“Measured Differently”
Mark 9:30-37
He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they were silent, for on the way
they had argued with one another who was the greatest.
Give us the wisdom to understand your word
and give us the will to follow your command. Amen.
Who among us is great? What does it take to be considered great?
There are persons in history that people considered as great. We know of the general Alexander the Great… we also read in the Bible a person who called himself Herod the Great. In Russia, they had royalties named Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. I remember someone who said, “I am the greatest…” the boxer Mohammad Ali claimed at one point of his professional boxing career. He was quoted saying, “It’s hard to be humble when you are the greatest as I am…”
The world understood greatness clearly – it means being on the top of the list, being the first, being powerful above others. Greatness means prestige and privilege in society and among peers. The world puts high premium on being great whether in one’s career or one’s skill. Although I do not play tennis but I was fascinated by the championship game between Del Potro and Federer. Federer is one of the greatest players in the sports and was expected to win. No wonder when Del Potro won the U.S. Open Tennis Championship he was emotional for at that moment he was the greatest!
Jesus also talks about greatness in our gospel lesson today. Let us put into perspective his teaching as we reflect about its implications in our day to day living. The teaching moment came about when the disciples argued among themselves – who is the greatest? Actually, there were on a journey through Galilee to Capernaum. Jesus was explaining what will happen to him in Jerusalem. He was predicting his death and his resurrection. Mark noted that they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
That was too much for the disciples. Last Sunday, we had the confession of Peter declaring Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. As far as they understood the coming of the Christ means the punishment of the oppressors. It means victory against the enemy. Now it sounds confusing because Jesus was talking about suffering under the hands of the enemy. They could have asked for clarification but they remained silent. Perhaps they were afraid that if it was true then their dreams of sharing power in the coming dispensation would not be realized.
Perhaps the silence was their refusal to accept what Jesus was talking about and the evidence of what we call selective listening, meaning listening only to what we want to hear – was their argument as to who among them was the greatest! After all, if Jesus is Christ and Christ rules supreme, there would be assistants and from among the assistants there will be hierarchy and this is what they want to settle before the real thing happens. So when Jesus asked, “what were you discussing?” I like the other translation that says, “there was a deafening silence…”
Now the teaching moment, He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
A lesson about servant hood and about humility!
The desire to be great is human but what is divine is the way Jesus proposed how greatness is measured. Instead of power, privilege and prestige as its foundation, Jesus turns the conventional wisdom on its head − reversing first and last − emphasizing servant hood as the true measure of greatness. One writer (Barclay) said; It was not that Jesus abolished ambition. Rather he recreated and sublimated ambition. For the ambition to rule he substituted the ambition to serve. For the ambition to have things done for us, he substituted the ambition to do things for others. The truly great person is a diakonos − a deacon − a servant − a person who spends his/her day taking care of other people. We think of successful people as being "on top" and unsuccessful people as being "at the bottom" this is how the world looks at greatness, now he taught his disciples a different measurement, a different standard.
This is quite a challenge for us today. We have seen many people, even Christians as well who measured greatness the way the world does. There are those who will feel offended if they are not addressed properly according to their titles or not acknowledged in their achievements. Of course, we should be courteous, we should extend honor to where it is due but to make a great deal out of these outside trappings is not what Jesus wants his disciples to be. Jesus challenged all of us who follow him to live according to this rule. The church should demonstrate to the world what true greatness means. For Jesus himself said, “even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve.”
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they jumped into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn't a technology problem like radar malfunction--or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship's presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late. (Closer Walk, December, 1991.)
Tragedies of this nature happened not only to ships but also in day to day living. It could have been avoided, only if each one thought of the other. But when one think of himself or herself as the greatest and demand that he or she should be treated according to the standards of the world then we are in the collision mode.
The famous conductor, Leonard Bernstein was asked one day, what is the most difficult instrument. He answered the 2nd fiddle. Plenty of people want to play 1st violin but to get someone to play second violin or second flute, etc... that's a problem. Yet, without them, he said – there is no harmony.
