Sermons for the Month
A Magnanimous Life
DATE: October 18th, 2009
SERVICE: Commitment Sunday
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
Let's start with a vocabulary quiz today. Relax, there's only one question. Would you rather be magnanimous or pusillanimous? The sound of the words alone is enough to make a person pick the first over the second. I came across the word pusillanimous while volunteering at the Metro Parks' information post which is temporarily located at Goodyear Heights Metro Park. It was the end of the day and no one was coming in for assistance, so I was reading the magazine I brought from home. That's when I said to the naturalist, "Here's a new word for you - pusillanimous" - at which point he asked what I was reading, thinking perhaps I had a scientific journal and had come across the name of an exotic bug. When I replied, "Christian Century", he gave me a blank look. So, I explained that pusillanimous is the opposite of magnanimous. To quote that article, "Magnanimity literally means to be of great soul or spirit, and it characterizes persons who remain resolutely focused on the utmost possibilities for life. By contrast, pusillanimous men and women lower their sights and regularly opt for whatever is easier, more pleasurable or quickly attainable." (1) To be magnanimous, to hunger for greatness, seems to be the better choice. That brings up the question, though, of how to define greatness. In the Gospel lesson, to be great means one thing to James and John and quite another to Jesus. Martin Luther King once said that James and John wanted to be Drum Majors - you know, the person who is out front, as big as life, leading to band. I came across a sermon on this text by Dr. King which he gave in February 1968, just a few months before his assassination. It's titled, "The Drum Major Instinct" and in it he says that the desire to lead the parade, to be first, is a universal human trait which is obvious in the disciples in spite of all Jesus has been attempting to teach them. Remember, for a number of weeks now we've been talking about Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem. At the beginning of it he healed a blind man (8:22-26) who then saw everything clearly. Ironically, the opposite is true of the disciples; they seem unable to see anything clearly. Jesus has predicted his impending death three times. After the first prediction, Peter rebuked him and Jesus proceeded to teach them to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow. (8:31-34) That did not seem to make much of an impact, because after the second prediction the disciples argued about who was the greatest and Jesus taught them that whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. (9:34-35) Before the third prediction they are reminded that the first will be last and the last will be first, (10:31) after which Jesus tells them again that he will be condemned, mocked, spit on, flogged and killed, but will rise after three days. (10:32-34) Evidently James and John only heard the last part, about rising from the dead and they want first dibs on the positions of honor next to Jesus in his glory. So, once again, Jesus makes the point that they seem unable to comprehend; the one who would be great must serve, and to be first requires being the slave of all, the ultimate example of which is Jesus giving up his life as a ransom for many. It's interesting that after this interaction Jesus heals another blind man, who then follows Jesus on the way. (10:46-52) So, in between two stories of restored sight are numerous accounts of the disciples' blindness. Could this be a hint that, like those who were healed, the disciples will one day see? Perhaps they, and all off us, will learn to apply magnanimity - or the drum major instinct - to a new type of greatness. Listen to how Dr. King described what Jesus said to James and John. He did not scold them for asking for the place of glory, instead: "He said in substance, 'Oh, I see you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. Well, you ought to be. If you are going to be my disciples, you must be.' But, he reordered priorities, and he said, 'Yes, don't give up this instinct. It's a good instinct if you use it right. It's a good instinct if you don't distort it or pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need to be important. Keep feeling the need to be first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That's what I want you to do.'" (2) When I read that I could not help but think of the congregation who first heard this sermon, people who had suffered under years of oppression, who no doubt struggled with Jesus saying that they should be servants and slaves of all. It must have been a relief to be told that the instinct toward greatness was OK… as long as they accepted a new definition of greatness. We need to hear that too, although not for the same reasons. Our problem is that we take for granted the cultural definition of greatness going hand-in-hand with power, wealth and recognition. Like the disciples, we need to open our eyes to the fact that greatness in God's eyes involves service and sacrifice. So it is that Dr. King reminded his congregation that greatness is a universal option. He said, "…it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be a servant." (3) For some of us the message is not only can we serve if we do not know all those things, but even if we do, it is having a heart full of grace and reaching out that constitutes greatness. And that is our focus as we Celebrate Faith on this Commitment Sunday. During recent weeks we have celebrated that Jesus is the ultimate servant, who endured suffering and death so that we might experience new life; he loves us that much. We have celebrated being partners with God both in maintaining the world and in proclaiming the Good News; God trusts us that much. We have celebrated the opportunity to provide a place for seekers, including ourselves, where we strive to turn to Jesus as our source of meaning and security; the Holy Spirit empowers us that much. And today, as a part of the celebration, we commit ourselves and our money to serve through Faith Lutheran Church. As we bring forward our estimate-of-giving cards and volunteer forms we offer ourselves in love, sacrifice and generosity. In doing so, we find honor in humility and power in living on behalf of others. This is the type of greatness for which we hunger, and which feeds the world. We indeed are a magnanimous group, people who are resolutely focused on the utmost possibilities for life…possibilities that come to, and through, those who serve.
AMEN
(1) "Living by the Word" by Paul J. Wadell, Christian Century, October 6, 2009, pg. 19
(2) "The Drum Major Instinct" by Martin Luther King, February 4, 1968, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA., www.blackwebportal.com
(3) Same as #2