Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Measure Of Greatness* \\ Sermon by Brett Blair and Staff \\ Mark 9 : 30-37 \\ Pentecost 18

Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president.

Over one hundred candidates applied for the position.

The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons.

Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president.

This was done and a janitor gave such a glowing appraisal of William MacElvaney that he was selected President of St. Paul's School of Theology.

\\ \\ Somebody on that search committee understood, in a flash of genius, that those who live close to Christ become so secure in his love that they no longer relate to other people according to rank or power or money or prestige.

They treat janitors and governors with equal dignity.

They regard everybody as a VIP.

Children seem to do this intuitively; adult Christians have to relearn it.

\\ \\ In verse 32 we read a not so complimentary report on the disciples: "But they did not understand."

That's a picture that can be hung in the halls of the museum of mankind.

When confronted by true greatness, we simply do not see it.

Here is what happened with the disciples.

One day Jesus is passing through Galilee.

We are told that he did not want anyone in the area to know where they were?

Why is that?

Because, he had something important to tell the 12.

It was a strategic part of his plan.

"The Son of Man" he explains, "is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.

They will kill him," now listen to what he says next, "and after three days he will rise."

There it was.

The whole plan lay before them.

The crucifixion and the resurrection.

They should have been curious.

They should have asked questions.

They could have seen the significance.

But the best they could muster up at this crucial moment was a blank stare and confused silence.

They could not understand it because it did not meet what they felt was the measure of greatness.

\\ \\ How do we grow to the point that we stop measuring people by their successes and start regarding people for their service, for their sacrifices?

How do we move from a world’s model which measures value in terms of wealth, fame, and power to a model which measures value in based on Jesus’ teachings?

What is greatness in the kingdom of God? \\ \\ I \\ \\ First, let’s notice that true greatness is hardly ever recognized.

How can we know greatness when we see it?

J. C. Penny had a way of recognizing it.

He said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history.

Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk.”

We all understand Penny’s point: A dream though hidden in the most common of men can bring about greatness but a common man with no dream is just that, a common man.

\\ \\ There are many ways to measure greatness.

Some might say that what makes for greatness is intellect and they would hold up the example of Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity when he was twenty-six years old, and therefore, some say, by any measure he is great.

\\ \\ Others would say that what makes for greatness is courage, and therefore Clara Barton should be held up as the standard.

During the Civil War, Clara Barton earned the honor of “Angel of the Battlefield.”

Her work with wounded ultimately led her to found the world-wide organization known as the Red Cross.

Therefore, some would argue, she is great.

\\ \\ Still others would say that what makes for greatness is spirit.

They would point to Jackie Robinson.

The story of Jackie Robinson, the first professional black baseball player is a story of triumph and perseverance over adversity.

If you’ve heard his story you know the insults that were hurled at him.

His story is the triumph of the human spirit.

\\ \\ Perhaps some would say that ones contribution to humanity is what makes for greatness.

If that were the case, then few would argue against calling Jonas Salk great.

It is difficult for us to imagine today the terror that the word polio struck in the hearts of parents.

I well remember when I was a child and the vaccine was used on a mass scale in schools for the first time.

Of course, in those days it was not a sugar cube but an arm pricking.

But few can deny that Jonas Salk gave us a great deal.

\\ \\ But perhaps it is those who work for peace in the councils of nations or those who fight for justice as did Martin Luther King.

We all have deep within us a desire to be great.

We have a desire to be the best at what we do.

To excel.

No one wants to be no one.

But what is it, that measure of greatness that will get us there?

And how can we recognize it when we see it?

Let’s leave this question for a few moments and look at or second point.

\\ \\ II \\ \\ Greatness is never about self-promotion.

One day Jesus is walking with his disciples and as they walk they talk among themselves.

At the time they did not realize that he overheard them, but he clearly did for when they later arrive at their destination he questions them about it.

The topic was who was the greatest among them.

Exactly what they said we don’t know, but I imagine that the conversation went something like this \\ \\ Simon Peter said: “Well, I am his right hand man.

I am a part of the inner circle.

I am the spokesman of the group.

Therefore, I am the greatest.”

\\ \\ Whereupon Andrew might have spoken up and said: “Well, dear big brother, let me remind you of something which you have conveniently forgotten.

I was called into discipleship first.

Indeed, I was the one who invited you to come to Jesus.

I got you here.

Therefore, I am the greatest.”

\\ \\ The brothers James and John at this point speak up: “You both miss the point.

Greatness is measured by the amount that you have sacrificed.

We stood to inherit our father Zebedee’s lucrative fishing business.

We gave all of that up.” \\ \\ \\ \\ At this point Matthew chimes in: “Well if you want to talk about giving up money, I can play that game.

I was a tax collector.

None of you had as much money as I did.

There fir I am the greatest.”

\\ \\ When the twelve arrived at their destination, Jesus asked them what they had been talking about back on the road.

It was a question meant for their introspection.

Jesus knew what they had been talking about.

And with that question the disciples are strangely quiet.

They are embarrassed.

It was at this point that Jesus told them, and vicariously us, what it is that makes for true greatness in the eyes of God.

“If you would be great,” he said, “be a servant.”

\\ \\ Someone once asked Dr. Albert Sweitzer who was the greatest person in the world.

He answered: “Some unknown person, who is doing the work of love.”

When Mike Peters won the Pulitzer Prize for political cartoons (1981), he wasn't expecting the honor.

He described his response by saying, "It is like you are asleep and it is 2 in the morning and you are hugging your pillow and you are in your funny pajamas and somebody bursts through the door and they come over and start shaking you and they say, 'Wake up, wake up!' And you say, 'What is it?'

And they say, 'You have just won the Boston Marathon!'

And you say, 'But I'm not running in the Boston Marathon.'

And they say, 'Doesn't make any difference, you won.'" \\ \\ Jesus taught that heaven will hold some surprises.

Honor and glory will be granted for behavior that was so natural, so undistinguished, and so noncompetitive.

Take the simple illustration that Jesus gives of receiving a child.

From somewhere Jesus finds a small child who he stands in front of them.