Karen Westerfield Tucker - Sermon Untitled (October 19, 1997)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | What does it take to be number one? | 0:10 |
What does it take to be number one? | 0:15 | |
For some students it may mean hours in the lab | 0:20 | |
or the library, | 0:24 | |
sacrifices of sleep and social life, | 0:26 | |
all to improve the GPA. | 0:30 | |
For other students it means borrowing or buying exams, | 0:35 | |
sabotaging experiments, | 0:41 | |
establishing contacts and making excuses. | 0:44 | |
For a faculty member to be number one, | 0:50 | |
it may take innovative research, a provocative book, | 0:55 | |
and recognition in the chosen field. | 1:00 | |
Or negatively, it is gained by entering into heated | 1:04 | |
or brutal competition with one's peers and colleagues. | 1:08 | |
For an athletic team, | 1:14 | |
it may mean keeping squeaky clean and playing by the rules, | 1:16 | |
all of the them on and off the field. | 1:22 | |
Or, it may require loopholes to get an advantage. | 1:27 | |
For a university to be number one it means | 1:34 | |
having the best research facilities, the largest endowment, | 1:38 | |
a well published and grant-laden faculty | 1:44 | |
and the brightest students. | 1:48 | |
Or becoming number one may come with the sacrifice | 1:52 | |
of the fundamentals of education and human resources. | 1:57 | |
What does it take to be number one? | 2:03 | |
This question seems to be asked more often these days | 2:10 | |
as individuals, groups and even communities | 2:15 | |
seek to slake their thirst for prestige and power. | 2:20 | |
We all want recognition, we want respect. | 2:25 | |
We want the big bucks. | 2:30 | |
We may not however want the responsibilities | 2:34 | |
that come with having such power. | 2:38 | |
We want to have our cake and eat it too. | 2:42 | |
Our gospel lesson deals today precisely with the question | 2:48 | |
of power, of being number one. | 2:51 | |
In this account Jesus's two disciples, James and John make | 2:57 | |
a power play. | 3:02 | |
They ask that when Jesus comes into His glory, | 3:05 | |
that they may be permitted to sit in the places of honor. | 3:09 | |
One at His right side, the other at His left. | 3:14 | |
Why did they make this request? | 3:20 | |
These two brothers certainly | 3:22 | |
had not distinguished themselves previously | 3:24 | |
in Mark's gospel. | 3:26 | |
It may have been their desire to receive recognition | 3:29 | |
after a long day on the road going up to Jerusalem. | 3:32 | |
Or it may have been a move by the two to upstage Peter, | 3:37 | |
and Peter's bid to become number one. | 3:42 | |
In any case, | 3:47 | |
Jesus made no promise to grant their request. | 3:49 | |
Instead, the power play by James | 3:54 | |
and John becomes an opportunity for Jesus | 3:57 | |
to teach His disciples a new definition of power, | 4:01 | |
and the true nature of discipleship. | 4:05 | |
The central message of the gospel that Jesus preached, | 4:11 | |
was that the reign of God was a hand. | 4:15 | |
The old world was passing away. | 4:18 | |
God was ushering in a new order and a new reality. | 4:21 | |
God's new order was going to be radically different | 4:27 | |
from the way things had been. | 4:30 | |
God was choosing what was foolish in the world | 4:33 | |
to shame the lies. | 4:35 | |
God was using what was weak in the world | 4:38 | |
to shame the strong. | 4:41 | |
God was taking what was low and despised in the world, | 4:44 | |
things that are not to bring to nothing, | 4:48 | |
the things that are. | 4:52 | |
Those who are powerful in the old order, | 4:55 | |
would be powerless in the new. | 5:00 | |
And the meek, not the strong, would inherit the Earth. | 5:04 | |
Only by being brought low | 5:10 | |
could one be raised up. | 5:13 | |
This meant that under the reign of God, | 5:19 | |
there was a whole new definition of power. | 5:22 | |
If anyone wished to share in the glory of Jesus, | 5:27 | |
they first had to humble themselves and follow after Him. | 5:30 | |
So Jesus tells James and John that they really have no idea | 5:37 | |
what it is that they're asking. | 5:42 | |
He asks them, | 5:45 | |
"Are you able to drink the cup that I am drinking? | 5:47 | |
Or be baptized with the baptism with which | 5:51 | |
I am being baptized?" | 5:54 | |
Naively perhaps, the disciples answered yes, | 5:57 | |
that they are able. | 6:01 | |
But could they really know that to assume Jesus's cup | 6:03 | |
and His baptism, would mean to take part | 6:08 | |
in Jesus's rejection, and His humiliation. | 6:12 | |
