In Service Of…

Mark 10:35–45 NRSV

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Last week, Jesus taught us about being willing to give up our possessions and privilege in order to follow him, something that requires sacrifice from us. If we want to enter into the fullness of life which is the Kingdom of God, we have to be willing to set aside what we have now for the sake of this more excellent way.

And Jesus taught us that there are consequences for this action, both positive — in that when we enter into the life of the Kingdom, we gain eternal reward — and negative, in that we will face suffering and persecution for such a choice.

Is it worth it? Our ancestors in the faith have told us, yes, it is. While we face persecution and suffering for being people of generosity and peacemaking, these struggles to be a people of the way of Jesus pale in comparison to the fullness of life we find in him and the purpose and meaning his life in us provides, now and forever.

And, with our text today, we see that there are clearly some folks who hear Jesus’ message and are willing to jump in wholeheartedly. The disciples follow Jesus to this point and will go further to the cross with him. But this text challenges, once again, notions of what it really means to have power or position and what it takes to truly participate in the life of the Kingdom of God, a way that will lead to life, but through challenges and a baptism, a relinquishment of power in order to receive this blessing.

I find myself wondering — what’s the problem with James and John asking for what they want? What’s wrong with speaking up about your desire for more?

What if Jesus asked you this question — “what is it you want me to do for you?”

James and John come with a purpose.

Could you answer that question? What is it you want me to do for you?

Ponder that, for a moment. As people who express this desire to follow Jesus, what is it you are really hoping for him to do for you? Could you name it? What would it be like to express that hope or desire to Jesus?

An interesting side detail to this story — in the gospel of Matthew, it isn’t James and John who ask for their own glory, but rather, it’s their mom. James and John’s mother comes to Jesus and asks him to make her sons number 2 and 3 in the coming Kingdom of God. Their mom.

“No mom, can you go ask for us?”

“Well, if my kids are going to advocate for themselves, I’ll just go in and do it myself.”

Sound familiar to anyone?

We get this. We want to advocate for ourselves. We want to advocate for our children, our loved ones. I know that temptation, to march into the principal’s office to advocate for your kid. Or to speak up, yourself, for what you hope for and long to do.

Why is there anything wrong with this? Sure, it can be a little pushy. But maybe it’s also an earnest question that James and John ask. Can we sit beside you, as in, “we really want to commit to this, and serve God together.” Do you, Jesus, bless what we are doing in service of you? We’re willing…they say, “we are able.” Even if they don’t know what they’re really asking.

The exchange goes on. Jesus reminds James and John of the sacrifice, the baptism, the drinking of the cup. All of this, these metaphors, the speak to the truth of the cost of discipleship and the burden of service. You see, contrary to our world’s systems of power and advancement, which reward such entrepreneurial spirits as James and John certainly had, in contrast to those systems, the Kingdom Jesus brings is one where the greater ones status, the greater ones sacrifice and burden of service. The world champions upward mobility, getting ahead, and having more power over others. The Kingdom of God, in stark contrast, is a kingdom of downward mobility, one where the greatest service leads to loss, relinquishment of power, and service to the least of these.

I chuckle when we get to vs. 41, where it says that when the other ten disciples hear this request from James and John, they became angry with the brothers. Well, yeah. Of course.

Maybe you’re Andrew or Thomas, Bartholomew or Philip. You’ve been on this journey with Jesus for a while now. Maybe you hear the sons of Zebedee’s request and think, “ah man, I was gonna ask for that.” Or maybe “uh oh, I can’t believe those guys just said that. Jesus isn’t gonna let them get off easy, here he goes again, teaching us…”

How do you hear James and John’s question?

What is their request in service of?

For me, that’s the core question this text leads me to: What are we in service of?

Our actions are in service of something. They can be about self-preservation, advancement, protection, etc. Can we be honest about our motivations?

Motivations, and also our allegiances. Jesus teaches them all — to drink the cup with him is to be baptized, to be washed of our commitments and allegiances, to fully invest ourselves in the service of God’s kingdom, in which we share our posessions, we bind up and heal the hurting, we show up for the ones in need and give our love and compassion. We let go of our pursuit for worldly position and success and seek the welfare of the poor.

