Sermons for the Month
Servant's Entrance
DATE: October 19th, 2003
SERVICE: 19th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Mark 10:35-45“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Did you notice anything unusual as you entered the church today? Unless they have blown away, there was a reminder on every outside door of who we are, servants. To help us remember that I posted signs saying, "Servant's Entrance" on each door. In order to worship here today you had to come in through the Servant's Entrance.
I have to admit to you that I read about an Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico where a hand-lettered sign with the same message was posted above the only entrance to the sanctuary. It seemed like a great idea to me because, like the disciples, we struggle to see ourselves as servants.
Today's Gospel lesson makes it clear just how true this is. In fact, the way that the Gospel of Mark is arranged conveys the message that the disciples are experiencing a vision problem.
I had never noticed before that as Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Mark he begins his journey by healing a blind man. The text says that after Jesus laid hands on him this man could see everything clearly. Then, at the end of the journey, blind Bartimaeus regains his sight. Just think, two people who were previously in the dark can now see the light, Jesus the Christ.
In contrast, the disciples are unable to see anything clearly. Between the two restorations of sight Jesus predicts his impending death three times. And, all three times, the disciples don't get it. The first time, Peter rebukes Jesus. Then, they argue about who is the greatest. Finally, in today's reading, James and John ask for preferred status. Each time Jesus reminds them that following him involves suffering, sacrifice, servant hood. And, each time, it's as if the disciples are blind.
It is clear that his closest followers think that they are going to Jerusalem to gain freedom from the Romans and put Jesus on the throne. James and John want to make sure that they get in on the glory. They are not only having a problem with their vision, but their ears seem to be on the blink as well. They have not heard Jesus saying that he will suffer and die.
But Jesus does not rebuke them; he simply asks if they really feel able to endure what he will face. He says, "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" It's a metaphor. Remember how, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays, "Remove this cup from me?" (Mark 14:36) The cup is an untimely, painful death. And, when he was baptized, Jesus was commissioned by God for his ministry. So, he's saying to James and John, "Are you prepared to take on my ministry, to suffer and die?"
Foolishly, in their blindness, they say "Yes". Indeed, Jesus knows that they will eventually suffer because of their faith. But, at this point in the story, their vision is still clouded. That's the case for the rest of the disciples as well. They are angry with James and John not because they fail to understand, but because they are trying to grab the positions of honor that each one of them would like to have.
So, Jesus again reminds them of "Kingdom Rules", which are completely different from the rules of the world. In the Kingdom of God it is those who serve who are honored. The goal is to be "slave of all". Remember that in ancient society the slave was the last and least of all. So, the idea of a slave being first is nothing short of crazy. And yet … that's the way of discipleship.
So, to remind us of that, I put signs on the doors this morning that say, "Servants Entrance." Do we ever need those reminders because if there is anything we learn in our world it is not to be servants. It is so tempting, as a church and as individuals, to look out for number one rather than to put ourselves in the position of servants whose goal it is to make Christ known in our world.
It's a slippery slope that we walk, and sometimes we have to ask ourselves some challenging questions. Why do we want to improve our building, or why do we want to maintain what has always existed? Do we simply want to be comfortable or is our focus on using our facility to meet 21st century needs? Why do we increase our staff? Do we want our pet program to be promoted, or our children supervised, or do we want to provide opportunities for people to meet Jesus and for our children to truly become his followers? What's the purpose of worship? Is it just a private moment between me and God, when I experience that which meets my needs, or is it more than that? How in worship do I become a servant rather than the one who is served?
And what about our individual lives. Our world encourages us to look out for ourselves and to toot our own horn. We are told to get all we can, while Jesus tells us to give all we can. This attitude pervades all of life, and it infects our children. It disturbs me that we often - not always - but often have to require young people to serve, or bribe them with promises of a fun time or a reward of some type, in order to get them to put the needs of others before their own. Our job as a church, and as Christian adults, is to model servant hood in the midst of a world that promotes self-centeredness.
We are called to serve, to put others first and Jesus promises that if we do that, he will put us first.
So today we came in through the Servant's Entrance, and we will go out through it as well. To quote Ernest Southcott, "The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God's people - strengthened by preaching and sacrament - go out of the church door and into the world to be the church. We don't go to church; we are the church."
And so, my friends, open your eyes, let your vision clear, see yourselves as servants and go out through the servant's exit and into the world to make Christ known remembering that we follow in the footsteps of one who came not to be served but to serve. AMEN