That it would mean to participate | 6:16 | |
that they would participate | 6:18 | |
in his mission and in His ministry. | 6:20 | |
James and John could share in Jesus's glory, | 6:25 | |
but only because they would share in carrying His cross. | 6:31 | |
Power was not a status, | 6:37 | |
rather it came from participating | 6:40 | |
in the work of Jesus. | 6:43 | |
It is no accident that two sacramental images are used | 6:48 | |
as a reminder of the cost | 6:52 | |
and the risk of Christian discipleship. | 6:54 | |
Drinking from the cup and being baptized. | 7:00 | |
Baptism means dying to an old way of life | 7:06 | |
and rising with Christ to a new way of life. | 7:09 | |
In baptism we are symbolically buried in the tomb of water, | 7:13 | |
which simultaneously is the womb which births us. | 7:19 | |
Paradoxically, by becoming powerless as newborn babes, | 7:25 | |
we become infused with the power of God. | 7:31 | |
Communion recalls sacrifice, | 7:37 | |
suffering and ultimately new life. | 7:40 | |
But it also provides for us continuing sustenance | 7:46 | |
for laboring under the load of the cross. | 7:50 | |
By partaking of the body and blood of Christ, | 7:54 | |
we are empowered for the work of ministry. | 7:57 | |
The way of discipleship for James and John and for us, | 8:02 | |
is through the suffering that leads to new life. | 8:08 | |
Christian life is life as sacrament. | 8:13 | |
Of being baptized with Christ's baptism of responsibility, | 8:17 | |
of drinking the cup of suffering and of victory. | 8:23 | |
There's a tendency for us to overlook or deny the risk | 8:30 | |
and the suffering perhaps | 8:35 | |
of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. | 8:37 | |
We live in a sanitized, sanforized world. | 8:40 | |
Our everyday life denies suffering and death. | 8:45 | |
We ship aging family members off to retirement centers. | 8:51 | |
We deny the terror of the streets, | 8:56 | |
til the terror comes to our own street. | 8:59 | |
Even our food comes processed, pressed and packaged. | 9:03 | |
But Jesus tells the disciples that they must take risks. | 9:11 | |
That there is a cost, a place in the kingdom comes | 9:16 | |
when one takes up the baptism, | 9:22 | |
the cup, the suffering, | 9:25 | |
the life of Jesus. | 9:28 | |
Thomas a Kempis in his classic work of, | 9:33 | |
The Imitation of Christ writes this, | 9:35 | |
Jesus has now many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, | 9:40 | |
but few bearers of his cross. | 9:45 | |
He has many desires of consolation, but few of tribulation. | 9:48 | |
He finds many companions of His table, | 9:55 | |
but few of His abstinence. | 9:58 | |
All desire to rejoice with Him, | 10:02 | |
few are willing to endure anything for Him or with Him. | 10:05 | |
Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, | 10:11 | |
but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. | 10:15 | |
Many reverence his miracles, | 10:20 | |
few follow the shame of His cross. | 10:24 | |
Many love Jesus so long as no adversities befall them, | 10:27 | |
many praise and bless Him, | 10:32 | |
so long as they receive any consolations from Him. | 10:35 | |
Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it this way, | 10:42 | |
when Christ calls a person, | 10:45 | |
He bids that person to come and die. | 10:48 | |
Now all this is a very strange definition of power. | 10:54 | |
Power the way we normally define it certainly means we don't | 11:00 | |
have to suffer. | 11:04 | |
It means, we don't have to submit ourselves | 11:06 | |
to anyone else's will. | 11:09 | |
On the contrary, we make them submit to us. | 11:12 | |
Jesus's definition of power turned the world's understanding | 11:18 | |
on it's head. | 11:22 | |
To share in Jesus's glory, | 11:25 | |
James and John had to adopt this upside down logic. | 11:28 | |
They had to take up their cross and follow Jesus. | 11:33 | |
Now when the other disciples learned | 11:40 | |
about the brothers' power play, they were mad. | 11:42 | |
Perhaps they were angry because they didn't think | 11:46 | |
of it first and asked that they become number one | 11:49 | |
in Jesus's kingdom. | 11:52 | |
Their anger came from the fact | 11:56 | |
that they were still operating | 11:57 | |
from the old definitions of power. | 11:59 | |
They defined power the same way we do. | 12:03 | |
Power means being further up the pecking order. | 12:06 | |
It means drying the highest salary, | 12:10 | |
being head of the department or organization, | 12:13 | |