Phillip Brooks made an apt comment when he said, "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is."
(quoted in Burning out for God, E. Skoglund, p. 11. )
What about the child what is its significance in this lesson? The child is also a symbol for anyone who is in need, helpless, or of lowly status. The child symbolizes powerlessness. Unlike our society, children were the least important people in the ancient cultures; children had the status of slaves. People had children to serve them and provide financial security in their elderly years. And they had many children, because the morality rate for children under 16 years of age was 50 percent. Childhood was precarious time in the ancient world.
Today, we love babies; we took pictures of them, we hug and kiss and cradle them. But let us remember that in the olden days children were not the objects of sentimental affection as they can be in our culture: So when Jesus took a child and said, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me --welcomes not me -- but the one who sent me." He was really making a statement! To be a child was to be a nobody. But Jesus was saying, welcome the “nobodies” and you welcome me, not only me but you welcome God as well.
The gospel lesson today is short and direct to the point. It challenges each of us to rethink where we are in terms of our goals in life. Greatness, yes but this time with a different twist: not a desire for recognition and preferment but a desire to serve the lowest and the nobodies. Jesus said, “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” (The Message)
Let us open our hymnal on page 576 and sing the hymn, “Make Me a Servant” and let the words of this hymn be our prayer
Make me a servant, humble and meek
Lord, let me lift up those who are weak
And may the prayer of my heart always be:
Make me a servant, make me a servant,
Make me a servant today!
16th Sunday After Pemtecost September 20, 2009 |
“What A Test!” Genesis 22:1-14 When God called, Abraham responded “Here I Am, Lord” and when given the instructions on what to do, he did not argue nor question God’s judgment – very early in the morning they started the journey. It was quite a distance because it took them three days. Three days is a long period of time to reflect and to ask and I would say to challenge God. We do not know what went through in Abraham’s mind as he looked at the face of his beloved son knowing that he would be offered soon as what they did to animals. To offer choice lambs would be fine but this time God asked for his only son, Isaac. Child sacrifice was not foreign to surrounding cultures. Worshippers of Molech did such practice, later in history, Jeremiah noted that (32:35) “They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind that they should do this abomination, causing Judah to sin. There is one disturbing story about child sacrifice in the Bible, the story of Jepthah and his daughter in Judges 11:29-40. Jepthah made a vow to the Lord that if the Amorites will be handed to him, he will offer whoever comes out first in his house. True indeed, the Amorites was defeated and the problem was that it was his daughter who came out first and Jephtah was devastated. At times, people use the Bible indiscriminately as if it is prescribes everything as long as it fits their purpose. It is not enough for us to say that it is in the Bible so it is true and should be followed. The Bible has to be interpreted, the word of God has to be mined in the texts and for us Christians should be subjected to the spirit and the mind of Christ who for us represents God’s fullest revelation. Let me state clear that we do not believe in burnt offerings, in the sacrifice of animals and much more in the sacrifice of children. We do not believe in such kind of God who demands these offerings from us. So what shall we make of the story of Abraham and Isaac? First, we affirm that God has the power and the privilege to test us. There is nothing wrong in being tested. We do this all the time. We test if the product we buy is consistent according to its claim. Teachers give tests to validate whether what they taught was absorbed and learned by their students. God also has the right to test us – to test our loyalty, to test our faith, to test whether we are true to our promise. The Psalmist speaks of God not only as righteous but the one who test the hearts and minds. (Psalms 7:9) There are several instances in the Bible where God tested the people. In Exodus 16:4 we read, Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. Writing to the early church in the time of persecution Peter said, (4:12) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. There are tests that we go through in life and blessed are we if we pass the tests. The open question that we have to ask ourselves has to do whether we have the right to test God as well. There is a verse that is quoted all the time during