SERVANTS of CHRIST. United Methodist Parish

Transcription

1 SERVANTS of CHRIST United Methodist Parish Do We Really Get It? Jesus as Teacher: SEATING CHARTS A Sermon by Dr. Will Reed October 18, st Sunday after Pentecost Job 38:1-7 (34-41) Psalm 104:1-9, 24,35c Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 All Scripture passages printed below are from the Common English Bible (CEB), 2011 Job 38:1-7 (34-41) 1 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: 2 Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking knowledge? 3 Prepare yourself like a man; I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me. 4 Where were you when I laid the earth s foundations? Tell me if you know. 5 Who set its measurements? Surely you know. Who stretched a measuring tape on it? 6 On what were its footings sunk; who laid its cornerstone, 7 while the morning stars sang in unison and all the divine beings shouted? 34 Can you issue an order to the clouds so their abundant waters cover you? 35 Can you send lightning so that it goes and then says to you, I m here? 36 Who put wisdom in remote places, or who gave understanding to a rooster? 37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds, and who can tilt heaven s water containers 38 so that dust becomes mud and clods of dirt adhere? 39 Can you hunt prey for the lion or fill the cravings of lion cubs? 40 They lie in their den, lie in ambush in their lair. 41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry to God, move about without food? SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 1 of 8

2 Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c 104 Let my whole being bless the LORD! LORD my God, how fantastic you are! You are clothed in glory and grandeur! 2 You wear light like a robe; you open the skies like a curtain. 3 You build your lofty house on the waters; you make the clouds your chariot, going around on the wings of the wind. 4 You make the winds your messengers; you make fire and flame your ministers. 5 You established the earth on its foundations so that it will never ever fall. 6 You covered it with the watery deep like a piece of clothing; the waters were higher than the mountains! 7 But at your rebuke they ran away; they fled in fear at the sound of your thunder. 8 They flowed over the mountains, streaming down the valleys to the place you established for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross so they ll never again cover the earth. 24 LORD, you have done so many things! You made them all so wisely! The earth is full of your creations! 35 But let my whole being bless the Lord! Praise the Lord! Hebrews 5: Every high priest is taken from the people and put in charge of things that relate to God for their sake, in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 The high priest is able to deal gently with the ignorant and those who are misled since he himself is prone to weakness. 3 Because of his weakness, he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the people. 4 No one takes this honor for themselves but takes it only when they are called by God, just like Aaron. 5 In the same way Christ also didn t promote himself to become high priest. Instead, it was the one who said to him, You are my Son. Today I have become your Father, 6 as he also says in another place, You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 2 of 8

3 Mark 10: James and John, Zebedee s sons, came to Jesus and said, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask. 36 What do you want me to do for you? he asked. 37 They said, Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory. 38 Jesus replied, You don t know what you re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive? 39 We can, they answered. Jesus said, You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, 40 but to sit at my right or left hand isn t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared. 41 Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them over and said, You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. 43 But that s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, 45 for the Human One didn t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people. Well, we are back at it again. For the past several weeks we have been studying together the 10 th chapter of Mark s gospel. Mark Chapter 10 is a master class in Discipleship. Jesus is teaching some of his most important lessons and the disciples are not getting it. Sometimes it is because they are not listening. Sometimes it is because they are stubborn and do not understand who they are called to be as disciples. But, it is the same way with us. Sometimes we are slow to understand and sometimes we are stubborn. Why is that so? Isn t it because what Jesus invites us to do or to be is often contrary to our own personal desires. To illustrate, let me ask you a question. Have you ever yelled Shotgun? Most of you probably know what I am talking about. You are walking up to a car or a truck and the one who is driving has already been decided, but you want to sit in the next best seat. So you yell, Shotgun! Most of us know the rules of Shotgun. They are very simple. The first person to call shotgun gets to sit in the front seat. Why do we play that silly game? Isn t it because we are special and we want the best seat. Last Sunday and Monday Minute Maid Park was full with standing room only. The Astros and the Royals were in the Division series. Now, here is a diagram of the seating options at Minute Maid Park. What do we see? SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 3 of 8

4 We see a numbered depiction of all the sections in the stadium. I don t know if you can see them, but there are two sections without numbers. They have words instead. They are the Insperity Club section and the Diamond Club section. These are the most expensive seats at Minute Maid Park. In the Diamond Club, the ticket prices are $ per seat for a regular season game. I cannot imagine what the prices were for the division series. Let me share with you what the Astros say about the Diamond Club seats For the ultimate Minute Maid Park experience, there is nothing that can compare with the renovated Diamond Club. The Diamond Club is the absolute ideal location for the finest in personal and business entertainment. Our private lounge offers a first-class dining experience SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 4 of 8