The language in the text is such of servitude and even enslavement. These can be really problematic terms. We don’t talk about being slaves to Christ, because that language can exonerate systems of oppression, making them somehow aligned with God’s way. This is not what Jesus is saying.

Instead, the wisdom Jesus teaches here is such that in service of God’s way, we become willing to stoop to the lowest position as we grow in depth of faith. In the Kingdom of God, the fullness of life is found in emptying our lives of selfish ambition and vein conceit, and, instead clothing ourselves with the courage and fortitude of a person who believes the work is greater than themselves, the call to love neighbor is higher than the call to love stuff. To be in service of Jesus and his Kingdom is to become like the lowest so that we might love and serve those in greatest need.

No need to share detailed stories, but I will say that as I have spent more and more time in full-time ministry, I’ve realized that the best, most aligned, Kingdom-oriented work we can do, it’s often the hardest stuff, the most mundane stuff, where life is found.

It’s easy to get this lofty sense about what serving in God’s kingdom looks like. In our tradition, especially, we pride ourselves on education and standing, markers of wordly success which speak to experience and ability. It’s easy to think that when we put in the time, we get to wear the golden crown with Jesus.

And I’m not saying that there are not rewards, temporal and eternal, to the service of God’s way. There certainly are. It is the best life there is, the most full, because of how Christ leads us into deeper wisdom and connection with each other through such service. But none of that comes without having to also embrace suffering, loss, and struggle.

Maybe not even such intense things — maybe it’s better to say that the serving in the Kingdom of God, well, it’s pretty inconvenient. Maybe annoying sometimes. Maybe a little too time-consuming. Or maybe it puts us out of our comfort zone, which we can’t have.

You follow me here?

I’m making a great pitch for joining up, right? Just trying to be like Jesus, trying to make it really enticing to step into service of God’s people, right?

And that’s the thing — it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, time-consuming, at times. Yep.

Is it all of those things? Yes.

But is it good? Absolutely.

Let’s land this plane.

Jesus teaches his disciples that being participants in the Kingdom of God means putting the needs of others first. It means yielding our power. It means serving. And in this, there is all the glory we need.

How does this practically look for us?

Well, for us to be a people, here at St. James, that live into this way of the Kingdom, we need to serve. We need you to serve. To use the strengths and insight and gifts and wisdom you possess to carry out the work of service, together.

As we close out the year, we will call you all more deeply into service. You heard last week that we are in our nominating season for Elders and Deacons. Some of you will be called to serve in those leadership roles here in our church. Can you drink the cup? Will you serve?

But many others of you will be called upon not to serve in a place of leadership and position in our church, but rather in the simple, mundane, everyday things around here and in our community. We need, need, need, people to help with simple, important things. We need more folks who are willing to help out on Sunday mornings, whether it be with welcoming people at the door or making sure our building is safe and secure, or supporting the tech behind the scenes, or serving coffee and treats as we fellowship. We need your help — literally, we need you. We have too few people doing too many things in our little corner of the Kingdom of God — so can you step in and drink the cup with us?

Oh, but I can’t serve or I don’t know how. My capacity is limited. Ok, can you pray? Can you make a phone call to check in on someone? We can help you use those abilities you have to serve one another.

When we learn to serve, like the disciples are being invited to serve, we also realize that we must do what James and John do — we need to get in and ask for what we want.

Do you see a need? Do you see something that could be better in our community or out in the world? Can you help? Can you step in, maybe even without being politely asked? Can you see a need and speak up — I know I can help with that?

Please, hear this call.

As we head into the stewardship season, these next few weeks, we will give you practical ways to express the needs you see and the ways you can help. But what if you didn’t wait for that? What if you got so bold as to be like James and John and ask for your place in this kingdom.

Let me close with this — I think James and John need some grace for their question. They ask out of an earnest desire to be involved, invested, and committed to Jesus’ way. They are bold.

Can you be bold? Can you get clear on what you are in service of? Can you step in and drink the cup with us, so that Christ’s Kingdom here among us could be more fully alive and at work?

I hope so. It is not easy. But it is so so good.

I’ll close with this wisdom from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, a reminder of how this service of God’s kingdom ought to be and how we are to live in it:

Romans 12:9–13 NRSV

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

May it be so with us. May we be in service of God’s kingdom through our service and love of one another. Amen.