financial stewardship campaign, Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. To test God is to doubt God’s power and to challenge God’s authority over our lives. I believe that the giving of offerings should not be based on return of investment concept. Although many testified that those who are generous also receive generously from God. If you test God then it is between you and God. We are called to trust and not to test God. There is also a section in the Bible that is explicit. In fact Jesus quoted it when he was tempted by the devil. Deuteronomy 6:16, Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you tested him at Massah. Between test and trust, I would not dare to test God. I would rather trust God at all times. Second, the good news in the story of Abraham and Isaac is the truth that God saves. God saves just at the right time and on right moment. There are many questions that come to mind but the basic fact remains that God did not really want Abraham to kill his son Isaac. In the story we read, Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am.”He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." If this is a movie then this would be a great thriller. This is the moment of suspense. Then as we are about to shout or close our eyes, the storyline shifts and so with the whole movement. Then Abraham named the mountain, Yahweh-yireh which means God will provide. This is the good news! At the same time the end of the test and Abraham passed it with distinction. This story happens again and again in our lives. How many times have we thought that everything comes to an end when all of a sudden a surprise changes the whole scenario? For those who have no faith, they say, “suerte ka” (good luck) or it’s just the right timing. But for us who believe we say, it’s not “suerte” but God working in our lives. A personal testimony… our eldest son, Dim is a student in Cebu right now. He was complaining about difficulty in breathing and numbness of his hands and feet. Last Friday evening, we chat over the net and he asked permission to go home to Dunaguete. Gangging said; “he was just home sick.” But I have reservations. I remember saying, “have a check up because if something happens on the way you will be on your own and it would be difficult.” But it looks like he was just home sick and got so excited when he was allowed to go home. So he boarded the bus to Dumaguete. But when it was on its way – he again experienced difficulty of breathing and the numbness he felt before. We have a very close friend in Minglanilla, Cebu, Butch and Jo Ann Orillan-Guasa. Dim remembered just at the right moment when the bus was about to enter the town and asked that he will be dropped off at the Caltex Station that Buth and JoAnn owned in Minglanilla. He was about to collapse and Butch and Jo Ann also just arrived from Cebu. In fact Butch, as Jo Ann narrated was still at the steering wheel of their vehicle. It was also timely that they did not travel to Ormoc, Leyte where they also had a business. So they were there just at the right moment to help him. If Butch and Jo Ann were not in Minglanilla at that moment, personnel in the station do not know him and perhaps will not help him. Had he collapsed somewhere beyond Minglanilla then the consequence would be worst. But why do events like this happen – right people on the right place and the right moment. You tell me its suerte, it’s timing – no I would say, it’s God’s gracious and saving hand on work in our lives. God will provide is a testimony for many of us. Even at the darkest hour of our lives, God is there. I have a verse that I keep coming back when I think of tests and trials in life. Paul wrote something very powerful in I Corinthians 10:13, he said, No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. God is not over yet with us. There would be other tests as well. But with what all of us went through in life, like Abraham looking at it in retrospect, we can say, what a test! It was through those tests that we know God in a more intimate way. For the reality is that while God tests us, God also build us. So don’t be afraid of test rather be prepared when tests shall come. Amen. 7th Sunday after Pentecost June 29, 2008 |
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Sermon Archives June 22, 2008 - "Earthquakes, Cyclones" - by Dr. Angel Alcala June 15, 2008 - "Each to the Assigned Task" June 8,2008 - "Where Does Faith Lead Us" June 1, 2008 - "Follow the Building Code" May 25, 2008 - "Getting Real with Our Worries May 18, 2008 - "Speaking of God" May 11, 2008 - "When the Spirit Comes" May 4, 2008 - "Why Do You Stand Looking Up to Heaven" April 27, 2008 - "Don't Forget the Punch Line" April 20, 2008 - "Comforting or Confronting" April 13, 2008 - "Life Abundant" April 6, 2008 - "The Emmaus Experience" March 30, 2008 - "I Believe; Help My Unbelief!" |
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