5 inspired by Houston's own celebrity chef, Bryan Caswell. Your guests won't miss a moment of the action with the addition of the 30 foot projection screen in our dining room and will enjoy a literal "front row seat" with most seats closer to the batter than the pitching rubber! Our premium amenities, service and spectacular sightlines will give the clients you entertain a oncein-a-lifetime experience. We invite you to join us! The Diamond Club features: A renovated private lounge offering first-class dining inspired by Houston's own celebrity chef Bryan Caswell and executive chef Tori Bergersen A brand new 30 foot projection screen State of the art pizza oven Gourmet food, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages included Access to a top shelf, fully-stocked private bar Plush, extra-wide luxury seats just feet from home plate Attentive in-seat wait-staff to cater to your every need Again the price tag is $350+ per ticket plus a parking pass to park within a few feet of the entrance if you buy at least two seats. There are seating charts for Baseball game, for charity galas and for State Dinners at the White House. There are even seating charts for airplanes. Here is a seating chart for a United flight on a 737. You can easily see the difference between the various seating options. The United First seats are bigger and near the front of the plane. They are also the most expensive seats. There are 20 of those seats in almost the same space as there are 48 Economy Plus seats and 66 of the least expensive Economy seats. My friends - Sometimes we worry too much about status Sometimes we think are too special. That is what was going on with the disciples and they don t get it. The disciples just don t get it about their relationship with Jesus. His teaching couldn t be much clearer than in today s reading from Mark. James and SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 5 of 8

6 John are disciples, and Jesus is their master. Good disciples who understand their place and respect their master, even minimally, do not do what these two did. Disciples learn to live like their master. They do not make demands of their master. Yet that is exactly what we see them doing here. Listen to them. Jesus, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you. (verse 35). Jesus does not agree to their request, but he does let them proceed to spell it out. Give us the seats at your immediate right and left in your glory (verse 37). They don t even say, Please. Just, We want it. Give it to us. Isn t that the way it is with us sometimes? We expect special treatment. Why? Isn t because we are who we are and we think we are special and more deserving than the next person. We are special! My friends. - Discipleship is about Servanthood, not titles and awards, and special seats. After the disciples asked Jesus for the best seats, Jesus asks them a question. Look at verse 38. Jesus asks them a question as a test to see whether James and John were really hungry for what they were asking. You don t know what you re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive? But watch Jesus language here. He was not trying to see if they re hungry. He was not asking them if they could lead. He was asking them if they can follow. We can, they say. They still don t know what they re saying. You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I have been baptized. But to sit at my right and left is not mine to give. We know a lot more than James and John did at this point in the story. We know that Jesus lived and died. We know what James and John did not know at this point in the story. We know that Jesus died and suffered. That is why Jesus says But I can t give you what you re asking for. Then he also says. 43 But that s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, 45 for the Human One didn t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people. SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 6 of 8

7 Being a follower of Jesus Christ is about servanthood. It is not about sitting at the best seats. It is about sitting at the seats that are left after everyone else sits down. It is about letting others go first. It is about serving others, even those that we may deem lower than us. Service can mean many things. It can mean caring for an aging parent. It can mean helping a child learn to read. It can mean encouraging someone who needs encouragement. It can mean providing hospitality when fearful clients come to receive legal services at Justice for Our Neighbors at Mission Milby. It can mean working in the laundry or kitchen at Crossroads. Servanthood is about relationships that have the capacity to transform another. In God s reign, the way of leadership is by serving others, and this applies to the leader too! For the Human One didn t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people. (verse 45) Service, not control, is the substance of leadership in God s kingdom. Suffering, not success, is often its reward. Discipleship -Being a Jesus follower means service, not titles, not honors, not positions, and not self-appointed power. The kingdom of God is so very different from our conventional way of doing things. It is so different from our conventional beliefs about what is best. Jesus calls us and teaches us by example to "transform the world, not from the top down but from the bottom up. This is not trickledown power and economics. This is the ultimate trickle-up effect." That's the power that God gives us in abundance. It is the strongest stuff in the world: the power to serve" And that is who Jesus was. - Christ came to serve and liberate us Did you notice the call to worship? It came from a poem written by Andrew King that is based upon our text for the day Mark 10:35-45 Let me share it with you in its entirety. NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE Is that you, Lord, changing the diaper in the nursing home, holding the spoon for the woman in her wheelchair, wiping down the toilet and the floor; is that you serving the dinner at the homeless shelter, SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 7 of 8

8 sorting the cans at the food bank, mowing the aged neighbor s lawn; is that you, Lord, bandaging the wounds of the bomb victim, erecting the tent for the refugees, handing out the water and the food; is that you driving the patient to the treatment center, sitting through the night with the family, making the call to the forgotten friend; is that you, Lord, lighting the candle in the darkness, keeping vigil for compassion and justice, loving in us and through us and with us until the world that you love has been changed? Andrew King Jesus was a servant and that is who we are called to be as well. Let s review. The Takeaway: Today, we continue our study of the tenth chapter of Mark. This is a Master class by Jesus on Discipleship. First, he reminds us that we worry too much about status and that discipleship is about servanthood, not titles and awards. We are called to be like Christ who came to serve and liberate us. The Challenge: The challenge is to put aside our desire for recognition. How: The way of leadership is serving others. Assignment: Look for ways this week to offer others the best seat and the front of the line. How can you be a servant this week? Amen SC_151018_Pent 21 Do we really get it-3 Seating Charts Year B PV.docx, Page 8 of 8