"Servants of the Servant"    Judy Skaggs

Mark 10:32-45

Our gospel lesson this morning is the third time in Mark’s account that Jesus predicts his suffering and death to his disciples. In Mark chapters 8, 9 and 10, Jesus tells them of his rejection and of his death and resurrection. All three times the twelve misunderstand. And all three times Jesus teaches them about what true discipleship means. These three scenes are placed at the heart of Mark’s gospel. Let us listen carefully to how the spirit might be speaking to us this morning. Read Mark 10:32-45.

As we hear James and John come forward and make a request of Jesus, we may wonder at their assertiveness. We may wonder if they have been listening to all of Jesus’ teachings. We may wonder and even chuckle a bit that they would be worried about where they will sit in the kingdom when Jesus has been trying to tell them that he will soon face death.

But on the other hand, is their request all that terrible? If they have been listening and are beginning to understand that Jesus will truly die, they may be saying that they want to remain close to him, that they are with him no matter what. They also might be looking for security in the uncertain times that will be coming very soon.

After all, for many months now, Jesus has been trying to reframe their way of thinking. We know that they have not understood – many times we see them falter and go off on tangents that Jesus never meant. But Jesus is trying to teach them to think differently, to conceive of a kind of kingdom that is nothing like the kingdom of Rome under whose power they live every day.

So for those early disciples, it seems like we cannot jump to judgment too quickly. It is difficult for any of us to alter the framework of our understanding.

So they ask Jesus to grant their request. Jesus asks them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they ask to sit at his right and at his left in his glory.

I can imagine that Jesus was silent for a long time. “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I will drink? Can you go through the baptism I will go through?”

The term “drink the cup” was probably from the custom of the king giving the cup to his guests at a banquet. So the cup became a symbol of whatever is given to you – whatever life offers. It may be either good or bad. In Psalm 23, the cup is overflowing with goodness; in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks that the cup pass from him. Jesus has been teaching his disciples that the cup for him now was one of suffering and death.

Baptism was a term used for being submerged, for having every part of your being affected by whatever was happening to you.

So Jesus asks, can you drink the same cup and go through the same baptism as I will go through? And James and John both say, “Yes! We can.” So Jesus tells them that following him will indeed be very costly. But as for who sits where, that is not for him to say!

When the other disciples hear what James and John have requested, they get very angry. The nerve of these two brothers! Asking for positions of privilege before any of them had the chance!

But Jesus is so patient! He calls them all together and begins once again to teach them how to be his true disciples. Once again, he tries to reframe their way of thinking. He reminds them of how the world looks at power. But it is not so among you! Disciples think differently. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave of all.

Jesus teaches this concept over and over in all the gospels. He must know how difficult it is for all of us to grasp – how difficult it is to reframe our thinking – that power is in weakness, that love is stronger than hate, that the last will be first. But Jesus patiently comes back to the concept, notice there is no harshness, no judgment on his part. Instead, he reminds them (and us) that he came to be a servant, not to be served, but to give his life a ransom for many.

This week, the congregation received the first Stewardship letter of the season, and in it was a magnet with a picture and the Stewardship theme this year – growing in the image of Christ. Last summer, in the summer sermon series on rethinking the message and ministry of Jesus, we talked a lot about what it means to be transformed into Christ’s image. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Now we are told in the creation story that we have been created in God’s image. So perhaps we are to remember who we are – who we are created to be, as Ted reminded us last week. God’s image is within us, and the Spirit is willing to continue the work of transformation so that we can be more and more like Christ.

So if Jesus were here with us this morning and we were to go to him like James and John did and say, “Master, we want to ask you to do something for us.” Jesus might ask us the same question, “What do you want me to do for you?”

So we might answer that we want to grow more into Christ’s image. That sounds like a good answer, don’t you think? So what I have been challenged with all week is to wonder if even with that lovely answer, Jesus might say the same things to us that he said to James and John.

You really do not understand what you are saying. Can you drink the cup that I drink? Can you go through the same baptism I go through? I came to be a servant – Can you be a servant to all?

Saying yes is serious business. Saying yes has some risks. Saying yes means that we are willing to continue to reframe our way of thinking for the rest of our lives.

But saying yes is the way to life, abundant life.

The words of St. Francis come to mind:

          O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much

          To be consoled as to console,

          To be understood as to understand,

          To be loved as to love,

          For it is in giving that we receive,

          It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

          It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.   Amen.