I have a question for you, all of you. What do you want from life? What
are your goals? Or for those who are enjoying the autumn or winter of your life
what were your goals?
If you, like me, belong to the more
senior generation what were your goals when you were 20 something; did you
reach your goal(s); did they change as you experienced more of life?
Did you have aspirations of being a
leader or your own boss or did you dream of serving people in other parts of
the world by enlisting in the Peace Corp, of making the world a better place to
live? What did you pray for when you asked God for help in determining the path
your life would take?
James and John came to Jesus and asked
if they could have the seats on his right and left when he came to glory. Jesus
knew they had no idea what they were asking for and he also knew that they
couldn’t even imagine where their lives were going to take them after he was
gone.
That’s why he asked them, “Are
you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m
about to be plunged into?” It’s really
no different than some of the questions we’ve heard from family or friends when
we told them what we were going to do. Don’t you remember when you first heard,
“Are you sure that’s what you want to
do?” Or maybe it was, “Do you know what
you’re getting yourself into?”
Either way they didn’t exactly create an atmosphere of
confidence. Just like Jesus knew James and John our families and friends knew
us. They knew our minds were made up and they weren’t going to change the
direction we were headed. But, still they asked. They planted the seed.
James and John had given up their former lives of fishing
to follow Jesus. They observed how he was received and treated by the religious
of the day. They knew that if they continued on the same path, the same way of
life, they wouldn’t be treated any better, maybe even worse.
So, since they had sacrificed so much why not ask for the
best seats in eternity? I think Jesus understood that but he also knew it
wasn’t his decision to make; only the Father could do that.
Rather than chastise them for their request he used it,
again, as an opportunity to teach them…and those other disciples who knew what
they’d asked for.
As He had done so many times before he taught them His ways
weren’t the same as the ways of the world. Whoever aspired to be first must be
willing to be last. Whoever wanted to be first must be a slave to all.
If they wanted a place in eternity, if they truly wanted to
be like Jesus and follow his lead then they had to be willing to give up their
grandiose ideas of being powerful and rich and instead live lives of service to
people they viewed as lower than them; those they deemed as unworthy to enter
the kingdom.
Is that a goal anyone would want to strive for? Is that the
first thing we want to think about when we wake in the morning? Whose feet will
I wash today? Whose house will I clean today? Whose rent will I pay today?
Whose bedside will I visit today? Whose diaper will I change today?
What does it mean to be a servant to all? What does
it mean to give away your life in exchange for the many held hostage? Who could
do that?
As I think about people I know or have read about there
aren’t many who fall into this category. But, I also know I don’t know it all
and that there are probably many more that are servants and have given their
whole lives in service to others that I’m not even aware of. Some may be sitting
here today.
Not many want to make the sacrifice to live simply in order
to be able to serve others. But thank God some have and they’ve changed the
world. If those disciples who followed Jesus hadn’t made the choice to give up
their former lives to be people of the Way then you and I would probably not be
here worshipping God today.
But, God had, God has, a plan. And that was that the world
was to be changed, transformed, disciples were to be made and people were to be
baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God gave the
world a chance to be saved. It began with those who were willing to be
servants.
Because the disciples chosen by Jesus answered his call to
follow him and dreamed of and hoped for a new Jerusalem and a new heaven they
sacrificed, suffered, and died serving others, and God, as slaves and servants.
Now the question for us today is, “What do you
want?” Who wants to be first? Is it you?
Then you have to be a slave to everyone else.
Every one of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus are
being called to serve. Every one of us who are followers of the Way is called
to be slaves, to be at the beck and call of others. It’s not an easy decision
to make.
And we can’t go into to this way of life believing that it
will get us into the kingdom of God. That still depends upon God’s grace. But
just imagine what this world would be like if there were more servants than
bosses.
Friends, it still could happen. What if instead of just
dreaming and talking about it every one decided the whole focus of the rest of
their lives would be serving others and telling the story of Jesus’ love to
everyone they met?
Friends, we are called, every one of us, to go out into the
world as servants. What choices will you and I make, beginning today. How will
we make the world a better place? What will you ask God for tonight before you
close your eyes in sleep?
I pray that God will lead each and every one of us to be
better and more faithful servants and give us the courage and the strength to
serve Him wherever that may be.
Thanks be to God. He has the plan and the grace and peace
for the whole world. Amen.