having more people under you to boss around. | 12:16 | |
But Jesus gave a new definition. | 12:22 | |
He said, "You know the ones who are supposing to rule | 12:26 | |
over the Gentiles, lorded over them, | 12:30 | |
and their great ones exercise authority over them. | 12:34 | |
But it is not so among you. | 12:38 | |
But whoever should wish to become great among you | 12:42 | |
shall be your servant. | 12:45 | |
And whoever should wish to be first among you | 12:48 | |
shall be slave of all. | 12:51 | |
For even the son of man himself did not come to be served | 12:54 | |
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom | 12:58 | |
in the place of many." | 13:03 | |
The first Methodist bishop in the United States | 13:08 | |
was Francis Asbury. | 13:11 | |
He exercised the authority which he believed was necessary | 13:14 | |
to spread the gospel throughout the frontier, | 13:17 | |
and at the same time to hold | 13:21 | |
the fledgling denomination together. | 13:22 | |
His critics at the time said he was too bossy, | 13:26 | |
too autocratic, but in fact, | 13:30 | |
Bishop Asbury never asked anything of his preachers, | 13:33 | |
that he wasn't willing to do himself. | 13:38 | |
He called on Methodist clergy to leave the comforts | 13:42 | |
of the cities, to ride the country circuits, | 13:45 | |
where the cold or the winter wind was kept out | 13:49 | |
of the worship spaces by nailing blankets in the windows. | 13:52 | |
Some preachers complained about this. | 13:58 | |
When someone compared Asbury to the pope, Asbury replied, | 14:01 | |
"For myself, I pity those who cannot distinguish between | 14:07 | |
a pope of Rome and an old worn out man of about 60 years | 14:11 | |
who has the power given him of riding 5,000 miles a year, | 14:17 | |
at a salary of $80, through the summer's heat | 14:22 | |
and the winter's cold, traveling in all weather, | 14:26 | |
preaching in all places. | 14:30 | |
His best covering from rain often but a blanket. | 14:33 | |
The sure sharpener of his wit, hunger from fasts voluntary | 14:37 | |
and involuntary. | 14:42 | |
His best fare for six months of the 12, course kindness | 14:45 | |
and his reward, suspicion, | 14:50 | |
envy and murmurings all the year round." | 14:54 | |
For early Methodism, Bishop Asbury set the example | 15:01 | |
of a new definition of power | 15:05 | |
and leadership in the realm of God. | 15:07 | |
So in the world, which does not recognize God's rule, | 15:12 | |
authority means power and privilege. | 15:17 | |
In the community of faith, where God's rule is recognized, | 15:23 | |
authority means servant hood. | 15:28 | |
Under the reign of God, the definition of power | 15:34 | |
is radically changed. | 15:38 | |
Jesus said this new reality was coming, | 15:41 | |
in fact it was already here. | 15:44 | |
Like the cracks in the ground just before the seed sprouts, | 15:48 | |
the presence of the reign of God is made known. | 15:54 | |
What does it take to be number one? | 16:01 | |
Jesus turns all our expectations around. | 16:06 | |
The world is to be transformed not from above, | 16:11 | |
but from beneath, | 16:15 | |
by a people who are a servant people, | 16:18 | |
shouldering the burdens of the world. | 16:22 | |
To anticipate the coming of God's kingdom | 16:27 | |
is not to rule, but to serve. | 16:29 | |
In this process, each person is important, | 16:35 | |
for no matter how great or small, | 16:42 | |
young or old, | 16:46 | |
each one of us is called to serve. | 16:50 | |
The prospect of such a servant life may seem overwhelming, | 16:56 | |
may seem impossible perhaps, | 17:00 | |
and it may be so if we think of it in terms | 17:02 | |
of our own ability, | 17:05 | |
our own power to live out such a radically different | 17:07 | |
notion of power. | 17:12 | |
But the way has already been paved for us | 17:15 | |
by the king of kings who was chosen to reign not | 17:19 | |
in the glamorous palaces of this world, | 17:23 | |
but from a tree of shame. | 17:26 | |
The son of man who came as a servant, | 17:31 | |
also gave His life | 17:36 | |
as a ransom for many. | 17:39 | |
He redeemed us as a servant, | 17:44 | |
that we might be servants of the one whose power | 17:49 | |
is manifested in weakness. | 17:54 | |
We worship a Christ who is exalted in His humility | 18:00 | |
and who bids us to take up His cross | 18:05 | |
as the way to eternal life. | 18:07 | |
As Christians we follow the one who calls us to a life | 18:11 | |
of sacrament, of risk, | 18:16 | |
of servant hood. | 18:20 | |
We may not be called number one, | 18:24 | |
