letting a little of the shine from her rub off.
Two days prior I also posted a photo of Rev. Michael Curry,
another friend who I met at the preaching festival – who is now Archbishop
Michael Curry, and is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the
United States. Hoping a little of that shine will rub off too.
We all like to have a little of the shine rub off from
others, don’t we? If they are famous, well-known, admired, powerful. Wealthy –
don’t we want to just kind of slide in there and bask in the glow, and maybe
even get a place on one side or the other? I am proud of Diana and excited for
this next step in her career – she is a wonderful thoughtful writer; I am proud
of Michael Curry, the first black Presiding Bishop ever. And that’s good.
There’s a fabulous scene in the movie “Elf”, where the Elf
spots Santa, and starts hopping up and down, shrieking “I know him!!!! I know
him!!! There’s a little of that in each one of us, isn’t there? Be honest, don’t
we love to say we know someone? I do – I love them as friends, and I love that
I’ve been able to get to know them – and sometimes isn’t there a little of that
“Neener –neener” one-upmanship attached to it as well? We are human , and
humans generally like to be associated with, or rub elbows with, someone who is
well-known. Get a little of that shine.
Well, let’s look a little closer at this picture. The disciples have
been on the road, probably for several days. If we read the Gospel of Luke we learn
that there were women travelling with them, so it isn’t just thirteen guys
doing this trip – it’s a whole tribe. The women are tired, the kids are
grizzling, they can’t go very fast. It’s hot and dusty, and after awhile
everything on the road looks the same. They have interrupted their lives to
follow Jesus – James and John essentially left Zebedee, their father, holding
the business together while they were gone.
Jesus has already told the disciples twice before what will
happen to him. Mark 8 – Jesus had just finished feeding almost ten thousand
people. He was very specific about being arrested and killed, but that he would
rise again after three days. Peter protested, tried to get him to be quiet.
Jesus responded by telling Peter to get out of his way, and said “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let
me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from
suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-sacrifice is my
way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything
you want and lose the real you?”
The second time Jesus spoke about his death was right after
the transfiguration. First, the disciples have wanted to stay on the
mountaintop, and hang on to the moment, a little of that shine. When they get down from the mountain
and back on the road, they start to argue about who is the greatest. Jesus says
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” That’s
Chapter 9 of Mark.
So here is Jesus in Chapter 10 explaining it to them all
over again. How many times does he have to say it? James and John go off into a
huddle, and then come back with a question for Jesus: “Will you give us what we
ask?” “What do you want me to do for you?” he says.
Well, they want to know if Jesus can arrange it so they sit
on his right and left when he comes into his glory. And when the other ten hear
about it, they are really angry at James and John, and an argument ensues – and
Jesus has to get in the middle of this free for all and get them to shut up. He
asks them “Can you go where I am going, drink the cup I am about to drink.” –
and like smarmy kids who think they can do everything anyone else can do, they
respond “Sure, why not? Yep, oh yeah, Jesus, we are SO up for that. You betcha.”
They don’t get it. This is the third time around, and they
still haven’t got it. It’s almost like they’re the fumbling, bumbling Keystone
cops who just can’t get anything right. Two request the places of honour, and
somehow haven’t got the point that the place of honour is a cross, and the
right and left are also crosses.
Now, historically the Jews were anticipating two Messiahs –
a great military messiah who would bring about a revolution which would push
the Roman oppressors out, the other a spiritual messiah. It’s possible that
James and John really thought Jesus was to be the great military one, who would
use his incredible power to overcome the Romans – and of course, when he came
into his glory, they’d be right there rubbing shoulders and picking up some
shine.
But Mark paints them as just not that bright. They just honestly
didn’t get it. They didn’t really listen. Jesus has practically hit them over
the head with talk of his coming death, and they just don’t get it. Like most
humans, they’re hung up on earthly power, and try to get in ahead of everyone
else, which causes serious divisions.
I can visualise Jesus doing a quiet face-palm, a couple of
heavy sighs, and then patiently beginning to explain again. He points out that
for those who are not Jewish (and I suspect even those who are) tend to allow
those whom they recognize as their rulers to be a tyrant over them. And then
goes on to say that among those who follow his way, whoever wants to become
great must be a servant, and whoever wishes to be first must be slave of all.
Biblical scholars tell us that of the four Gospels, the
writer of Mark tended to paint the disciples as slow on the uptake, - for Mark,
they just weren’t very quick to see what is made painfully obvious to the
reader.
John Calvin spoke of the “bright mirror of vanity” in this text
and notes that even with an honest commitment there is the pitfall of ambition.
These are human issues which are as old as time - those who would lead often
begin to seek their own benefit and glory rather than the benefit of others –
and the corollary to that is that those around them want to set themselves up
in line for some of the ‘shine’ accorded the leaders. “Wherever we look,
whether in government, academia, business or the church, we face the problem of
how to align the interests of the leaders with the interests of followers, and
an overall mission.”
Mark really does address the issue of disciples, followers,
people who say they are committed, putting themselves first, over against Jesus’
comments that the last will be first, and those who fall into thinking they are
first, will be last. Jesus goes further and says that in order to become great,
one has to give up everything and become as a servant to others. There’s no
other way. And they don’t get it. We can’t become great by rubbing shoulders
with great people, and picking up a little shine here and there. Once we put
ourselves and our own interests first, we’ve lost the way of Jesus. Yet often
we don’t get it either; or we get it, but learn to rationalise what is wrong,
and our own self-interests. Jesus is saying that true transformation happens
through being a servant, not a lord. Jesus is the model of wholeness we are
called to follow, and through following that model we become the servants.
Following Jesus, even in unorthodox ways, leads to transformation and
wholeness. So we accept our human-ness, our propensity to get distracted by the
shine from others, and we continue to strive to be transformed. May it be so.
Sources:
1.
“Right and Left” a sermon on Mark
10:35-45 by Christina Berry, First Presbyterian Church , Sterling, Illinois.
2.
John Calvin, quoted in ‘Feasting on
the Word’ commentary on the texts, James J. Thompson, C. Clifton Black, David
Howell.
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