Upside-down Kingdom 1

There’s a little fact I learned in biology that had long left my mind until researching this sermon this week that seems like a pretty good place to start. Did you know that the images that our retinas form are upside-down? If there wasn’t a little piece of our brain that inverted that image, our world would look completely inverted from what we perceive- how weird is that? There’s a very small portion of the population who do not have that little switch in their brain, and because of that do in fact see the world “upside down.” I watched a clip of a person who has this condition. When she reads, she holds the book or the paper upside down. Her tv and her computer screen are completely inverted in the same way- they’re upside down so that she can perceive them “normally.” And while she was born this way, can you image what it would be like to be one of those who experience a traumatic accident and suddenly experience this? What would it be like to have to learn to view the world upside down?

In a spiritual sense, this isn’t a rhetorical question. It is clear as we read through scripture, and then specifically through the life and teaching of Jesus, that followers of God are supposed to see and live in the world in a way that is different than the prevailing human way of living as generated by the culture. Over the years, the kingdom of God as described by Jesus in the gospel of Mark has been termed the “Upside-down Kingdom;” a kingdom that looks so different from earth-rooted expectations that it might as well be upside- down, inverted.

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” 32 But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

I love short, descriptive passages like this in scripture because they give us a window into what life in that small group was like, and some of the challenges faced by both the earliest students of Jesus and Jesus struggle as a teacher and leader unlike what they had seen before or expected. Now there are several reasons why they may be less than inclined to ask questions when they don’t understand the teaching. Just a chapter before this, not that far back in the disciples memory, they are asked who people are saying Jesus is. And after they respond back with the various prophets people are comparing Jesus to, Jesus asks them directed, “what about you.” And its Peter who gives the right answer, right? You are the anointed one, the Christ, the messiah! Now while we usually pay attention to Peters declaration as a moment when peter opens his mouth and doesn’t stick his foot into it, doing so misses Jesus response. The text tells us that Jesus “sternly ordered” them to not talk about it. “sternly ordered” doesn’t come close to to touching the implication of the greek. The implication in the original language is that Jesus is borderline angry, adamant that they keep their mouths shut about it. Its not the first time Jesus is stern with them, nor is it the last. And the following passage in 8, just like the following passage here, lets us know why Jesus isn’t interested in them spreading their version of who he is. They have an earth-bound understanding of who the anointed one will be, what he will do, and how he will restore the Israelite kingdom. But the reality of Jesus mission is a complete inversion of that idea of power- not power over people, but instead service of. The extent to which Jesus closest followers miss the point becomes readily apparent.

The New Revised Standard Version Who Is the Greatest?

33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Their argument over greatness is full of irony in its setting, given that, on the road Jesus is telling them how his greatness as the messiah with play out in his sacrifice. Jesus is defining greatness for them and they are unable to hear it and unwilling to get clarification. Instead of asking Jesus what he means, they turn to each other and, using their own criteria of greatness, begin to exalt themselves and belittle each other in order to claim their own greatness. Its not the only time they argue about this. Like others both now and throughout history who have been attached to those they see rising to power, Jesus disciples are looking for their own benefit from his power. They argue about who among them is greatest, who gets what seat in Jesus throne room. And you know how these discussions go, right? As these individuals jockey for position among each other, they highlight their own successes and talents and ignore their own weaknesses, while highlighting each others weaknesses and ignoring others strengths. So after their roadtrip through Galilee they arrive in Capernaum at their destination, and Jesus puts them on the spot- sort of like when you ask your kid how their day at school was, but you already got the text from their teacher telling you exactly how their day was. And just like that busted child, the disciples silently sit in the back seat hoping you just move on or the phone rings- anything to change the conversation. And once again, Jesus is reminded that they don’t get it- yet another frustration due to their lack of comprehension of Jesus mission, one of many throughout the gospel of Mark. And so Jesus takes the moment to try again to help them understand the upside-down nature of his purpose and mission. So he calls them together to make a point about the importance of servanthood , not power, as what truly defines greatness, right? You want to be great in this kingdom? You want to be closest to me, closest to the throne of my kingdom? Well then, forget that “i’m better than you” stuff and serve those around you unfailingly.

Blank stares. They don’t understand. So he calls a kid over, a toddler- a person with no power or authority, especially in the ancient world, and explains greatness as hospitality given to those who cannot pay it back. Its about welcoming. Welcoming those who cannot return the favor, cannot pay for your services, and cannot grow your honor in the ancient honor and shame cultural system. To truly embrace fellowship with Jesus, and therefor truly embrace fellowship with God, Jesus tells his disciples, they must shed their preconceived notions of who Jesus is, of what the purpose of the anointed one is. The must rid themselves of their own expectation of power and instead recognize that to bear the standard of Jesus is to be a servant- and not a servant to those who you consider greater than you, who can pay you back, return the favor in some form. Not simply to take care of those who it’ll make you look good to be near. No, it means to instead to give power to the powerless, to serve those who others would say should do the serving- a true inversion of cultural expectations.

How normal is it of us to view and function in the world selfishly looking for ways to raise ourselves up, and in the process missing the ways to empower and raise others up? The individualistic focus ingrained in us from childhood often goes unquestioned- of course my priority is to take care of me. Scripture, however, often calls us to live differently. I want to close this morning with a quote from a another guy named Henri- Henri Nouwen. He writes this:

Possible end of the sermon to illustrate difference between God’s ways and our ways.

“At issue here is the question: "To whom do I belong? God or to the world?" Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.

As long as I keep running about asking: "Do you love me? Do you really love me?" I give all power to the voices of the world and put myself in bondage because the world is filled with "ifs." The world says: "Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent, and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much." There are endless "ifs" hidden in the world's love. These "ifs" enslave me, since it is impossible to respond adequately to all of them. The world's love is and always will be conditional. As long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain "hooked" to the world-trying, failing, and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart.”

We must recognize the ways in which what Jesus does and what Jesus calls us to don’t line up with the “are you for me or against me” mentality that so defines and divides us and our world. The question can’t continue to be “who is going to serve me.” The question can’t be “how can I serve others in a way that benefits me in the long run.” Instead, we must learn to ask “who will I serve,” and recognize that at the core of that question is whether or not I will serve God by serving my neighbor, or serve myself by using my neighbor.

You know what makes Jesus teaching about the importance of welcome, of hospitality given to those who cannot return the favor, so powerful? Its because no better sentence exists to define exactly how Jesus chose to act towards us, choosing to serve us who cannot repay the favor and cannot give to Jesus any sort of honor or power worth having. He served us unquestioningly and unfailingly. We must do the same for others.