but we surely will be called | 18:28 | |
faithful and beloved. | 18:31 | |
Thanks be to God, amen. | 18:36 | |
(organ music) | 18:46 | |
(congregation singing) | 19:19 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 21:51 |
Let us pray. | 21:55 | |
Oh Lord, we have sung the songs of faith this day | 22:00 | |
and we have born witness to the word | 22:06 | |
that spans all generations. | 22:09 | |
We have heard voices lift music like Heaven's angels, | 22:12 | |
while we have found ways to worship you among saints | 22:18 | |
and sinners on Earth. | 22:21 | |
For the blessings of this hour we give you thanks, | 22:24 | |
and now in this moment, we pray for your pardon. | 22:28 | |
If we have been less than grateful for the abundance | 22:33 | |
of your gifts to us, forgive us. | 22:37 | |
If we have been les than loving toward our neighbors, | 22:41 | |
or toward our family members or toward strangers, | 22:45 | |
forgive us. | 22:49 | |
If we have been less than confident that you will be | 22:51 | |
faithful to your promises, forgive us. | 22:54 | |
Lord in your mercy. | 22:59 | |
We pray for the people in this congregation | 23:03 | |
who are bearing the burden of illness. | 23:06 | |
Grant that none of the mysteries of healing | 23:10 | |
will be withheld from them in their time of need. | 23:13 | |
Provide their loved ones with the fullest possible measures | 23:17 | |
of patience and courage so that even the hardest days | 23:22 | |
will still be filled with hope. | 23:26 | |
Guide technicians in their labs, | 23:30 | |
physicians on their rounds, | 23:33 | |
nurses in their touch and all other agents of healing | 23:36 | |
in their compassion so that each will convey not simply | 23:42 | |
the best that Earth can offer, | 23:47 | |
but also all that Heaven can deliver. | 23:49 | |
Lord in your mercy. | 23:54 | |
We pray for those whose hopes have been shattered | 23:58 | |
by promises in marriage broken, | 24:03 | |
by systems in society that promote injustice, | 24:07 | |
by acts of violence in the streets of the city, | 24:12 | |
by forms of abuse at home. | 24:16 | |
By disappointments in career or school. | 24:20 | |
Grant that such brokenness will not be the last thing | 24:25 | |
your people feel, nor bitterness the last thing they taste. | 24:28 | |
Oh God, who spoke a word in the darkness | 24:35 | |
when there was nothing but chaos and caused creation to be. | 24:39 | |
Speak to the confusions of heart and mind | 24:44 | |
that have turned forms of life into fragments. | 24:47 | |
Reconcile what need not stay divided. | 24:52 | |
Heal the wounds whose scars will linger. | 24:56 | |
Put an eagerness for justice into our hearts | 25:01 | |
and a willingness to build justice into our hands. | 25:05 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 25:09 | |
And now by the blessing of your Holy Spirit, | 25:13 | |
set us free to feel your power. | 25:17 | |
Plant the foundations of faith so deeply within your church | 25:20 | |
that no evil will topple it. | 25:24 | |
Spread the network of your love so broadly among us, | 25:27 | |
that healing will touch all who are hurting. | 25:31 | |
Flood our hearts with such joy, | 25:35 | |
that all our words and deeds will overflow with witness | 25:38 | |
to your salvation and provide us with a peace | 25:42 | |
that comes from trusting in you | 25:46 | |
so that even those who grieve and feel alone | 25:49 | |
will find you and your messengers near. | 25:54 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 25:58 | |
Care for all who are in times of great transition, | 26:03 | |
the newly married and the newly alone. | 26:07 | |
Those who have welcomed a new child into the family, | 26:12 | |
and those who have lost a member of the family. | 26:16 | |
Those who are adjusting to success, | 26:20 | |
and those who are coping with defeat. | 26:24 | |
We pray your blessing upon them all, | 26:28 | |
whom we now name in the silence of our hearts. | 26:30 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 26:41 | |
These things and more we lift to you oh God, | 26:46 | |
trusting in your everlasting mercy and your boundless grace, | 26:49 | |
in the name of the Father and of the Son | 26:54 | |
and of the Holy Spirit, amen. | 26:56 | |
- | We have heard and received the blessings of God. | 27:10 |
We have lifted to God our offerings of prayer, | 27:15 | |
our burdens and our needs. | 27:19 | |
Now in thanksgiving to God, we offer our gifts for the work | 27:21 | |
of God's church. | 27:26 | |
(organ music) | 27:32 |