St. James, the Elder

James and John, his brother, came to Jesus with a plan to secure positions of status and honor in the Kingdom of God. “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you” (Mk 10:35). It’s always dangerous to promise to do an unnamed favor, but Jesus, being God, already knows what they want. Even so, he asks, “What do 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” (Mk 10:36). James and John were not content to be two of Jesus’ twelve disciples. They wanted more and were proactively trying to arrange for the future.

This is typical human behavior. Everyone kid wants to grow up to be famous. When I was a child, I wanted to be President of the United States, and also the fastest runner, and the greatest musician, and the world’s best driver, and a host of other things. Perhaps things have changed somewhat now that every kid gets a participation trophy, but not that much. The sinful desire to have more recognition, more power, more money, more beauty, more knowledge than everyone else still lurks within each heart, yours included. As we grow older, we learn to dial back many of our expectations, but that desire to be above others is still there.

Envy, Greed, and Pride are three of the seven deadly sins, and they’ve caused no end of havoc in our broken world, even, or perhaps, especially, within the church. Some of the worst infighting and politicking happens between members of the church council or the choir or the clergy. The other ten disciples were angry with James and John, but only because the brothers had thought to ask first. Of course they all wanted to be the greatest. No surprise there.

What is a surprise is how Jesus answers. He responds by talking about drinking the cup and being baptized. What do the chalice and baptism have to do with being the greatest? Everything. In Matthew, chapter 11, Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, and he said, “No one born of woman is greater than John the Baptist. And yet, the least person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:11). How does one enter the kingdom of heaven? Only through the second birth of water and the Holy Spirit, that is, through baptism. That’s right. Jesus tells us that a little baby who was just baptized has a higher status in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest prophet in the Bible! James and John were working overtime to try to get a higher place in heaven, and Jesus was telling them: “You already have it.”

I used to think that the power raking within the church went something like this: normal Christian, elder, deacon, pastor, bishop, apostle, angel, archangel, cherubim, seraphim, God himself. That’s not what Jesus tells us. There is no better title that you could ever achieve than the one bestowed upon you at your baptism: “Beloved child of God.” There’s no better family name than the one given you when the sign of the cross was first traced upon your forehead: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” To our eyes, a little baptized baby appears as the least member of the Church, but Jesus says that there is no one greater.

James and John and the rest of the disciples were scrambling to get to the top of the heap, and Jesus wasn’t angry with them. It’s the sort of behavior he expects to find in our broken world. He said to them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over their them, and those who are great exercise authority over their subjects. It shall not be so among you” (Mk 10:42–43a). We do know how this works. The people at the top are happy to be served by their minions, and the minions at the bottom dream about getting to the top. Yes, that’s how the world runs, “but,” Jesus says, “it will not be this way among you.” Why? “Because the greatest One among you will be your slave.” Jesus is talking about himself! Keep your eyes open on your climb to the top of the ladder, because you’re likely to see our Lord Jesus passing you on his way to the bottom.

This is the heart of the one holy, Christian faith. It’s not about how we climb up to heaven to find God; it’s all about God descending to the very bottom to find us. James and John, do you want to know what true greatness looks like? Then look to the cross of Christ, and see him fill the cup of your salvation with his poured-out blood. Want to see true authority and power? Behold your God, clothed in frail human flesh, as he suffers and dies for the sins of the world. What sins? All of them, including our petty struggles for power, our envy of the position of others, and our selfish desire to be served.

James and John were looking forward to the coming of the kingdom of heaven, but they were headed in the wrong direction. Jesus said to them, “Follow me. Follow my example, as I become the slave of all.” By the way, this is what it means to be a pastor—to be a slave of everyone, imperfectly following the perfect example of the Lord Jesus, who became the lowest of the low. James and John did indeed learn to follow Christ in this way. Embracing their status as baptized children of God, they set aside their desire to be greatest, and began their faithful labor as servants in the kingdom of heaven.

It’s impossible to have a better name than “child of God,” but as we go through this life, God does give us other titles: husband, wife, parent, son, daughter, employee, citizen, etc… St. James would become the first of the twelve Apostles to be called “martyr,” beheaded as we heard today by the sword of King Herod. John was not given that title. Instead he would be called, “the Elder,” living far into his nineties, the only Apostle to die a natural death. None of us knows how God will choose to use us in his kingdom, but of this we can be sure: we will never attain a higher status within it than that granted to us on the day of our entrance. You are baptized. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Today, many Christians are still trying to find a higher place within God’s kingdom. “Surely, God will be pleased with me this Sunday if I do something great for him. After all, that’s what pleases the rulers of this earth.” But Jesus says, “No. It will not be this way within my Church. Unlike every earthly kingdom, my people will not gather together in order to serve me. Instead, I will gather them together so that I, the Lord of all, may serve my people.”

This is why we speak of the church service. But we are not the ones doing the serving. Jesus is. The word “liturgy” from the Greek, λειτουργία, means, “a work for the people.” Here in the evangelic catholic church, that is, the Lutheran church, we celebrate the liturgy. Why? Because that is how our Lord serves us. In the liturgy of the church we confess and sing of perfect work of Jesus, his Liturgy, which he accomplished for us, his people.

Have you ever had the idea that you need to be doing something when you go to church? That goes hand in hand with the notion that we need to work to gain a better status in God’s kingdom. It understandable if you think this way, because that’s how every other place in the world works—everywhere but for the kingdom of God. Here, Jesus says to you, “Come, and let me serve you. Sit, do nothing, and let the Divine Service wash over you. Listen to my words, as they are spoken through the mouth of my slave, your pastor. Be reborn through the water of Holy Baptism. Receive my Holy Spirit. Hear my words that kindle faith within your heart. Let my blood wash away your sins. Simply open your mouth, and let me fill it with the Bread of Life.”

Nothing pleases God more than this. Be content to sit still and let Christ serve you. And as you do, know for certain that you already have the greatest status within the kingdom of heaven that could ever be achieved. Not even St. James, the Elder, has it better than you. You are baptized, and that is as good as it gets. Amen.